Lucky Loser:How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success. Partial book report.

[Hamlette]

I downloaded this book on my way to the dentist this morning as it is by Susanne Craig and Russ Beutner. Ive seen a lot of Craig on Nicole Wallace's show and like her and remembered she did the NYT piece based on financial info provided by Mary Trump from her lawsuit against her uncle.

She starts off telling about how Fred Trump Sr., Donald's dad, made all his money off the federal government programs enacted to combat poverty during the depression and after WWII. The Federal Housing Authority made it possible for white poor and middle class people to get mortgages with little down and guarantees from the feds. Fred Trump was building housing at the time and because of the FHA seems he came out of the depression better off than most, rich in fact. He was also a shrewd businessman, not sure his son could have made it then.

After WWII the GI bill made it possible to buy a house with no downpayment at all and the government provided loans to developers who would build apartment houses near military bases to house the GIs. The terms of these funds provided to developers were apparently lax and Fred used lots of them. If you go to the outer boroughs now you see the name Trump on modest run down apartment buildings. I'm guessing at least some are from this federal program.

What pisses me off is Donald doesn't get $400 million from his dad without this government assistance. If you scratch a billionaire you find someone who did the same: got rich off of the taxpayers.

I don't think these are bad programs and I don't begrudge them for using those funds to make money but I do hate that they don't think they owe anything back to us.

[MLF1981]

1. Well, as you said...

"What pisses me off is Donald doesn't get $400 million from his dad without this government assistance. If you scratch a billionaire you find someone who did the same: got rich off of the taxpayers."

As Balzac said, behind every great fortune lies a great crime.

[Jim__]

2. I downloaded the book and that was one of the first things I noticed. The government put a lot of funding ...

... into the Queens housing market and Fred Trump profited off that money. Fair enough that he profited. But, yes, the government contributes to economic growth and to people's success.

[Hamlette]

3. yes

I've noticed that democrats feel grateful for what we were/are given. My dad and husband went to school on the GI bill and we bought our first house that way. I'm grateful and feel a need to give back.

On the other hand, Republicans feel entitled to what they are given. You never hear them say thanks. They feel like their "hard work" entitles them to gifts from the government or wherever.

It's also why I never felt entitled to anything from my parents when they died. I got about .01% of what Trump got and I didn't deserve it. It wasn't mine, it was theirs. I used it to help my son buy a house. And when my son tried to thank me, I told him no, it was from his grandparents, not me and he had an obligation to return the favor in their memory.