I just read an opinion piece by John Baer titled "Why Mitt Romney's tax returns don't matter." (Not to be picky, but my English teachers always pounded it into my brain that words in headlines should be capitalized--but maybe political columnists aren't required to pass English.)
Mr. Baer claims that America wants to see Mitt Romney's tax returns merely "so we can see (a) just how rich he really is and (b) what he's hiding from the American people." He calls this, dismissively, "voyeuristic curiosity." He says what we'd find out doesn't matter.
While making sure that Mr. Romney isn't hiding anything worrisome or even criminal in his financial past would certainly be a legitimate reason to ask for the returns, I think the main issue here is the candidate's stubborn refusal to show them to us. We are, after all, his prospective employers.
Picture yourself interviewing a job candidate. On his application, he lists the job he's had for the last two years, possibly even something impressive, like rocket scientist. You say, "This is great, but what did you do before that?" He says, "You don't need to know that. All you need to know about me is written there on the application."
If you're a real employer, all sorts of red flags will go up. You're not going to hire the guy. Not only are you worried about what may or may not be in his past, you don't like the fact that he won't answer your question. You want team players in the office, not prima donnas.
Imagine that Mitt is elected. I can picture him evoking executive privilege even more than G. W. Bush (his record is 6 times). Mitt's press conferences will be singularly and deliberating uninformative. If these months of job interview are any indication, Romney would be at best, a secretive president, and at worst, someone who constantly lies to us, the folks paying his salary.
So, what do you say, Mr. Romney? 5 more years of returns? That's all we ask. Or shall we thank you for your time and move on to the next job applicant?
muon
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