Four years ago, I was utterly convinced that the answers to most of our biggest questions were going to be found in those elusive tax returns.
And then they appeared — and they were news for about five seconds.
There’s no need to rehearse the details. The question is what they mean. And the answer is that, more than any email server, they show what ought to be the apotheosis of our line-blurring between finance and politics.
If the private speaking circuit is an outrage, consider that it’s at least private. A “reality” TV show is a means to achieving the same ends — in public, and more crassly.
Whether or not former politicians have anything new to say to bankers, it’s quite clear that a turn on reality TV is not adequate preparation for the trust and exercise of the powers of the presidency.
Especially when the taxpayer in question has chosen the strategy of losing as much as he can in order to “win” the utterly meaningless metric of paying as little as possible.
Colin Steele 