Trump won’t like what we find in his tax returns

Plus: Happiness is overrated. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a mystery box of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - At long last, we’ll see [Trump’s tax returns](. - Congress has been [shockingly productive](. - The UK faces a bleak [winter of strikes](. - Covid has forever [changed the economy](. What’s in the (Trump Tax) Box? A “mystery box” show is one whose primary allure is an IV drip of clues about an underlying mythology that promises to blow the audience’s mind when finally revealed. The archetypal mystery box is “Lost,” which opened with several mysteries, such as: - Where is this island? - What is that monster? - Why is there a polar bear? - Does Evangeline Lilly have another facial expression? … and piled on more enigmas from there. Too often, the ultimate reveal in these shows is disappointing, with the satisfaction level inversely proportional to the intensity and duration of the buildup (sometimes known as “The [Chris Carter Effect](”). After six years and 121 episodes, “Lost” annoyingly ended by suggesting the real answers were the friends we made along the way. Donald Trump’s tax returns would seem to be a real-world example of this phenomenon. We’ve been watching this dreary series since 2015, when the [Queens man]( became the first presidential candidate in decades to buck the tradition of releasing his returns. Everybody immediately assumed he was hiding nightmarish details and wanted to see them that much more. And now, after a years-long court battle by the House Ways and Means Committee, we will soon, at long last, get a peek inside the box. Unlike “Lost,” however, there may be a real payoff. A [report]( by the Joint Committee on Taxation suggests the returns show Trump was not exactly a Boy Scout about claiming deductions and income. Please take a moment to absorb this stunning news. Tim O’Brien knows more about what’s in this particular box than the “Lost” writers knew about their own show. He became one of the few humans to actually see the mysterious returns during his own winning court battle with Trump. And he too suggests we keep a bib handy to catch all the [juicy details that will drip from them](. Suffice it to say Trump’s legal and political jeopardy, already high, will only rise from here. For him, this mystery box is less “Lost” than “[Se7en](” (content warning for cursing, violence, Kevin Spacey). Bonus Trump-Accountability Reading: Shout-out to [Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger](, who sacrificed their careers for their country. — Robert George Congress Recently More Gallant Than Goofus Beating Trump in the 2020 election was just about the best most Democrats could have reasonably expected from the first two years of President Joe Biden, with a 50/50 Senate and a narrow majority in the House. Of course some expected him to be [FDR II](, but they were soon disappointed. For a long time it seemed as if Co-Presidents Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would let nothing get done. But then came a series of shocking breakthroughs, with assistance not only from Manchin and Sinema but a handful of Republicans. Biden and the 117th Congress, now in its lame-duckery, [ended up passing substantial bills]( on infrastructure, guns, climate and much more, notes Jonathan Bernstein, capped off by a [spending deal]( that will avert a government shutdown and also make it less likely for Trump or some future Trump to overturn an election result. Bloomberg’s editorial board calls the [spending deal fiscally reckless](, the project of too much hasty sausage-making. But the overall work product of the past two years suggests a party in power can get things done, Jon writes, when it has specific, carefully considered policy priorities beyond trying to annoy the opposition and rile up the base. Everybody’s Unhappy In a feel-good piece just in time for the holidays, Andreas Kluth suggests [the quest for happiness is a fool’s errand](. Existence is suffering, and any joy we manage to wring out of it is fleeting. It’s wise advice, which I plan to give my daughter when she complains Santa didn’t bring the LOL doll she wanted. Seriously, though, it really is more important, and achievable, to make sure your life is full of love and meaning. For many public workers in the UK this holiday season, their quest for meaning will involve trying to at least get decent pay. It’s a cause for which they are prepared to go on strike, making millions of Brits deeply unhappy in the process. Bloomberg’s editorial board urges both sides to cut a deal. [Massive strikes won’t help the cause](, but the government also needs to cop to skimping too much on payroll. Compromises may not maximize anybody’s happiness, but they at least minimize the misery.    Bonus Unhappiness Reading: [Peaceful protests don’t work]( anymore; violence does. — Leonid Bershidsky Telltale Charts After nearly three years of the Covid pandemic (and, sigh, counting), it’s not too soon to identify [ways the crisis has permanently affected our economy](, writes Allison Schrager. A very big one, which some of us may have noticed in the course of holiday shopping, is that there are many unnecessary trips to the store we will just never take again. As we [mentioned]( yesterday, citing one study, people just aren’t spending as much on Christmas anymore. Justin Fox, as is his wont, takes a deep dive into several studies and data sets, which confirm that, yep, [people just aren’t spending as much on Christmas]( anymore. Further Reading Wells Fargo [had one job](. — Matt Levine People expect the [Ukraine war to cool in the winter](, but it’s constrained not by weather but by a lack of weaponry. — Max Hastings [Wall Street forecasters got 2022 corporate earnings right](, but for the wrong reasons, and whiffed on stock prices. — Jonathan Levin Opportunities to [trick the elderly out of their money]( have never been richer. — Teresa Ghilarducci ICYMI Ukraine's President Volodymyr [Zelenskiy met with Biden]( in the White House. Xi Jinping is [pushing for Ukraine peace talks](. Sam [Bankman-Fried’s Bahamas jail conditions]( haven’t been bad, actually. Kickers Scientists discover [a “hell planet](,” and it’s not Earth. (h/t Alexandra Ivanoff) Scientists generate [male and female cells from one person](. [Crochet improves attention](, a study has shown. The best TV shows of 2022, from [the AV Club]( and [Alan Sepinwall](. (They’re both wrong; “Andor” should be No. 1.) Notes:  Please send crochet needles and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net or @markgongloff@mastodon.world [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022