The publication titled “The Nation” just published a book report on a book titled, “Evicted”, written by a sociologist named Matthew Desmond”, a graduate student in Milwaukee who spent 15 months living among Milwaukee’s poorest citizens. Although the link below provides more details, two facts are abundantly clear:
!) being a slum lord is enormously profitable
it’s time to read Proverbs 28:27 again
2) the “fixes” by the modern Republican Party make the problem of poverty much worse than it should be otherwise
food for thought
We don’t often think of Donald Trump as a slumlord, but his actions as a landlord mimic the most egregious acts by some of the landlords mentioned in the book shown above. Starting in 1981, Trump started his career as a slumlord when he bought a hotel close to Central Park, with plans to tear it down and put up luxury condos in its place.
why does the word “scumbag” come to mind here?
Trump’s purchase of the hotel was greatly aided by the fact that he worked for his father’s company while still in college. By the time that he graduated, he was worth the equivalent of $1,000,000 (in 2015 dollars) . His legal problems started 3 years after graduating from college, when the Justice Department accused him of violating the Fair Housing Act.
The notes listed under “business career” at the link below show that he has been involved in PLENTY of shady deals over the years. According to an analysis by “The Economist” in 2016, his performance from 1985 (when he first became independent from his father’s company) until today is “mediocre” when compared to the stock market or property in New York. As President Obama quipped during the recent “White House Correspondents Dinner” (when discussing the closing of Guantanamo) , Donald Trump has had plenty of experience running waterfront property into the ground.
you’re daddy’s rich, and your ma is good lookin’
His rough treatment of the existing tenants started almost immediately, and litigation continued for nearly 20 years. Ultimately, Trump was not successful in tearing down the hotel and replacing it with condos. Ironically, his company still owns a small number of units in the building, and his son Eric owns a flat on the top floor.
Although there are plenty of other examples to show why Donald Trump should NEVER be President, few stories provide a better picture of his true character than the sage that started just outside Central Park in 1981.
According to pollster Nate Silver, it is statistically impossible for Donald Trump to ever get elected President. According to Silver, Trump would only collect 30% of the Electoral Votes needed to be elected President, and would likely by the most lopsided Presidential victory since Ronald Reagan’s defeat of Walter Mondale in 1984.
A Trump Presidency, of course, would be an absolute disaster, but his campaign is likely to result in some positive results:
1) there’s a very good chance that the Democrats will regain control of the Senate, and will make significant headway in the House
2) Merrick Garland will get confirmed to the Supreme Court
3) Democrats and Republicans will start working together again, and will fashion deals similar to the McGovern-Dole Act of 2002
4) Reince Priebus will become unemployed
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