Who Cares About Tax Returns?

Obama has just released his tax returns from 2000 -2006 and is calling on Clinton to do the same. Let me say, as a general rule I think its a good idea that candidates release their tax returns when they run for President. But the idea that releasing your tax returns is a major step in government transparency is embarrassingly laughable. Obama’s tax returns don’t feed me when I’m hungry or give me warmth when I am cold.

No one cares about Clinton’s tax returns besides people trying to score political points against Clinton. This is another case of “Obama says” but “he really means.” In this case, Obama say release your tax returns in order to promote transparency but in reality, Obama means “release your tax returns so my opposition research team can find dirt on you and use it against you.” For those of you following along these are the “cheap political points” that Obama is “opposed to”.

I’m all for government transparency and this is one area that Obama has actually done good work in (Google government) But if he really cared about making this a campaign issue and a major part of his platform then he’d be advocating a plans to make the government more transparent in the way it spends money and better yet, he’d propose ways to streamline the government. He has a couple of “eh” ideas on his website, something I bet most Obama supporters didn’t even know!, but there’s nothing indicating that he wants it to be a significant part of his platform if elected.

If Obama actual ran on substance I’d be much more inclined to vote for him in the primary. But up to this point he simply says he wants to institute a vague notion of change, but at then employs all of the “negative” tactics he allegedly is opposed to.