The 1992 The Real World cast member turned author, activist and professional speaker Kevin Powell, having failed to unseat the 10th District‘s 14-term incumbent Ed Towns in the 2006 and 2008 primaries, and apparently uninterested in holding any city- or state-level elected office, is once again seeking the Democratic nomination this year. So he filed a financial disclosure form (three months past the deadline), which revealed, according to the Brooklyn Paper, that he owes the government $615,000 in unpaid taxes.
Let’s not be too harsh: freelance checks for essays and speaking engagements, which don’t automatically deduct Social Security and payroll taxes, are treacherous, treacherous things—all the more so if you’re doing well, and owe upper-bracket percentages (I assume). Still. Would you vote for a Congressional candidate who explains his messy finances by reminiscing about his impoverished boyhood and lifetime of poor money decisions on the Huffington Post? (I like the part where he blames his mother for not giving him any concrete financial advice.)