Another Big Reason to Keep Trump Out of the White House

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by JCS, Oct 12, 2024.

  1. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    With a mountain of reasons piling up to keep Donald Trump out of the White House, the following is another reason to add that hits closer to home & is more personal to those who were the victims of Trump's business & financial abuses.

    Untold Story of Trump's Abuse Goes Viral At Worst Moment Possible



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    USA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills
    Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will "protect your job." But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them. [...] Trump’s companies have also been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according to U.S. Department of Labor data.
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/

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    Donald Trump Got a Tax Break For Stiffing Contractors
    Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., nearly flushed Forest Jenkins’ company Triad Building Services down the toilet.

    In 1988 and 1989, Jenkins, a contractor, spent months installing the stall walls in the bathrooms of the mega-casino. The job was supposed to pay $231,000. The check for the work, though, never showed up, stretching the finances of Jenkins’ small construction business. Eventually Jenkins, whose business did manage to survive the episode, was paid $70,000, or 30 cents on the dollar in the restructuring that followed. The episode still upsets Jenkin’s daughter, Beth Rosser.

    “I grit my teeth every time I see him on television talking about what a wonderful businessman he is,” Rosser said of Donald Trump in a CNN interview in September. “He stepped on a lot of people.”

    But Trump may not have only “stepped on” Jenkins and others. It now appears that Trump may have used those unpaid bills to contractors and other small businesses—their losses—to give his bank account a second lift, using a tax maneuver many are calling essentially a “double dip.”

    https://fortune.com/2016/10/08/donald-trump-taxes-contractors/

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    Some in South Jersey have a message for Trump: Pay your old Atlantic City casino bills
    ...for the carpenters, electricians, plumbers, window installers and other contractors who built Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City three decades ago, the wounds from not being paid still fester.

    In Atlantic City, Trump bragged that the Taj Mahal — which he claimed had a price tag of $1.2 billion — was the “eighth wonder of the world.” Not only was it considered the largest casino anywhere, it was adorned with crystal chandeliers from Austria, hand-sewn carpets from Britain, Carrara marble from Italy and 70 onion domes that towered over the Atlantic City boardwalk.

    But the Taj, as it came to be called, was built on financial sand.

    What Trump didn't say was that he financed the Taj with junk bonds. And what he did not tell the scores of contractors who worked on the overly lavish casino was that he could not pay their bills.

    https://www.northjersey.com/story/n...who-built-taj-mahal-atlantic-city/4547037002/

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    Why the Trump campaign won’t pay police bills
    Ten city governments from Arizona to Pennsylvania say the president’s political committee has stiffed them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
    https://publicintegrity.org/politics/donald-trump-police-cities-bills-maga-rallies/

    ---------------------------

    Trump's campaign still owes El Paso over $500K for 2019 rally, other cities also unpaid
    We also reached out to the other 11 cities on the CPI named as still being owed money, these cities are:

    1. Tucson, Arizona
    2. Mesa, Arizona
    3. Albuquerque, New Mexico
    4. Spokane, Washington
    5. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
    6. Billings, Montana
    7. Erie, Pennsylvania
    8. Lebanon, Ohio
    9. Green Bay, Wisconsin
    10. Burlington, Vermont
    11. Minneapolis, Minnesot


    https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/trump...-500k-for-2019-rally-other-cities-also-unpaid

    ---------------------------

    Unpaid Debts Follow Donald Trump on Campaign Trail
    Four cities across the United States are seeking more than $700,000 from Donald Trump's campaign team as reimbursement for rallies they helped stage between 2016 and 2019, according to a Newsweek investigation.
    https://www.newsweek.com/unpaid-debts-are-catching-donald-trump-campaign-trail-1950283

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    LAWSUITS

    Trump Lawsuit Tracker: 4095 Lawsuits over three decades
    Donald Trump and his businesses have been involved in thousands of legal actions in federal and state courts over the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.
    https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/

    ---------------------------

    Trump Administration Lawsuit Tracker: 266 lawsuits filed against Trump by The Center for Biological Diversity
    Two Hundred and Sixty-six Center Suits Filed Against the Trump Administration

    The Center for Biological Diversity resisted the Trump administration in every way possible — especially in the courts.

    From the moment Trump took office to his very last day, our lawyers worked feverishly to oppose every attempt his administration made to worsen climate change, kill wildlife, endanger public health, and destroy public lands.

    And it worked. The Center filed 266 suits against the Trump administration from its inception to its last day. We've won 9 out of every 10 resolved cases. Read on for details.

    https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/trump_lawsuits/index.html
     
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  2. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    A Quora user by the name 'Tyler Bannister' posted the following explanation on how Trump gets away with stiffing his contractors - no doubt learned from his father & Roy Cohn. It's a good run-down of how it works, and illustrative of the procacity & callousness of Trump, so I decided to share his post.

    -------------------------------------------

    By Quora user 'Tyler Bannister'
    https://www.quora.com/If-Trump-actu...jects-how-did-he-get-away-with-it-for-so-long

    Is it true that Trump had a penchant for not paying his contractors?

    Is is [sic], in fact, true that Trump routinely refused to pay his contractors. Before Trump decided to run for president, the Trump organization had been involved in around 3,000 lawsuits which is a very abnormally large number given the limited scope of the Trump organization’s operations.

    How, legally?

    Trump would abuse contract law to essentially turn theft into a contract dispute. The Trump scam worked like this:
    1. Choose a small contractor
      1. Small contractors would be less able to fight back, and more likely to take out loans to complete the work, they were also more likely to be dazzled by the promises in step 2.
    2. Trump lavishes them with praise, tells them how he’s heard great things about their work, and how if they do a great job he’s going to make sure every developer in New York wants them. Then while they’re star struck, offer them a small advance with the bulk of the payment in the latter half of the job.
      1. If the contractor refuses, find a more gullible contractor to exploit.
    3. Delay any agreed upon payments as much as possible.
    4. Wait until the contractor is about 2/3rds done.
      1. This is crucial because they need the contractor to be in debt and worried about going bankrupt if they don’t get paid soon.
    5. Have a Trump employee call the contractor and tell them that Trump is on the warpath and is absolutely furious about something.
      1. Having an employee call instead of Trump himself, allows the employee to pretend to be an ally, and to try to convince the contractor that the employee is on their side.
      2. The employee will try to use this opportunity to fish for actual problems by asking the contractor if they know or suspect why Trump is furious.
        1. Actual problems can be used in step 6 and step 8 to undermine the contractor, and make the scam seem like a legitimate dispute.
    6. The employee will suggest that if the contractor offers to take a reduced payment, that might mollify Trump. They will direct that suggestion to a 2/3rds discount, and the employee will offer to do what they can to get Trump to overlook whatever the problem is.
      1. The employee is trying to make it look like he’s doing the contractor a favor and stress that if they don’t offer the cut, the employee might not be able to convince Trump to pay anything.
      2. If the contractor makes the offer, scam completed.
        1. The contractor might not even realize that they were scammed. They may even think that they avoided being sued by Trump by making the offer.
    7. If the contractor refuses, the employee hangs up and calls back later claiming they tried to convince Trump to honour the contract, but that Trump is still furious and they’ll have to sue the Trump organization to get the money.
      1. The employee warns the contractor that Trump is hugely influential in the industry, and hates getting sued, and that if they sue Trump it’s pretty likely that he’ll warn all of his business partners against working with the contractor, and it could ruin their business whether they win or lose the lawsuit.
        1. The goal is to sow doubt that suing is worth the risk.
      2. If the contractor doesn’t sue, scam completed.
    8. If the contractor sues, Trump’s lawyers file for every court delay they can manage.
      1. Most of the small contractors had to borrow money to pay employees and for materials because they weren’t paid up front. They have loans that have to be repaid. Delaying the case often meant a default victory when the company suing Trump went bankrupt.
      2. If the “friendly” employee managed to wheedle any useful or embarrassing confessions out of the contractor, expose those in court.
      3. If the company goes bankrupt during the court case, scam completed.
    9. If they can’t bankrupt the contractor over legal fees, try to offer slightly more money for an out-of-court settlement with a non-disclosure agreement.
      1. If the company accepts the settlement, scam partially completed.
    10. If they won’t settle, eventually pay what the court orders Trump to pay.
      1. If the contractor wins in court, scam failed.
    11. Lie to everyone, and claim the contractor did inferior work and tried to rip Trump off, and that Trump proved they were frauds in court.
      1. If the bad mouthing works, court loss avenged.
    The goal of the scam is to convince the contractor that they did something wrong, and that it’s their idea to offer Trump the two thirds discount. Thus it isn’t Trump stealing from them, it’s them making up for failing to do the job they were expected to do.

    This scam must have been pretty successful, because the Trump organization ran it literally thousands of times, and the Trump organization only rarely had to pay their contractors the full amount that the contractors were owed.

    --------------------------------------------------------

    On the man who nurtured, groomed & weaponized Trump's hunger for power:

    Roy Cohn: The ‘evil’ master architect who mentored Donald Trump, as seen in The Apprentice movie
    Decades before Trump erected his Tower, an insidiously well-connected New York power-player was cutting a ruthless path through US society, politics and courtroom battles. A new film charts Roy Cohn’s outsized influences on America and the 45th president, writes Sheila Flynn.

    The very mention of Roy Cohn during his four decades of headline ubiquity could spark anything from anger to hatred to fear; his shadowy legend persists nearly 40 years after the death of a man dubbed a “new strain of sonofabitch” – by his own autobiography co-author, no less.
    Now those that missed Cohn’s infamous antics the first time around will meet him in a new film, The Apprentice, by director Ali Abbasi, which will be released in theaters in October. Pop culture darling Jeremy Strong from Succession stars as Cohn, the Joseph McCarthy lieutenant who created the blueprint that Donald Trump followed all the way to the presidency.
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ce-trump-roy-cohn-jeremy-strong-b2628062.html


    NOTE: For those interested, the release date for the movie, The Apprentice, is Oct 11.

    Description of film:

    A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as the hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of cutthroat lawyer Roy Cohn. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protege: someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
     
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  3. Junkieturtle

    Junkieturtle Well-Known Member Donor

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    Saying that it's "piling up" is a bit of a generous way to state it. The truth is, the pile has been there for years and we can no longer see the top.
     
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  4. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I know what I am looking for accurate information I go to Quora ;)
     
  5. Pro_Line_FL

    Pro_Line_FL Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Now he is claiming crime is down globally and up in US because every nation is emptying their prisons and sending their criminals here.

    Few problems
    1. Countries are not emptying their prisons and sending their prisoners her
    2. Even if his claim was true, it would not have an impact on world's crime rates, since those people were already in prisons. Duh! What happened to common sense
    3. Crime in US is decreased dramatically, which is the total opposite of what he claims
     
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  6. perotista

    perotista Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The choice is between Trump and Harris, for those who dislike both and don’t want neither one to become the next president there are the other options of voting third party against both or just staying home, not voting at all.


    Over the last 3 or 4 decades I’ve seen so many personal political attack ads from both sides on the other side, all designed to get the voter to hate the other guy more than they hate your guy. There has been a million and one reasons for voting against the other candidate, but what hasn’t been seen in all this time is one reason to vote for your guy. This election is no different, tons of reason thrown to the voter for not voting for Trump or not voting for Harris, but not a single reason to vote for either one other than Harris isn’t Trump and Trump isn’t Harris. That’s not enough for me. I can determine that fact with one quick glance at both to have figured that out.


    Until I see or get a valid reason to vote for either Trump or Harris other than all this negativity, a positive reason, not this Trump isn’t Harris or Harris isn’t Trump, I’m not going to vote for either one, I won’t choose between them or two who are being portrayed as the evilest scumbags on the face of this earth.
     
  7. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    True.
     
  8. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    I don't know which of the several candidates running that you favor, but for those who don't want banana republic dictator Trump to sit in the White House, there are two reasons why voting for a third party in this election is not a good idea right now:

    1. American's aren't progressive enough (in numbers) to vote for a third party candidate. So voting third party dilutes votes for Harris & risks a win for Trump.
    2. Voting third party will likely be more productive the next election cycle (2028 ), as America's MAGA/Trumpism movement will have died down considerably (among other positive changes), giving Americans more courage & confidence to consider making the transition away from the usual establishment two-party politics.

    So I wouldn't expect any major, meaningful changes until both Trump & MAGA are no longer relevant.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2024
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  9. Space_Time

    Space_Time Well-Known Member

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    Will you watch the movie:
     
  10. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    When you are swimming with sharks sometimes you have to become one..... Show me a single wealthy person in this world that didn't get that way by cutthroat tactics at some point somewhere along the line.... Show me one of them.

    Not like any of the other politicians are any better. Congress makes a salary of $186,000 a year I do believe.... So show me how they all became multi-millionaires while supposedly doing the people's business.
     
  11. caroasi

    caroasi Newly Registered

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    The main idea of the OP seems to be that one of Trump's businesses went bankrupt. Considering that over half of businesses do fail, that doesn't seem to be a valid reason not to vote for Trump. This is why many construction companies require deposits, especially for large projects of something like 25% to 50% (see link). So yes, one can claim to be a very good business man and yet have many bankruptcies.

    I would suggest everyone start practice failing at business now rather than later, because AI bots are going to be taking most jobs over the next decade.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/the-true-failure-rate-of-small-businesses/361350
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2024
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  12. Darthcervantes

    Darthcervantes Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I’m not sure how this hurts him as he’s openly admitted taking advantage of loop holes.
     
  13. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  14. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  15. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    Other than your question being proof that capitalism sucks - the major issue is that Trump is a career criminal (and currently awaiting sentencing), a sexual predator, and a pathological liar. But he's also certifiably insane & wants nothing more than to become America's dictator. I would think that should be enough reason to keep him out of the White House. At least other presidents didn't attempt an insurrection to stay in power.

    BTY, I find it amazing that there are varying restrictions on felons who wish to vote, but any felon can run for president.

    I would assume that some already have businesses and/or financial investments, or were already wealthy from an inheritance, a business, or high-paying former job. Others get donations, gifts, benefits, etc. from wealthy contributors (in return for favors).

    But these are the types of candidates we need to swing away from. I'd like to see a simple low to middle class progressive or independent as the nation's president. All this capitalism crap is getting old, and it's only keeping humanity in the dark ages. We can do much better than having to constantly pander to the will of whiny, entitled private interests.
     
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  16. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    I know enough about Trump already, so I'm not particularly interested in any movie about him. But I may watch it just for kicks when it comes on TV.
     
  17. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Capitalism is the best system that humans have come up with. Capitalism bought you the nation of America but a lot of progressives think that America is really not that great. Are you one of those?
     
  18. Hey Now

    Hey Now Well-Known Member

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    Trump = #UNFIT
     
  19. JohnHamilton

    JohnHamilton Well-Known Member

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    It all depends on your perspective. Which one is least qualified to be president and will do more damage to this country and the world if elected? My answer is Harris. He campaign has shown how bad she is.

    She couldn’t even pick a decent running mate. Walz might be worse than she is if he’s a Communist Chinese Trojan horse. He’s obviously as dumb as she is and a teller of tale tales.

    Trump is disappointing; Harris is a disaster.
     
  20. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    The best system is one which provides for the physical & psychological well-being & health of all, including the environment.

    Capitalism began in ancient times from greed & avarice. All emperors/kings/rulers were capitalists who leveraged wealth to operate & command armies as a means to subjugate & tax vast regions of territory. (Is the American empire any different?) In truth, there's no reason for any would-be king to invade & conquer distant cultures living peacefully & contently on their own except for wealth & power. Conquered cultures need not fall under the rule of large empires for their well-being.

    If the people of one culture feel they're 'superior' in some way to another culture, rather than invade, they should offer to share what they have to that culture, and allow them the choice of accepting or rejecting that offer. The result would be that the 'inferior' culture would not be harmed or compromised & could continue their own self-determination. And the 'superior' culture will likely find that it can learn something valuable as well. Together, the two cultures could mutually benefit & advance further than if they remained isolated as long as neither culture is compromised.

    Capitalism is great for the few - not for the many. One should want a system that's great for all. Cooperation & the sharing of innovation is what would be great for all - and money is not a necessity for this.

    Tell the natives how great the founding of America has been to them. They were thriving & in the tens of millions before the European colonies invaded. Columbus' arrival began the start of the destruction of indigenous cultures in the New World.

    My opinion is irrelevant to the truth of what's going on. There are pros & cons to every nation of course. But it should be understood that America is a capitalist empire & continues to operate as one - so the US (along with its allies) poses the greatest economic, military, and environmental threat to the nation's of the world & the environment.

    Being a capitalist controlled nation, the US is similarly impacted domestically. Domestically, the US is a disaster. So if one believes America is 'great', one would have to ignore the growing epidemic of poverty, lack of affordable housing, homelessness, substance abuse, chronic illness, crime (lower now, but still high), high imprisonment, and political discord - as well as environmental degradation - all made possible with the increasing concentration of wealth/power in the hands of private interests.

    If the public's needs are not addressed, this collapse will continue. Ironically however, the public has the greatest ability/power to make these changes.
     
  21. Turtledude

    Turtledude Well-Known Member Donor

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    I don't expect you can prove this claim

    I don't think you can prove this claim.
     
  22. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    Logic. There's no reason for an individual to wish to establish an empire except for a desire to conquer other cultures/territories as a means to expanding one's wealth & ability to control others.

    Look around you. Watch the news. Watch documentaries. Read books. Read articles.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2024
  23. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I guess that he thinks socialism is better where everyone suffers in equal poverty.

    Socialist tend to think that everything should be "fair" but they don't realize that the fair comes to town but once a year and that they missed it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2024
  24. JCS

    JCS Well-Known Member Donor

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    If there was any love for a Chinese (or other) dictator in the blood of a presidential candidate, it would be Trump. He thinks Xi, Putin, Kim Jong, and Orban are great people.
     
  25. JohnHamilton

    JohnHamilton Well-Known Member

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    Far be it from me to point the flaws in your delutional opinions.
     
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