Tax Time

Every year at this time, Uncle Sam takes millions of Americans into the back room, unzips his pants, and taxes them. Good times. Well, this tax seasons the political world is talking about candidate tax returns. I think there is something sick in demanding that candidates release their taxes. Let's discuss.

For some time now, most candidates for President have released their tax returns to be scoured by the public. Trump has refused and the left has been losing their minds. In response, they've tried to pass laws requiring that these be released to qualify for the ballot. Others want to subpoena Trump's taxes. Others are wishfully thinking they can even make it a crime not to surrender them. At the same time, several of the Democratic candidates have released their taxes. Bernie released his today. There was even a Yahoo headline calling these Bernie's "much anticipated tax returns." Anticipated by whom exactly?

Either way, it's clear that the political class wants to see people's taxes, and I think that's sick. Why do I think this is sick? Because I can see no legitimate purpose in it except to smear.

Ask yourself what exactly do you learn about a person from the release of their taxes? The left wants them released because they want to engage in class warfare and Republican candidates are usually quite wealthy. Is that a valid reason though? Should we really force people to release their taxes just so the left can spew envy and spite at wealth over it? Maybe we should make them detail their ancestry too so the KKK has things it can complain about? How about their dietary preferences so we know they aren't secret vegans?

It turns out Bernie Sanders is rich. But so what? We already knew that. He is a typical faux-socialist. Yet, I'll bet his wealth doesn't change a single vote, nor should it. To accept this argument that he should need to release his taxes so we can smear him for his wealth is pure bias. That's unAmerican. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure some people care. But that doesn't mean the system should embrace their bias any more than it should allow an investigation into someone's racial ancestry.

Here's another reason that comes up: who knows what we'll find? They might have done something illegal! This is ridiculous! If there's a crime, the IRS will get them. If there isn't, then everything they have done on their taxes is something we the people have deemed acceptable, and the real purpose of the search is simply to look for dirt. We should not make laws premised on the idea of letting people dig for dirt. If there is something illegal, that should matter. If there is a conflict, that should matter. If there is just a desire to go looking for something to use against someone... that's bullsh*t. Why not also demand cameras be places in their bedrooms. Who knows what kinky crap they are doing with their spouses?

So Trump may not be worth as much as his public image says... Obama scored an obscene amount of money from speaking engagements... Bernie's a socialist millionaire... Bill and Hillary Clinton claimed the underwear they donated to Goodwill was worth $4 a pair. All horrible things to someone, but none is illegal, none is different than what millions of other people are doing, and none is our business. The fact we want to smear these people with it does not justify forcing the release of tax information.

It's time we stopped this sick game of gottcha in DC. And this is the first domino we should kick over. There is no legitimate reason to demand a candidate's tax returns and we should not accept "I want to look for dirt" as a justification. It's time we took one small step back from the politics of personal destruction.

Thoughts?