Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, when discussing the candidates with avid Trump supporters, here were their most common talking points about the individual they planned on voting for:
- "He's not the typical politician. He's an outsider."
- "He just tells it like it is."
- "He fears nothing/nobody."
- "He's not going to be bought out by lobbyists and special interest groups. He's campaigning with his own money."
- "The guy's a billionaire. He knows business. America is a business. He should be given a shot to run this business."
While the first talking point may be partially accurate, the middle three have been debunked time and time again. The last talking point was the most oft-used and the one I want to focus on today.
As the Mueller probe continues, it's becoming increasingly less clear just how much money Donald Trump possesses or is worth. It's also becoming increasingly more likely that he made or maintained at least some of this wealth via illegal means. Is a supposed billionaire inevitably guilty of white-collar crimes? No, of course not. But Donald Trump isn't most billionaires.
It's incredibly ironic that the Republican Party ran on the mantra of "We Built That" leading up to the 2012 presidential election and then nominated a supposed billionaire, who had arguably never earned a penny of that himself, in 2016. Trump ran a handful (or so) businesses into the ground. He received hundreds of millions of dollars from his uber-rich father; was surrounded by business-savvy individuals throughout his life; and ended up becoming president due to this fortune of circumstance.
That was the reality so many Trump-voters refused to acknowledge leading up to election day. They wanted to believe this man was innovative; intelligent; did things legally; earned every dollar he made; and was able to achieve the American dream all by his lonesome. Reality dictated another storyline, however. Even if Trump genuinely earned every cent he made, it would have been inevitable that he'd face conflicts of interest when entering the White House and that's the biggest problem with even just the thought of hiring such an individual to run the country.
In the days of yesteryear, perhaps having a self-made millionaire (if there really is such a thing) could have its advantages. Taxes on the rich were seen more as an obligation and less of a burden. The middle-class was viewed more as a necessity as opposed to potentially problematic competition. That's not the era we live in, however. The wage gap has increased to its largest level since the Great Depression (yes, there's a reason why we had the Great Recession). A large majority of tax-breaks go to the top 2% of money earners. Tax loopholes tend to fall more into the laps of these same individuals. The goal of such billionaires anymore isn't to do everything in their power to help more financially succeed to the level they have; it's to continue to increase their fortune at the expense of the bottom 98%. This includes making investments in foreign lands, either for tax reasons or others. Unless a politician cut off said ties, he/she would be compromised in their Oval Office-decision-making. It's bad enough for politicians' policy decisions to be influenced by domestic special interest groups; it's doubly worse for politicians' policy decisions to be influenced by foreign entities, especially if they have ties to their "respective" governments. Do we really want our country's leader to be influenced by foreign governments due to personal financial investments he/she has made in that nation?
When it comes to a businessperson running this country, Donald Trump is the worst of both worlds. He didn't earn his wealth. Everything was handed to him by his father. He appears to have illegally cheated the system (sadly, there are ways to legally cheat the system). He also was, not only compromised by domestic entities; he's been compromised by foreign entities. Here's a man who has no actual record of being a successful businessperson; has failed a multitude of times with his business ventures; and has been compromised in every possible way. Don't believe me? Ask the president to release his tax returns. Oh, he won't do that? Why not? Ah, that's right, an audit which has allegedly been taking place since before he was born. Donald Trump is the epitome of a conflict of interest, where he's conflicting with American ideals, the U.S. Constitution, and everything our soldiers and Founders fought and stood for.
- "He's not the typical politician. He's an outsider."
- "He just tells it like it is."
- "He fears nothing/nobody."
- "He's not going to be bought out by lobbyists and special interest groups. He's campaigning with his own money."
- "The guy's a billionaire. He knows business. America is a business. He should be given a shot to run this business."
While the first talking point may be partially accurate, the middle three have been debunked time and time again. The last talking point was the most oft-used and the one I want to focus on today.
As the Mueller probe continues, it's becoming increasingly less clear just how much money Donald Trump possesses or is worth. It's also becoming increasingly more likely that he made or maintained at least some of this wealth via illegal means. Is a supposed billionaire inevitably guilty of white-collar crimes? No, of course not. But Donald Trump isn't most billionaires.
It's incredibly ironic that the Republican Party ran on the mantra of "We Built That" leading up to the 2012 presidential election and then nominated a supposed billionaire, who had arguably never earned a penny of that himself, in 2016. Trump ran a handful (or so) businesses into the ground. He received hundreds of millions of dollars from his uber-rich father; was surrounded by business-savvy individuals throughout his life; and ended up becoming president due to this fortune of circumstance.
That was the reality so many Trump-voters refused to acknowledge leading up to election day. They wanted to believe this man was innovative; intelligent; did things legally; earned every dollar he made; and was able to achieve the American dream all by his lonesome. Reality dictated another storyline, however. Even if Trump genuinely earned every cent he made, it would have been inevitable that he'd face conflicts of interest when entering the White House and that's the biggest problem with even just the thought of hiring such an individual to run the country.
In the days of yesteryear, perhaps having a self-made millionaire (if there really is such a thing) could have its advantages. Taxes on the rich were seen more as an obligation and less of a burden. The middle-class was viewed more as a necessity as opposed to potentially problematic competition. That's not the era we live in, however. The wage gap has increased to its largest level since the Great Depression (yes, there's a reason why we had the Great Recession). A large majority of tax-breaks go to the top 2% of money earners. Tax loopholes tend to fall more into the laps of these same individuals. The goal of such billionaires anymore isn't to do everything in their power to help more financially succeed to the level they have; it's to continue to increase their fortune at the expense of the bottom 98%. This includes making investments in foreign lands, either for tax reasons or others. Unless a politician cut off said ties, he/she would be compromised in their Oval Office-decision-making. It's bad enough for politicians' policy decisions to be influenced by domestic special interest groups; it's doubly worse for politicians' policy decisions to be influenced by foreign entities, especially if they have ties to their "respective" governments. Do we really want our country's leader to be influenced by foreign governments due to personal financial investments he/she has made in that nation?
When it comes to a businessperson running this country, Donald Trump is the worst of both worlds. He didn't earn his wealth. Everything was handed to him by his father. He appears to have illegally cheated the system (sadly, there are ways to legally cheat the system). He also was, not only compromised by domestic entities; he's been compromised by foreign entities. Here's a man who has no actual record of being a successful businessperson; has failed a multitude of times with his business ventures; and has been compromised in every possible way. Don't believe me? Ask the president to release his tax returns. Oh, he won't do that? Why not? Ah, that's right, an audit which has allegedly been taking place since before he was born. Donald Trump is the epitome of a conflict of interest, where he's conflicting with American ideals, the U.S. Constitution, and everything our soldiers and Founders fought and stood for.
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