Call me old-fashioned, but I find it deeply touching that Warren Buffet never took a carry-forward loss on his personal income tax return. And I was comforted when less than 24 hours after Donald Trump accused Buffett of taking a “massive deduction” in last week’s awkward presidential “debate,” the 86-year-old Oracle of Omaha issued a humble G-rated, 237-word statement.

“I have paid federal income tax every year since 1944, when I was 13. (Though, being a slow starter, I owed only $7 in tax that year.) I have copies of all 72 of my returns and none uses a carry-forward,” he said.

A slow starter? At age 13? That’s adorable.

“Mr. Trump says he knows more about taxes than any other human. He has not seen my income tax returns. But I am happy to give him the facts,” Buffett said.

Contrast that with Trump’s boasting in the debate that he used his $916 million business loss in 1995 to evade paying personal income taxes for years, his refusal to turn over his returns – on top of being a letch who gropes – and suddenly the thought of sifting through 72 years of Buffett’s tax returns seems like a walk in the park or a dip in the clear blue sea.

The nightmare of Trump’s small hands uncontrollably groping a growing number of women on airplanes and in nightclubs and dressing rooms is nauseating, so in honor of Monday’s deadline for rich people to file tax returns after a six-month extension, treat yourself. Don’t think about the number of women Trump has assaulted; instead, imagine all the little numbers in Buffett’s big returns. It’s a much better numbers story: a hardworking boy who became a successful man who doesn’t grope.

Buffett’s numbers, when pieced together, are that mosaic we call the American Dream. Millions and millions of little numbers in boxes, columns and rows on thick ivory sheets of paper telling a story of spectacular success that spans decades of both Republican and Democratic administrations. Let us be reminded of what is good and great about America so we don’t lose sight of it.

The end of this ugly campaign hasn’t been written yet, but Buffet’s story is destined to have a happy ending because he’s pledged to give away 99 percent of his wealth to charity. With a net worth of $64 billion, Buffett doesn’t hide behind an audit. He’s a rich man who without hesitation supports Hillary Clinton for president of the United States, even though her tax plan will cost him a lot of money.

“I have been audited by the IRS multiple times and am currently being audited. I have no problem in releasing my tax information while under audit. Neither would Mr. Trump – at least he would have no legal problem,” Mr. Buffett said. And he’s brawny, too, challenging Trump to meet “any place, any time” to field questions about their income tax returns.

“My 2015 return shows adjusted gross income of $11,563,931. My deductions totaled $5,477,694, of which allowable charitable contributions were $3,469,179. All but $36,037 of the remainder was for state income taxes.

“My federal income tax for the year was $1,845,557. Returns for previous years are of a similar nature in respect to contributions, deductions and tax rates,” Buffett wrote.

Trump’s tax plan would make Buffett a richer man. Trump calls for the elimination of the estate tax and for the very highest earners, the top 0.1 percent like Buffett, to see their rates drop from 40 percent to 33 percent, in addition to slashing the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, according to The Washington Post.

Clinton’s tax plan, on the other hand, is described as “the most explicit and ambitious plan to tax the rich ever laid out by a major-party presidential nominee.” It will limit some deductions high earners can claim and end the tax benefit known as carried interest, as well as increase taxes on some capital gains and ramp up the estate tax, bumping the rate from a maximum of 40 percent today to as high as 65 percent for individual estates valued at more than $500 million.

Clinton’s plan will help working families, especially low-income parents with young children, doubling the existing child tax credit and expanding it to an estimated 14 million more families. Her plan also creates new tax credits for out-of-pocket health-care expenses and for caring for a parent or grandparent. She wants to impose a 4 percent additional tax on the less than 1 percent of individuals who earn $2.5 million or more per year and, tipping her hat to the Omaha Sage, Clinton wants a new minimum effective tax rate of 30 percent, modeled on the “Buffett rule,” for individuals earning $1 million or more.

Be still my beating heart.

Cynthia Dill is a civil rights lawyer and former state senator. She can be contacted at:

dillesquire@gmail.com

Twitter: dillesquire