Watching (with great distaste) Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden -- where 4 hours in, he still hasn't shown up. Flipping boring!
But couldn't help noticing the slogan all over everything: "Trump Will Fix It." What?!?!?
Donald Trump's career as a businessman is a litany of successes (not very many) and failures, some of which underscore significant issues with his approach to risk, management, and ethics. For example:
After receiving over $400 million from his father, Trump has filed for corporate bankruptcy six times, each time related to his casinos and hotel businesses. Sure, bankruptcy can be a legitimate tool for restructuring, but Trump's repeated use of it is surely evidence of risky over-leverage. He has always borrowed heavily and expanded aggressively, so in the end his ventures couldn't withstand financial downturns,. The result? Huge losses for investors and creditors, even as Trump himself often emerged relatively unscathed. Was he thinking of others, or himself? Will he think of you, or himself?
Trump’s companies consistently failed to pay contractors and small businesses for their work. Lawsuits and settlements document claims that contractors, from carpenters to architects, were either underpaid or not paid at all for their services, creating financial stress for small businesses that counted on timely payment. What do you think of his ethics when he so frequently disregards his ethical obligation to honor business agreements?
Trump University claimed to teach people real estate success strategies. The program was not an accredited university, and students paid thousands of dollars in fees. A series of lawsuits alleged that the university’s promises were misleading, with high-pressure sales tactics used on students who often ended up disappointed. Trump settled a class-action lawsuit for $25 million without admitting wrongdoing, but the case painted a damning picture of the enterprise as exploitative. Ethical business man?
Trump's businesses have been involved in literally thousands of lawsuits, with many alleging unethical practices. The high number of legal cases show a contentious business style that often leaves former partners, employees, and customers dissatisfied -- and uncompensated. While litigation is sometimes inevitable in business, the volume and nature of these cases underscore questions about the ethical conduct of his ventures.
Much of Trump’s business success derives from branding rather than innovation or industry expertise. His business model increasingly relied on licensing his name, often for real estate projects he did not own or manage. Sure this was profitable, but it depends heavily on maintaining a positive personal brand image, rather than delivering value through the underlying business activities themselves. And, hardly surprising, it has resulted in failed branding ventures, like Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka, where the products did not meet market expectations. Any consumer knows that the name doesn't mean a thing if the quality is poor.
Several of Trump's ventures have raised questions about ethics and legal standards. For example, his charitable foundation was dissolved after an investigation found it had engaged in self-dealing—using funds from the nonprofit for personal or business expenses rather than charitable purposes. I can't understand MAGA's lack of skepticism about his commitment to ethical business practices.
Okay, but he was a TV star with his show, The Apprentice. But that show wasn't really Trump -- it was very highly scripted by a production team labouring hard to disguise their star's eternal confusion and incompetnce. "Our job was to reverse-engineer the show and to make him not look like a complete moron," one member of the production team said.
And his marriages fail -- repeatedly -- mostly because he can't even commit to those and keep his sex life at home where it belongs.
Even the inflation that his supporters hate so much, and blame solely on Biden, has been shown so often to the result of his terrible handling of the pandemic, the consequent need for billions in support payments to workers in hundreds of job categories, and ruptured supply lines. (And that inflation has, slowly, I grant, been wrestled under control by Biden's administration.)
This man ruins everything he touches -- and his MAGA supporters somehow think that "Only Trump Can Fix It," meaning, one supposes, everything.
Now, does anyone want to ask me what I think of the intelligence and discernment of MAGAs? Please don't ask -- I might have to break some Forum rules in answering.
But couldn't help noticing the slogan all over everything: "Trump Will Fix It." What?!?!?
Donald Trump's career as a businessman is a litany of successes (not very many) and failures, some of which underscore significant issues with his approach to risk, management, and ethics. For example:
After receiving over $400 million from his father, Trump has filed for corporate bankruptcy six times, each time related to his casinos and hotel businesses. Sure, bankruptcy can be a legitimate tool for restructuring, but Trump's repeated use of it is surely evidence of risky over-leverage. He has always borrowed heavily and expanded aggressively, so in the end his ventures couldn't withstand financial downturns,. The result? Huge losses for investors and creditors, even as Trump himself often emerged relatively unscathed. Was he thinking of others, or himself? Will he think of you, or himself?
Trump’s companies consistently failed to pay contractors and small businesses for their work. Lawsuits and settlements document claims that contractors, from carpenters to architects, were either underpaid or not paid at all for their services, creating financial stress for small businesses that counted on timely payment. What do you think of his ethics when he so frequently disregards his ethical obligation to honor business agreements?
Trump University claimed to teach people real estate success strategies. The program was not an accredited university, and students paid thousands of dollars in fees. A series of lawsuits alleged that the university’s promises were misleading, with high-pressure sales tactics used on students who often ended up disappointed. Trump settled a class-action lawsuit for $25 million without admitting wrongdoing, but the case painted a damning picture of the enterprise as exploitative. Ethical business man?
Trump's businesses have been involved in literally thousands of lawsuits, with many alleging unethical practices. The high number of legal cases show a contentious business style that often leaves former partners, employees, and customers dissatisfied -- and uncompensated. While litigation is sometimes inevitable in business, the volume and nature of these cases underscore questions about the ethical conduct of his ventures.
Much of Trump’s business success derives from branding rather than innovation or industry expertise. His business model increasingly relied on licensing his name, often for real estate projects he did not own or manage. Sure this was profitable, but it depends heavily on maintaining a positive personal brand image, rather than delivering value through the underlying business activities themselves. And, hardly surprising, it has resulted in failed branding ventures, like Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka, where the products did not meet market expectations. Any consumer knows that the name doesn't mean a thing if the quality is poor.
Several of Trump's ventures have raised questions about ethics and legal standards. For example, his charitable foundation was dissolved after an investigation found it had engaged in self-dealing—using funds from the nonprofit for personal or business expenses rather than charitable purposes. I can't understand MAGA's lack of skepticism about his commitment to ethical business practices.
Okay, but he was a TV star with his show, The Apprentice. But that show wasn't really Trump -- it was very highly scripted by a production team labouring hard to disguise their star's eternal confusion and incompetnce. "Our job was to reverse-engineer the show and to make him not look like a complete moron," one member of the production team said.
And his marriages fail -- repeatedly -- mostly because he can't even commit to those and keep his sex life at home where it belongs.
Even the inflation that his supporters hate so much, and blame solely on Biden, has been shown so often to the result of his terrible handling of the pandemic, the consequent need for billions in support payments to workers in hundreds of job categories, and ruptured supply lines. (And that inflation has, slowly, I grant, been wrestled under control by Biden's administration.)
This man ruins everything he touches -- and his MAGA supporters somehow think that "Only Trump Can Fix It," meaning, one supposes, everything.
Now, does anyone want to ask me what I think of the intelligence and discernment of MAGAs? Please don't ask -- I might have to break some Forum rules in answering.
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