I guess we’ll never know with absolute certainty why Bugsy Siegel got whacked, but one of the leading theories is that the Sicilian mafia ran out of patience waiting for him to make money operating his Las Vegas casino. Of course, had he lived, he might have been able to turn his losses into a boon. He could have avoided paying income taxes for the next twenty years, got a reality show where he could pretend to be the best businessman in the country, fake-fired a hundred or so people, and run for president as the only man in existence who could fix all our problems.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Trump’s empire is just a house of cards. Maybe not the best analogy, but it all seems like those movie sets that look super real but go through a door and there’s nothing there.
Unsurprised that Trump managed to not pay taxes like forever. Thanks heaps for nothing. While he benefits from my hard earned taxes that paid for infrastructure that he used.
How this makes Trump different from Mitt RMoney’s lousy 47% is my question, albeit I get it that his fans will all lock step to say that it proves that Trump is super smart for not paying taxes. The poorz otoh are lousy lazy freeloaders looking for a hand out.
I say: what’s the difference between the poorz and Trump from a conservaworld perspective?? From where I sit: not much.
Lucky? Yeah. Trump was born with silver spoon and a rich daddy who bank rolled him. Trump figured out how to game the system, includng ripping off lots of the “little people.” Whether he’s actually as rich as he claims is even more questionable. I guess he figured the world OWED him the US Presidency. Trump doesn’t really seem to truck much in reality, other than the weird reality he creates for himself, which is enabled by surrounding himself with “yes men.”
The difference between the Bum on the Flush and the Bum on the Rod.
you can skip to 1:21 for the reference
In fairness, Siegel was a bonafide mobster; Trump just acts like one.
True – if Trump had been financed by the mob he would be dead, too.
Exactly. Trump used the dumber bankers that don’t pack heat to make their creditors pay.
An aside, once had a boss that on return from his annual Las Vegas business trip groaned about how much more profitable it had been to do business there before the suits took over from the mob. The mob took care of its embezzlers without reporting it to authorities and insurers. Did tend to limit the number of sticky fingered employees.
For all his faults, Trump didn’t rise to prominence by murdering people for a living. So he’s got that going for him.
From a Balloon Juice commenter:
Yes, but now what?
Profit!
Well, one thing after this….Trump will figure out a way to fleece them.
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Wasn’t that question answered in 2004?
“62 Million Morons”
Can Trump even match the number? Doubtful.
A tweet just reminded that a billion dollars of losses just doesn’t disappear. Someone holds it unless Trump has improbably payed it down.
And the owner of that debt owns Trump.
A tweet also pointed out that one could architect an ownership vehicle that allowed Trump to control that billion dollars that he owed himself should he wish to do that.
See what Josh Marshall has to say about the debt. Quite interesting.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/just-a-hunch–2
That’s where managing/owning through bankruptcy comes in. Here’s an overview of the bankruptcies. In the 1980s Merv Griffin and Harrah’s ate the huge losses on their deals with Trump. The Taj Mahal (first bankruptcy) was likely the largest source of his 1995 reported billion dollar tax loss.
Do we know how that tax loss came about? He apparently had other income back then of around $10m and write offs of enough to result in a loss of $915M. At that level he wouldn’t pay taxes for like forever. So what was it? Is he a genius or an idiot?
The more you read about this guy the worse it gets. His write offs may actually have come from bad debt loans from banks that he had guaranteed, but that the banks have not forgiven. And one of his tax proposals would be to lower the tax rates on LLC to 15%, and that is the kind of organization he uses to run his empire. He is out to enrich himself as President. Is it any wonder he will not release his tax returns? He likely never paid a nickel in taxes.
Don’t miss Owen Ellickson’s commentary on the election. It is clearly inspired:
It’s a godsend. It certainly saves us from the flood of smug Borowitz crap constantly erupting from the New Yorker.
Mother Jones reported interesting Trump debt problems 4 months ago:
Trump Has a Conflict-of-Interest Problem No Other White House Candidate Ever Had
And just two weeks ago, Newsweek wondered:
How the Trump Organization’s Foreign Business Ties Could Upend U.S. National Security
Honestly Trump aside it argues in the abstract for the country paying off personal debts of the president when they come into office. Obviously I see the downsides.
I cannot imagine doing this. Perhaps people with large debts shouldn’t be running for President.
Perhaps people with large debts shouldn’t be running for President.
Can we extend that to people that hob-nob with foreign dictators and their US domiciled subordinates? Remember BCCI.
Everyone has large debts.
We haven’t a dime of debt. Not even a mortgage or car loan.
Neither do we. Not even one dime.
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OTOH, how many candidates for president, governor, senator don’t have major high-dollar backers in a similar position?