Unstable demagogue and grifter Donald "Rump" Trump boasts about his wealth every chance he gets. His puffed up claim to be worth $10 billion, though, is false, with experts putting his actual wealth at $3.1 billion. Indeed, what may have provoked his manic attacks on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the Forbes annual list of billionaires released last month that had Bezos ranked #1 with $112 billion, while Rump fell 222 places to #766. If you don't think Rump pays careful attention to Forbes' rankings, then President Spanky is here to tell you otherwise.
But Rump is nothing if not a cheat and deadbeat. ProPublica has a report on how Rump's organization systematically sues local governments over their tax assessments to get them lowered. Ironically, his organization's standard approach is to claim the local governments over value his properties, from golf courses to high rises. The net effect is that, when Rump's succeeds, local governments' tax bases shrink, locals pay more out of their own pockets or local services have to be reduced. Rump is not unusual among real estate developers who fight local governments for reduced taxes. He is, however, in a position as President to menace them:
"'No president in modern times has owned a business involved in legal battles with local governments. The idea that the president would have these interests and then those companies would sue localities is really a dangerous precedent,' says Larry Noble, of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. The dynamic between local and federal governments is impossible to ignore in these cases, says Noble. Municipalities 'rely on resources from the federal government and the federal government can make your life easier or much more difficult.' The concern arises because the president did not fully separate from his businesses, he says." (emphasis added)The whole emoluments issue is wrapped up in this, not only from the money that's received by his businesses, but the implicit threat of retaliation if he's unhappy with local governments in their assessments. We've seen his petty vindictiveness in settling scores, and it's not hard to imagine someone is keeping score for him on this matter, too.
(photo: Making America Grift Again)
