No no no, fictional characters in an RPG did (my players, I was the game master). I personally excelled at Mt Dew consumption and repulsing the opposite sex.
I’ve cut down on Mt. Dew, though.
4 Likes
Proof that everyone has a “super power”.
1 Like
Really? Who’s on the fence right now that’ll totally change their minds based not on Sanders’ actual voting record and history, but what’s in his tax forms?
Are you on the fence? Would something in those forms that’s plausibly there change your mind?
Otherwise this is discussing an irrelevant meta-game rather than the game that’s actually being played.
11 Likes
Yeah, I have to agree, I don’t really care about candidate tax returns. That is the IRS’s job.
1 Like
So it should be an easy matter for him to release the records. And yet, he hasn’t. And failure to comply with an ethics law tends to make people wonder. By the way, you don’t have to be super rich, to have issues on your tax forms.
That and this tax question is SUPER candidate specific and just never made sense on a candidate where you’re not looking for detectable influence and corruption.
It’s almost as weird as asking for his Birth Certificate. . . not QUITE as weird, but in that same ‘what is somebody expecting to get out of this’ territory, y’know?
3 Likes
That’s exactly the same form I use, and it’s a complete tax return. It’s not a summary.
5 Likes
Hypothesis: Purity culture.
In short, the logic runs that Party allegiance isn’t a matter of rational decision making, it’s a matter of convictions and loyalty. If you don’t vote for a Republican, you’re not making a logical choice, you’re betraying an ideology. You’re a waffler. A RINO. Someone who’s not serious. Someone who is, like so many liberals, just a fair-weather friend to The Cause.
That makes you, like every other liberal out there, part of the Out Group. Doesn’t matter if you agree with 95% of the party’s line - disagree with 5%, and you may as well be a Cultural Marxist.
The overly religious are often prone to this manifestation of a “loyalty litmus test.” Though make no mistake - the left absolutely has this as well. It’s more or less that the left is less driven by ideology overall, so those who cling to purity culture on the left aren’t loud voices within it – for better (currently less prone to buffoonish laws passed in the name of some wonky belief system) , and for worse (Sanders is one of those more ideological voices, and he’s marginalized because of it.)
7 Likes
You sound like you’re looking to make this an issue.
The only reason to care about the taxes is if you’re looking for a reason to try to convince others not to vote for him or you’re an IRS agent who likes to look at tax returns in your spare time because you’ve never learned to stop working when you’re not at work.
5 Likes
Are you really that concerned about where his $11 of taxable interest and $2 of taxable dividends came from? Now I’m curious what you think might be lurking in his 1098’s.
12 Likes
I’m concerned that he’s been funding both parties. He clearly gave $1.50 to the GOP and so did his wife.
7 Likes
You are not Bernie Sanders, and that is not his full tax return.
What gets described as uncivil in this race is actually pretty appallingly mild from the perspective of what the general is going to look like. If Clinton can’t take the gentle boil of this particular kettle, she might as well drop out now.
4 Likes
I’m quite sure Clinton can take it, but this is making me think she has some very bad political strategists surrounding her. No real surprise there, I guess, but I worry about her chances against Trump.
7 Likes
I’m confused. What is missing? His deductions? The one time we took deductions, we didn’t submit an itemized list. You give the amount you’re deducting and you keep the list for seven years in case you get audited. Are you looking for specific interest accrued on interest-bearing deferred retirement accounts? Standard deduction for a joint return and their self-employment (wife’s?) is even listed.
You’re comparing a tax return of approximately $205,000 with another person’s $30 million. You’re not gonna find a lot in there but you could infer a lot with a couple who makes $30 million, which is why Clinton is being carefully transparent.
6 Likes
I’m sure she can, which is why I think it’s a form of calculated babyness and I’m surprised anyone is falling for it.
3 Likes
I think the whole point is to tar Sanders with the claim that he’s hiding something. Not that whatever he’s “hiding” is anything particularly nefarious.
13 Likes
Also, this law is about declaring gifts, perks, and establishing a government ethics office (in the wake of Watergate). It doesn’t require any presidential candidates to release their tax returns. The latter has evolved as a tradition not because it’s a legal requirement.
6 Likes
The idea that one career politician is less career politician than another career politician is one of the more bewildering ones of this campaign.
2 Likes
