Timing is everything. Were you born after 1987? Do you remember what happened in October of 1987. I won't help you. You go look it up. Everyone's taxes and finances were screwed in one 24 hour period. It would be very easy to cherry pick a whole lot of people's "tax notes" and come up with a period of time that looks bad. Besides, NYT admits - THESE ARE NOT HIS ACTUAL TAX RETURNS. THESE ARE A COLLECTION OF NOTES FROM A CHERRY-PICKED PERIOD OF TIME. There, I did it in caps so you can read it