I just finished reading the Sunday New York Times. I love reading that paper, but this morning there seemed more about Donald Trump than I wanted. I know, I know. He is the republican candidate for president in the 2024 election. But how is that actually possible? See, I’m pushing on to my 90th year this December. I came on board in December 1934, you know, the height of the Great Depression. I don’t know what life was like then. My brain wasn’t functioning yet. But I begin remembering back in, say 1939-40. We listened to that thing called a radio? Somebody called FDR, Roosevelt I think they called him, used to tell us about how life sucked in that depression. And then, just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse, FDR told us about some place in Hawaii called Pearl Harbor that had just been bombed by the Japanese warmongers. And then, I’m not sure whether it got worse or better all of a sudden. I mean, that depression didn’t just go away, but then it did, cuz we were all busily activated by our war machines. My mum got a job with a company designing naval vessels. My sis decided that school was now in the past, even though she was only 16 and a kid in Julia Richman high school. But she left her schooling and went to work with my mom as a typist at Gibbs and Cox.
And you know
what??? The daily newspapers didn’t even mention Donald Trump, or his Nazi
father. Generally speaking, Americans in the 1940s did not much like Nazi’s, of
either the German or American variety. But see Junior, you know, OUR Donald had
not yet been born. There remained lots of time for him to grow up and claim his
bone spur excuse for not serving. Now
his Daddy, Fred, was alive and kick’n. He was busily making money and teaching his
kid, Donald how to make money. His wealth has always been a bit of a mystery to
most of us. A quick check with Wiki shows the following:
“Trump has often said he
began his career with "a small loan of one million dollars" from his
father and that he had to pay it back with interest. He was a millionaire
by age eight, borrowed at least $60 million from his father, largely
failed to repay those loans, and received another $413 million (2018 dollars
adjusted for inflation) from his father's company. In 2018, he and his
family were reported to have committed tax fraud, and the New York
State Department of Taxation and Finance started an
investigation. His investments underperformed the stock and New York
property markets. Forbes estimated
in October 2018 that his net worth declined from $4.5 billion in 2015 to
$3.1 billion in 2017 and his product-licensing income from $23 million
to $3 million.
Contrary to his claims of financial
health and business acumen, Trump's tax
returns from 1985 to 1994 show net losses totaling
$1.17 billion. The losses were higher than those of almost every other
American taxpayer. The losses in 1990 and 1991, more than $250 million
each year, were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers. In 1995, his
reported losses were $915.7 million (equivalent to $1.83 billion in
2023).
In 2020, The New York Times obtained Trump's tax information
extending over two decades. Its reporters found that Trump reported losses of
hundreds of millions of dollars and had, since 2010, deferred declaring
$287 million in forgiven debt as taxable income. His income mainly came from
his share in The
Apprentice and businesses in which he was a minority
partner, and his losses mainly from majority-owned businesses. Much income was
in tax credits for his losses, which let
him avoid annual income tax payments or lower them to $750. During the 2010s,
Trump balanced his businesses' losses by selling and borrowing against assets,
including a $100 million mortgage on Trump Tower (due in 2022) and the
liquidation of over $200 million in stocks and
bonds. He personally guaranteed $421 million in debt, most of which is due
by 2024.
As of October 2021, Trump had over
$1.3 billion in debts, much of which is secured by his assets. In
2020, he owed $640 million to banks and trust organizations, including Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, and UBS,
and approximately $450 million to unknown creditors. The value of his
assets exceeds his debt.”
So,
Trump has always had both a lot of money and a lot of debt, but his debts,
often associated with his many business failures have been a bit of a cloud
hanging over him and his many wives.
According
to a Wiki summary:
“Although Trump has never filed for personal
bankruptcy, hotels and casino businesses of his have declared bankruptcy six
times between 1991 and 2009 due to its inability to meet required payments and
to re-negotiate debt with banks, owners of stock and bonds and various small
businesses (unsecured creditors). Because the businesses used Chapter 11
bankruptcy, they were allowed to operate while negotiations
proceeded. Trump was quoted by Newsweek in
2011 saying, "I do play with the bankruptcy laws—they're very good for me."
The six bankruptcies were the result of
over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York: Trump Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Plaza
Hotel and Casino (1992), Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Castle
Hotel and Casino (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts
(2004), and Trump Entertainment
Resorts (2009). Trump said "I've used the laws of
this country to pare debt. ... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a
chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know,
it's like on The Apprentice.
It's not personal. It's just business."
So, Trump was given a great deal of money from daddy, and has
made a bit of a mess over the years. But, given his lack of intellect, perhaps
his many business failures should not be a surprise.
But it really is not his lack of business acumen that is at issue
in the upcoming election. The election is really all about America—shall it/can it actually survive another election blow by Trump? There are many talks about what Trump has
done to America, including a few that suggest the possibility of a new Civil
War, should he lose this next election.
He himself has suggested a “Bloodbath” may follow the election, should
it go in the wrong direction.
But what does that all say about America, 2024? Trump is really like some horrible joke being
played on America by some outside (Vlad the Impaler??) force. I mean, we have had divisive presidents in our
past—think Nixon, Reagan . . . But none of our past presidents even came close
to the psychological mess that is playing out today throughout our
country. I mean, I do not understand how
Americans can be taking this idiot-doofus this seriously. I certainly
understand that many right wing republicans do not like Joe Biden. But, I’m sorry, Donald Trump? You actually,
seriously will cast your vote for this Idiot-Malenfant? So, you really do not care if America then
dissolves into a chaotic mess worse than anything seen before in the civilized
world? Really??? And you are willing to leave that broken pseudo-nation state
to your kids and grandkids? Really?
If that is really the case America, then I guess we do not deserve
to survive as a nation. Maybe we should all just return to whichever nation from
which our forefathers originated. Give America back to our original Native
Americans.
And how sad is that? How, after almost 90 years could I possibly
reach this state? Republicans. Please repent of your wayward ways. We need you. The world actually needs you to
be responsible. Kindly walk away from this mess you have created. Leave Donald
Trump to the Dumpster. Surely you deserve more than this big piece of trash.
Come back to that America we all loved and respected. Return to CIVILIZATION.
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