Tim Cook, Tech CEOs and Top Republicans Attend Secretive Meeting About Donald Trump

[Sanlitun]

You don't have a clue what socialism means. It will be clear one day who has your money. It's not the poor btw.

Well said. I feel that Americans are often wildly deluded about how the world around them really works.

Where I live we are no longer citizens and partners in our nation, but rather just a subject commodity that has no real freedoms, just those liberties the law now allows us. We work in the mine, and shop in the company store so to speak.

As big as a buffoon as Trump may be, the thought of eight years of Hillary is unthinkable in comparison. If he does nothing but get rid of H-1B, caution those corporations that are not participating as real stakeholders in the nation (cough Apple cough etc), and then even nothing else at all he would still be the greatest president since Ike.

 

[bent christian]

Creates jobs? I'd like to see how many people he employs today.

He employs many people, but how many inside of our borders? That is the question.

 

[jmpage2]

A "small loan" of $6.8 million in today's dollars, his father as co-signer for $70 million more, and an ultimate inheritance of over $200 million. There is nothing about Donald Trump that is "self-made". He is a product of inter-generational wealth.

"I love the poorly educated" - Donald Trump

I think most of us would consider ourselves pretty successful if we got a loan from our parents and were able to grow that as much as Trump did.

To put it into terms the average person could relate to.... if my dad loans me $25,000 so that I can open a pizzeria and 30 years later I own a chain of pizza joints and have a net worth of over $10,000,000 am I "self made" or am I someone who was lucky enough to have a "rich parent" who helped me get my start?

I don't agree with some of the things that Trump says, but I find people who claim as you do that his wealth is simply due to circumstance a bit ridiculous as well.

 

[cdarlington1]

Actually I have been following FOX news quite closely
They were quite against Trump
Even now it's pretty much 50:50 with their presenters

Agreed. Its not that they supported him but they created the conditions for him to succeed...

 

[firewood]

Say it's 20%, a company with $10,000,000 in sales couldn't post more than a $2,000,000 profit.

A 20% upside and a 100% downside. I'd love to be the house if any s*ckers wanted to place bets with those odds. The majority of corporations already fold or go under, and you want to worsen the odds. That's a perfect proposal if you wanted every intelligent businessman/women to move offshore rather than be forced to go bankrupt.

 

[bent christian]

I think most of us would consider ourselves pretty successful if we got a loan from our parents and were able to grow that as much as Trump did.

To put it into terms the average person could relate to.... if my dad loans me $25,000 so that I can open a pizzeria and 30 years later I own a chain of pizza joints and have a net worth of over $10,000,000 am I "self made" or am I someone who was lucky enough to have a "rich parent" who helped me get my start?

I don't agree with some of the things that Trump says, but I find people who claim as you do that his wealth is simply due to circumstance a bit ridiculous as well.

You mysteriously left out that $200 million dollar inheritance and the $70 million co-signed loan. Hmm.

The more money you have in this country, the easier it is to continue making money. Anyone who has money knows this. I know this from personal experience. Those familiar with the realities of our economic system know this as well. Less educated people with less money (the Trump base) do not.


Donald Trump’s tax returns may be hiding a bombshell — but it’s not what you expect

Income taxes are a financial burden on many Americans and the buoyancy of billionaire Donald Trump’s presidential campaign seems to underscore anger over economic forces that have left many out.

USA Today reports that perhaps the GOP front runner has been hesitant to release his tax returns because they will show the system his supporters are angry about is rigged in his favor.

“The big story is not the true size of his wealth, but about how Congress has turned the income tax into a source of massive wealth for many of the richest Americans, including Trump,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston.

Johnston explains how the American tax code makes the rich richer while everyone else bears the burden.

It is possible that Trump has not paid federal income taxes in many years — making him one of the “47 percent” of Americans the Republican’s previous presidential nominee was caught complaining about.

Tax laws require property owners like Trump to depreciate the value of buildings, even if the market value of the building is going up. If landlords on paper earn just a dollar less than “traditional income” from work and business due to depreciation, they owe no income taxes.

“To understand how reporting a negative income can be profitable, take a look at your pay stub,” Johnston explains. “If Congress gave you a deal similar to Trump’s, instead of the government deducting taxes from your paycheck, you would keep that money — like an interest-free loan — and could use it to make more money.”

Casino documents uncovered by Johnston show that Trump used real estate depreciation to avoid paying income taxes shortly after graduating from college.

Roughly 2.1 million Americans report negative income yearly, but Congress doesn’t know how many of those are failed small businesses and how many are billionaire landlords like Trump. Johnston says the IRS will not release a number.

Trump, a reality TV star and real estate mogul, is the only candidate in the race that has so far refused to release his tax information. He says it’s due to an audit, but Johnston points out that doesn’t stop him from releasing his returns, or returns from previous years that are not being audited.

Instead Trump may be hiding behind the audit because he has garnered support by ratcheting up anger among economically depressed people. He positions himself as the people’s hero against the Washington elite. But Trump’s tax returns may show that he is the very enemy he promises to thwart.

“The big story in Trump’s tax returns is that Congress has created two income tax systems, separate and unequal,” Johnston writes. “One system burdens most Americans. The other enriches the donor class.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/do...ding-a-bombshell-but-its-not-what-you-expect/

 

[farmboy]

I think the most recent administration has been far more dangerous and destructive. Look at the killing of Gaddafi and the unseating of Mubarak in Egypt. Both of those actions severely weakened the Middle East and caused many deaths. It lead to the creation and rise of ISIS, which Obama called "junior varsity". Look at the people that died from FAST AND FURIOUS. The American Embassy in Libya. The list is very long. And the horrible and expensive domestic policies that have crippled many working class families here at home. This has been the worst administration in American history.

That being said, I see very little difference between the two political parties. "Demicans and Republicrats" is really all we have now.

I like Trump as a candidate exactly because he is not the same old "professional politician" or lawyer turned politician. Professional politicians have turned America and the world into a virtual "S*** Stew".
[doublepost=1457449492][/doublepost]

He knows how to create jobs and wealth. He is the only candidate that has ever built or created a product or service that anyone has been willing to pay for[/QUOTE]

The removal of Mubarek was all Egyptian factions. Ghaddafi was killed by Libyans who, with the aid of UN air support, tired of 40 years of brutal rule and perpetual 50% unemployment, and we don't even have to mention Pan Am 103, do we? There was no American embassy at Benghazi, it was a CIA listening post meant to fit in with a low profile so that various rebel group representatives could come in and plan in coordination with intelligence agencies (the American Ambassador was killed, however). Fast and Furious was a debacle, what about Iran Contra under Reagan? What about the 39 US official compounds attacked in eight years under GW Bush, to the tune of 87 dead? Trump will be no different.

Trump DOES NOT know how to create jobs; there is no evidence of this. Closed casinos and hotels? Trump University? Trump Steaks? Trump Airlines? Trump Vodka? Trump Magazine? Trump Mortgage? He has gone bankrupt four times, and divorced twice, so he has a decades-long track record of not sticking to his commitments and majorly screwing others depending on him. He leaves a trail of bankrupted vendors he screwed over. Sounds like a politician. They said the same for GW, "he's an oil man, he knows how to create jobs"--yeah, for Halliburton. Other than that...

Trump creates wealth? No, according to some analysts he has $4 billion, but he would have had as much as $13 billion if he would have invested in an indexed fund (Fortune, Bloomberg and others). So a financial genius he is not.

Besides, how would he create jobs--public works projects, bigger defense spending? Oh wait, we don't have the money for that. And if we did that increases the size of government.

Trump fleeces people, that's his talent. And he's fleecing votes right now.

 

[jmpage2]

You mysteriously left out that $200 million dollar inheritance. Hmm.

The more money you have in this country, the easier it is to continue making money. Anyone who has money knows this. I know this from personal experience. Those familiar with the realities of our economic system know this as well. Less educated people with less money (the Trump base) do not.

Oh please, do go on!!

You see, my wife and I are small business owners, she has a doctorate and I have a degree. Please continue telling people you disagree with how uneducated they are, it's certainly worth bonus points among the elitists out there... you might get called out on it periodically though, like now.

Our net worth isn't shabby either, especially considering our very modest starts in life. Our accumulation of wealth has had less to do with smart investing or having "lots of capital" and a lot more to do with patience and self-restraint.

There seem to be far too many people out there with no self restraint who spend their money faster than they can make it. Increasing social programs and increasingly validating a victim attitude aren't going to fix that problem.

 

[pooleman]

He knows how to create jobs and wealth. He is the only candidate that has ever built or created a product or service that anyone has been willing to pay for

The removal of Mubarek was all Egyptian factions. Ghaddafi was killed by Libyans who, with the aid of UN air support, tired of 40 years of brutal rule and perpetual 50% unemployment, and we don't even have to mention Pan Am 103, do we? There was no American embassy at Benghazi, it was a CIA listening post meant to fit in with a low profile so that various rebel group representatives could come in and plan in coordination with intelligence agencies (the American Ambassador was killed, however). Fast and Furious was a debacle, what about Iran Contra under Reagan? What about the 39 US official compounds attacked in eight years under GW Bush, to the tune of 87 dead? Trump will be no different.

Trump DOES NOT know how to create jobs; there is no evidence of this. Closed casinos and hotels? Trump University? Trump Steaks? Trump Airlines? Trump Vodka? Trump Magazine? Trump Mortgage? He has gone bankrupt four times, and divorced twice, so he has a decades-long track record of not sticking to his commitments and majorly screwing others depending on him. He leaves a trail of bankrupted vendors he screwed over. Sounds like a politician. They said the same for GW, "he's an oil man, he knows how to create jobs"--yeah, for Halliburton. Other than that...

Trump creates wealth? No, according to some analysts he has $4 billion, but he would have had as much as $13 billion if he would have invested in an indexed fund (Fortune, Bloomberg and others). So a financial genius he is not.

Besides, how would he create jobs--public works projects, bigger defense spending? Oh wait, we don't have the money for that. And if we did that increases the size of government.

Trump fleeces people, that's his talent. And he's fleecing votes right now.[/QUOTE]

Your first 2 sentences are direct lies. Maybe that is a bit harsh. I guess they aren't "lies" if you truly believe it. But they are not true.

So because he made 4 billion instead of 13 means he doesn't know how to create wealth? What is 4 billion dollars? Isn't that wealth? It's hard to take you seriously at this point.

Yes, he has several failed businesses. Most new businesses fail in the first 2 years. That's true of all company's from large solar companies to small mom and pop bakeries. He has many active, thriving businesses. You try something, it fails, you try again. How is that a bad thing?

You dislike Trump. That's obvious.

 

[bent christian]

Oh please, do go on!!

You see, my wife and I are small business owners, she has a doctorate and I have a degree. Please continue telling people you disagree with how uneducated they are, it's certainly worth bonus points among the elitists out there... you might get called out on it periodically though, like now.

Our net worth isn't shabby either, especially considering our very modest starts in life. Our accumulation of wealth has had less to do with smart investing or having "lots of capital" and a lot more to do with patience and self-restraint.

There seem to be far too many people out there with no self restraint who spend their money faster than they can make it. Increasing social programs and increasingly validating a victim attitude aren't going to fix that problem.

That's a nice anecdotal story about BOOTSTRAPS!, but you completely ignored all the relevant points I brought up.

 

[pooleman]

There seem to be far too many people out there with no self restraint who spend their money faster than they can make it. Increasing social programs and increasingly validating a victim attitude aren't going to fix that problem.

PREACH IT BROTHER!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, these days, self reliance and hard work will always loose to the promise of free college, free health care, free pot, and an Obama phone.
[doublepost=1457470178][/doublepost]

That's a nice anecdotal story about BOOTSTRAPS!, but you completely ignored all the relevant points I brought up.

I read your whole post without nary a "relevant point" in sight. I must have missed it.

 

[You are the One]

There are very few people in America that truly live in poverty. You can't live in poverty and have a cell phone, cable , and a large screen tv.

There are some in the US that are truly in poverty, but many poor people here are poor because they are irresponsible financially.

Respectfully, Food Stamps Still Feed One in Seven Americans Despite Recovery, you have an incredible national debt.

You spend more on your intelligence services alone than the combined military budget of Russia and China.

Actually, you can't afford making wars all over the world so how is it done? By having the privately owned Fed print tons of money out of nothing and in exchange for that receive US collaterals. Then the greedy bastards charge interest on top of it. This leads to inflation which is just another form of hidden tax of the US people.

The EU is a result of the actions of the same criminal psycho mafia gang and is completely destroying Europe.

Cut the head of the snake choking your great nation and live prosperous together with the rest of the people of this planet.

Audit the Fed.

 

[inhalexhale1]

Trump is an example behind the rationale for having a representative or electoral democracy, not one that is directly elected by the people.

Right, so a group of people get to decide on who we can vote for, which leads to endless homogenization toward an agenda that we're not privy too. If politicians and other leaders weren't so obviously in it for themselves, caring about their own interests, Trump, Sanders, and a populist message would not have this platform.

 

[highdough]

It shocks me that people think Trump is an anti-establishment candidate that will represent the "average American". He may not be part of the political establishment, but if people think he wants to bring the system crashing down have to realize that goes directly against his own self-interest. And if anyone actually thinks Trump is running for president because he wants to help the average American might want to take a look at how he's made his money. He has NEVER cared about the average American.

[Edit]

And people are afraid of Trump as president because they fear how much damage he'll do to the country, not because he's a political outsider.

 

[bent christian]

So because he made 4 billion instead of 13 means he doesn't know how to create wealth? What is 4 billion dollars? Isn't that wealth? It's hard to take you seriously at this point.

Donald Trump made $4B from an inheritance that would be roughly $1B in today's dollars.

You find that amazing?
[doublepost=1457470525][/doublepost]

I read your whole post without nary a "relevant point" in sight. I must have missed it.

Yes.

 

[pooleman]

Respectfully, Food Stamps Still Feed One in Seven Americans Despite Recovery, you have an incredible national debt.

You spend more on your intelligence services alone than the combined military budget of Russia and China.

Actually, you can't afford making wars all over the world so how is it done? By having the privately owned Fed print tons of money out of nothing and in exchange for that receive US collaterals. Then the greedy bastards charge interest on top of it. This leads to inflation which is just another form of hidden tax of the US people.

The EU is a result of the actions of the same criminal psycho mafia gang and is completely destroying Europe.

Cut the head of the snake choking your great nation and live prosperous together with the rest of the people of this planet.

Audit the Fed.

I completely agree. I'd argue that not everyone on food stamps truly need them. They just take advantage. Not all, but many.

And yes. Government spending is out of control. Funding wasted on garbage and far too many people with their hands in the cookie jar.

 

[bent christian]

Also, Obama Phones.

 

[jmpage2]

No, no trolling, I hardly know what trolling really means actually.

But anyway - I see your argument is that he actually did not do very well in business. Maybe that is so, it's hard for me to really know. Certainly, he could have put his money in the S&P 500 and sat on it I guess.

Yes, he could have simply invested his money and sat back like a wealthy do-nothing oaf and he would have a higher net worth today.

Of course hindsight is always 20/20 so easier for people to sneer about it now.

There's also the small matter of his having gainfully employed 10's of thousands of people through his direct actions as a business owner, something that wealthy playboy Rockefellers, Rothchilds and others who donate heavily to political causes know very little about.

 

[pooleman]

Also, Obama Phones.

I mentioned those above.

 

[bent christian]

There's also the small matter of his having gainfully employed 10's of thousands of people through his direct actions as a business owner

Well, the numbers are debatable, but there is no denying that many of those people were undocumented immigrants and offshore production laborers.

But that was in the past. Trump is the one guy who will change it all.
[doublepost=1457471027][/doublepost]

I mentioned those above.

I know! I was reiterating. Driving the point home.

Obama Phones!

 

[jmpage2]

Also, Obama Phones.

You know, a phone is a luxury, it is not a necessity. Obama recently also stated that high speed internet is a necessity and not a luxury so taxpayers will soon be on the hook for providing free high speed internet for do-nothings to hook up their xboxes to.

It could have been argued during the 50's and 60's that television and radios were "necessities" as well, since at the time they were the only means for receiving things like public service messages. To have suggested that at the time though would have been widely (and rightly) ridiculed. If you want a TV, radio, mobile phone, internet, then work for it.

Well, the numbers are debatable, but there is no denying that many of those people were undocumented immigrants and offshore production laborers.

But that was in the past. Trump is the one guy who will change it all.

So what percentage of his workers were undocumented? You can provide that? You can show that he was the manager who directed that they be hired? I saw a pretty weak puff piece over at HuffPo that was talking about how his resorts in FL employed many foreign workers. They actually could find only ONE person who had interviewed for a job, had wanted the job and had not gotten a follow-up. The majority of those who applied and were offered the job REFUSED because it was seasonal work at $10 an hour and they were seeking full time work. $10/hour SEASONAL work... PERFECT WORK for those who want to visit the US LEGALLY ON A VISA to do that work or other seasonal work like crop harvesting in California.

Perhaps you can provide specific examples of where he fired his American workers and replaced them with foreigners? Oh right, you can't, because unlike Disney, HP and others, he didn't.

 

[pooleman]

You know, a phone is a luxury, it is not a necessity. Obama recently also stated that high speed internet is a necessity and not a luxury so taxpayers will soon be on the hook for providing free high speed internet for do-nothings to hook up their xboxes to.

It could have been argued during the 50's and 60's that television and radios were "necessities" as well, since at the time they were the only means for receiving things like public service messages. To have suggested that at the time though would have been widely (and rightly) ridiculed. If you want a TV, radio, mobile phone, internet, then work for it.


So what percentage of his workers were undocumented? You can provide that? You can show that he was the manager who directed that they be hired? I saw a pretty weak puff piece over at HuffPo that was talking about how his resorts in FL employed many foreign workers. They actually could find only ONE person who had interviewed for a job, had wanted the job and had not gotten a follow-up. The majority of those who applied and were offered the job REFUSED because it was seasonal work at $10 an hour and they were seeking full time work. $10/hour SEASONAL work... PERFECT WORK for those who want to visit the US LEGALLY ON A VISA to do that work or other seasonal work like crop harvesting in California.

Perhaps you can provide specific examples of where he fired his American workers and replaced them with foreigners? Oh right, you can't, because unlike Disney, HP and others, he didn't.

Careful friend. Presenting all these facts could be considered a micro aggressive act.

 

[Yojimbo007]

I have it in VERY Good Authority that this is not true… He has not attended such meeting .. And has no intention to. .. Its a bogus rumor!

 

[FieldingMellish]

All those mentioned in the OP want a malleable, play ball president who will kiss their asses and take their money. F 'em.

 

[bent christian]

You know, a phone is a luxury, it is not a necessity.

Well the problem is that no one on the Right made a peep when Regan instituted the landline program in 1984. I don't remember anyone on the Right mentioning anything in 2008 when George W Bush started the Tracfone program. It was only when Barack Obama came into office that most of us found out this program, Which had been around for 24 years in one form or another, existed.