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Originally Posted by classicman
Wow, all good points. Is it actually achieving the desired result or is it just eliminating more candidates.
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It achieves results. I think it is a good thing for government officials to be up to date on their taxes, and it is a good thing for people who hope to eventually get those positions to have extra incentives to be squeaky clean. Those are good results in themselves.
From a strictly utilitarian standpoint, however, it probably does some harm. Someone can be extremely effective in a position, even if their past isn't pristine - sometimes in politics they can be more effective (not necessarily in tax issues, but in general). "Do as I say and not as I do" isn't an admirable position, but it's the rare parent who never has to take it.