Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Trump is Not a Self Made Man

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think anyone really thought he was.

--Hiram

Sean said...

Republicans will shrug their shoulders at these revelations -- that their POTUS has likely defrauded American taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars -- and go back to trying to drug-test food stamp recipients.

John said...

Probably.

I vote we go after both the tax and welfare cheats...

Anonymous said...

Yes, by all means. Let's spend $10 to recoup $1. That's an efficient use of our tax dollars.

Moose

John said...

I used to work for a company that took almost every wrongful injury / death law suit to court whether it made financial sense or not.

They knew that setting a consistent precedent was more important than saving money on a few cases. In summary:

"If questionable folks know they can get by with it, more people will try."

Anonymous said...

I don't think the Times story will have even the staying power of the now forgotten Woodward book. What is both amazing and inexplicable to me is that the Times didn't do the story during the presidential campaign. Now of course, it makes no difference.

--Hiram

John said...

I was wondering if tax fraud has a statute of limitations?

John said...

I ask and USA Today answers

Laurie said...

I think I likely provided links related to Tump is not a self made man 2 years ago.
So how long are you going to stand by your crooked guy, John?

John said...

As long as my crooked obnoxious guy supports capitalism, businesses, reducing regs, improving trade deals, reducing welfare loopholes, stopping illegal entry, deporting illegal workers, etc it is really hard to care what the idiot did decades ago.

Do you think he should be impeached for this old transgression?

What would you recommend?

Laurie said...

I would recommend investigation. What would the GOP have done if Hilary was president and this report came out?

John said...

Seems like an okay idea.

Something like Whitewater?

Sean said...

Congress should, at minimum, subpoena his more recent tax returns to see if similar patterns remain. Who took over the role of "bailing out Donald" once his dad passed away?

Sean said...

And, oh by the way, Trump's sister is a federal judge. If she's been enriched by illegal tax scheming, she should be impeached.

Sean said...

"As long as my crooked obnoxious guy supports capitalism, businesses, reducing regs, improving trade deals, reducing welfare loopholes, stopping illegal entry, deporting illegal workers, etc it is really hard to care what the idiot did decades ago."

Thanks for aptly summing it up. You'll gin up any controversy about Hillary (those unfounded Clinton Foundation allegations look quaint in comparison to the scope of these allegations) to raise questions about her suitability for the office, but look away so you get your tax cut.

You're a phony.

Anonymous said...

Do you think he should be impeached for this old transgression?

The emoluments clause violation is a basic impeachable offense. But it won't happen. I do think Trump should pay his back taxes however.

--Hiram

John said...

Investigating and making the family pay their back taxes with penalties if appropriate sounds good. I was just reading about the sister and it sounds like she is old and retired.

Please remember that I voted against Hillary because I disagreed with her platform, not her past lies and possible crimes... I was faced with 2 candidates of questionable character, I chose the sketchy obnoxious character who's platform was more aligned with my beliefs.

As a note, I am pretty sure my personal taxes will be the same or higher since I live in a highly taxed liberal state. I am just pro-capitalism / pro-jobs, there I support Trump's platform.

Sean said...

Suggesting at this point that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are equivalents in the character department gives away the game.

Sean said...

Colluded with Russia? Well, we're jailing Mexican kids, so who cares?

Hundreds of millions of dollars in tax fraud? Yeah, but no individual mandate!

Any behavior by Trump or Kavanaugh or any other Trump crony will be excused to achieve the political aim.

John said...

Now I realize that you really dislike Trump, however:

- Mueller has in no way proven collusion between Trump and Russia

- Trump has paid off mistresses, not sure if that is a problem or not yet

- The tax fraud has been reported and yet no tax authority has verified any improprieties yet. And they have looked many time before.

- The jury is still out if Kavanaugh committed any crimes...

I am fine with investigating and punishing if appropriate. What do you want that is different?

As for arresting minors... Blame their guardians, not out law enforcement...

John said...

As for Hillary Clinton, I am sorry but I would not trust her anymore than Trump.

She is more knowledgeable, well spoken and capable, but I personally think she is also scheming, self serving, narcissistic, vindictive, etc... There has been so much smoke following that family for so long, it is hard to believe otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Trump publicly invited the Russians to produce Hillary's emails. Isn't that what collusion looks like?

--Hiram

John said...

Apparently questionable if it is a crime.

John said...

"Trump said that collusion is not a crime.

If he means that in a strictly legal sense, he is wrong because collusion is part of antitrust legislation. If he means it in the only way that fits with Russian interference in the 2016 election, then a broader definition applies.

Some legal experts don’t see how coordinating with the Russians violates the criminal code. But others can name specific statutes that could be triggered.

Those laws don’t include the word "collusion," but they do cover the sort of actions under investigation by the special counsel. Activities by the Trump campaign might have broken laws that deal with elections, public corruption or computer fraud.

We don’t say that anyone in the Trump campaign violated these laws. The point is that coordination with Russian representatives potentially could violate them.

We rate this claim Mostly False."

Sean said...

"There has been so much smoke following that family for so long, it is hard to believe otherwise."

Heh.

The only one of those scandals -- all investigated fully, mind you -- that found any wrongdoing by any Clinton was Bill Clinton's lying about an extramarital affair and Hillary Clinton's less-than-optimal e-mail practices.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's charitable foundation has been shut down by the State of New York. Donald Trump's lawyer has asserted under penalty of perjury that Donald Trump directed him to commit a felony. Donald Trump has been fined for discriminatory rental practices. Donald Trump paid a $25 million settlement for running a fraudulent "university". Donald Trump was found guilty in 1991 of using undocumented workers on Trump Tower and not paying union and pension contributions he was required to for other workers. Trump was fined multiple times while he owned Atlantic City casinos, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars -- some of the violations involved discrimination against black employees and customers and buying cars for mobsters. Donald Trump was fined $750,000 for violating antitrust laws in an attempt prevent other companies from opening casinos in New York and New Jersey.

John said...

As I said... "She is more knowledgeable, well spoken and capable, but I personally think she is also scheming, self serving, narcissistic, vindictive, etc... "

Maybe she has not been caught because she is more knowledgeable, well spoken and capable...


You will likely claim that my view of her is partisan, but the reality is that I would trust her no further as my financial planner than I would Trump. She may do better if properly motivated, however I have no doubt that she would skimming the top somehow. :-)

Sean said...

I love it when you demonstrate that your devotion to principles is just a bunch of hooey.

John said...

Have you ever interviewed or met someone who you just know deep down is shift / untrustable?

Being the a life long engineer, I usually have tried to fight these unexplainable perceptions / beliefs... But being 52 years old I have learned that often they are correct.

Have you ever read Blink?

Sean said...

Have you met Hillary Clinton? Please tell me about it.

John said...

Sean,
I am happy for you that you like and trust her. I simply do not, and it unlikely that I ever will. Unless I do happen to meet her and she wins me over.

Kind of like it is highly unlikely that I will ever like or trust Trump.


Back on topic.
AP Probes of Trump taxes carry potential for millions in fines

Anonymous said...

There is an interesting distinction to be made here. Trump got rich not by cleverly exploiting tax loopholes, he got rich because he had a deep understanding of vulnerabilities in IRS enforcement procedures. He knew where no one would be watching whether or not he was cheating. Among other things, it's are reminder that our tax system is largely based on an honor system. In fact, there are no guns to anyone's head, that the system relies on people voluntarily coming former and stating their income accurately and honestly.

--Hiram

Sean said...

Your "feelings" tell you that a person who hasn't faced any legal jeopardy for any of her actions is just as shady as a person who has a 45-year record of trouble with the authorities.

Maybe it's *you* who has the problem, not her. Maybe your radar is off due to your biases.

John said...

Hiram,
I don't think he is that smart... I am guessing he had smart tax advisors.

Sean,
That as always is a possibility that I keep in mind. Though it is probably not an issue anymore unless she tries to run for POTUS again. Maybe third time would be the charm. :-)

Anonymous said...

The tax schemes aren't at all complicated. Trump simply revalued his properties according to context. And he disguised gifts as loans. he could do this easily because he wasn't involved in running a public company, with outside shareholders to whom he was accountable.

What appears to be the case is that the Trump Organization was an illusory business to a large extent. It didn't make money, it moved money around in ways motivated by a desire to avoid taxes.

We are the richest country in the world yet despite the largest tax cuts in history, we have massive deficits. How is this even possible? The answer can be found in the life and career of President Trump. We see that for him and people like him, wealth isn't created by creation of value, it's created my manipulation of paper, and primarily by tax avoidance, both legal and illegal. This hasn't always been true. Trump's fortune was created by his dad who built houses for a living. But it's been true for a long time, for about as long as Trump presented his illusion of personal wealth to Americans who relish being lied to.

--Hiram

John said...

So how did the governmental auditors miss this “simple stuff”?

Since the wife operates her own private business, I know one has to keep good records?

Or are government employees incompetent or corrupt?

Sean said...

The reality is that the IRS doesn't do much auditing, and is doing even less of it as time goes on. Since 2011, the number of personnel assigned to compliance has declined by about 25%, and audit rates are at their lowest point in this century (about 0.6% for individuals and about double that for non-individuals).

John said...

And yet we know that he has been audited multiple times over the past decades.

How did they miss this if it is true?

Anonymous said...

So how did the governmental auditors miss this “simple stuff”?

Just didn't have the staffing.This sort of thing doesn't show up on anything the Trump corp would have filed with the government. As a privately held corporation it wasn't subject to a lot of filing requirements and fiduciary obligations.

We are not good at taxing rich people. Their affairs are complex and not easily tracked. This is especially true of privately held family companies where their are no outside shareholders who demand accountability. My guess is that the Trump orgainzation is an illusory company in that it's perception of prosperity is the result of tax avoidance and simply moving money around. Without adherence to generally accepted rules of accounting, no one, not even Trump, can really know what's going on. It might even be the case that Trump has deluded himself as to how his company is actually doing.

--Hiram