Trump, Lessons From A Con Artist

Donald Trump has probably stolen more taxpayer money from the U. S. Government than any other elected politician in history.  One probably will never know just how much taxpayers paid to subsidize various Trump golf courses or other lodging venues.  In addition, there is taxpayer funds spent for rent is various Trump office properties.  Perhaps the capper is the money funneled to Trump and his son-in-law appropriated by legislation to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the Country’s economic sector. Real estate properties owned by President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner received $3.65m of loan money through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Trump Organisation as well as the Kushner Companies, which is owned by Mr. Kushner’s family, received funding.  More than 25 PPP loans were given to one of these businesses owned either by the Trump Organisation or Kushner Companies.  These loans, created by the federal government, were intended to give small businesses emergency relief in order to pay employees, rent, and mortgage expenses. The loans to the president and his family companies included one to Triomphe Restaurant Corp., at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York City for the sum of $2.14m. Additionally, two tenants in Trump Tower in NYC received $100,000 each but only kept three jobs, which went against the requirements of receiving a PPP loan.  Four tenants at a Manhattan building owned by Mr Kushner each received more than $204,000, but they only kept six jobs.  White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and her family also benefited from the program. Her parent’s Florida roofing company received $2m from the program. While the SBA argued that 87 per cent of loans went to small businesses prior to the data release, but a majority of the loans actually went to larger corporations. More than half of the $522bn given out went to large businesses and corporations, and only 28 per cent of total funds issued to businesses were for $150,000 or less. About 600 large corporations, including the parent company of Boston Market and dozens of other large chains, received the maximum loan amount of $10m from the program.