According to the www.washingtontimes.com, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner asked, who is going to jail over the scandal at the IRS?

I hope no one.

If they do go to jail, it should be for a crime. A scandal is a public embarrassment, such as when Tiger Woods was caught by his wife while cheating on her. Some states used to make that a crime, but no one wanted him to go to jail. He lost some endorsements and his swing, for a while, but he didn't commit a crime.

It's up to Congress to make a law that prevents such targeting of groups by the IRS, if there isn't such a law already. Let's make sure that is taken care of, Mr. Speaker.

As for firings, as many want, yes, that's appropriate for public embarrassment or hurting the trust people should have in your organization.

Yes, that was a month ago, but I must note that Pontiac's tax return came more than a week ahead of the federal tax return, a first. I always send them at the same time, and I always get the federal first, then state, and then, usually much later, Pontiac's. One time, I got a Pontiac return more than a year later.

Of course, this year, I didn't get anything back from the state. Thanks, Mr. Snyder, hope we get all those jobs with the tax breaks for businesses.

In other news, the IRS story may or may not have legs, but it seems there should be more scrutiny of those seeking tax-free status, but it should not lean towards one side of the political spectrum. This, I thought, was the one scandal that could sway many to become critical of Obama, but then the AP phone dump occurred.

That impacted media types, but I don't think Americans in general care.

Funny part is that the it seems the story that sparked the interest was reporting on the good job done by the government, something they just didn't want revealed. But making everything a secret in the name of security damages those freedoms leaders said were what Muslim extremists hated about our country.

Evidence that people do care about their communities can be found within the list of our most commented stories.

This week, for a bit, all of the top stories involved cuts to school districts and city services. And the comments get better in those stories. Oh, they are plenty angry and filled with vile and insults. But it's not as bad as national stories or crime stories. People are debating an issue that will likely impact every resident of Oakland County.

I've noticed the trend since Troy led off by foreseeing massive cuts around the corner. Well, initially, they talked about a shortfall, and city leaders tried to get voters to approve a tax hike. It failed miserably and now the talks are all on closures and layoffs.

But Troy is not alone. Bloomfield Hills (city and school district), Rochester schools, Novi schools, Madison Heights' police, Royal Oak police, Pontiac schools and city hall, and Clarkston police have all been impacted so far by falling property tax revenues due to property values free fall. Beverly Hills is wondering about a tax hike. Bloomfield Township barely passed one.

When will your community face it? From our polls, more people favor cutting services instead of raising taxes, and community and school leaders better face the facts.

Feel free to join the conversation.