Are Trump businesses (and Trump) profiting from the presidency?

[Calliecake]

The record high stock market is in agreement with him.

Dancing Fire, I completely understand what you are saying but do you think the majority of people who elected him are heavily invested in the stock market? So many of his supporters are having a really hard time living day to day. I think if someone is upset about there insurance deductible increasing $500 dollars a year that they are more than likely not going to be investing in the stock market. Am I missing something?

 

[AnnaH]

Dancing Fire, I completely understand what you are saying but do you think the majority of people who elected him are heavily invested in the stock market? So many of his supporters are having a really hard time living day to day. I think if someone is upset about there insurance deductible increasing $500 dollars a year that they are more than likely not going to be investing in the stock market. Am I missing something?

Callie, surely you don't think that the majority of Trump voters are poor? Most that I know have investments.

 

[Kbell]

Callie, surely you don't think that the majority of Trump voters are poor? Most that I know have investments.

I have $$ going into my managed 401K and IRA for retirement. I don't know the exact ratio but I am sure some is stock. Almost everyone I know has some sort of retirement plan hence an investment.

 

[ruby59]

Dancing Fire, I completely understand what you are saying but do you think the majority of people who elected him are heavily invested in the stock market? So many of his supporters are having a really hard time living day to day. I think if someone is upset about there insurance deductible increasing $500 dollars a year that they are more than likely not going to be investing in the stock market. Am I missing something?

My son has a 401K plan . So if the market goes up, his money earned in that plan does as well.

And if the economy stabilizes, then interest rates go up so people like me who put away every extra cent they had will soon earn some decent interest.

And in my late mom's case, she would roll over the principal and use that interest to supplement her Social Security. This would greatly benefit senior citizens.

 

[Calliecake]

I agree there are a lot of variables and unknowns. I'm not saying give corp America a tax break and not everyone else too. I don't know the exact answer but I'd love to see jobs come back. There are plenty of jobs being done overseas by American companies that could be done right here - it's not hiring more bodies to do produce more, it's moving the current workload back. If there is no incentive to move the work back, they won't, why would they? Customer service jobs sourced overseas don't produce a product or more product, they support one. Those support jobs can easily be done here if there were financial incentive to do so.

Large corporations moved these jobs overseas because they make more profits by doing so. I haven't heard anything about Trump or Ivanka closing there factories in foreign countries and moving them back here. All companies make decisions based on their bottom line.

 

[AnnaH]

Don't have a great deal of knowledge about economics, but I don't see how it's possible for someone whose name is a brand to really have a blind trust.
Here's a simple explanation.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...-work-for-president-elect-trump/#5ea6582a725b

With those who hate Trump, there's no way he wins on this issue. In my opinion, he didn't take this job in order to make more money. Although a flawed person, I think Trump does love our country and wants to do a good job. Maybe he will be successful, maybe not.

 

[Calliecake]

I have $$ going into my managed 401K and IRA for retirement. I don't know the exact ratio but I am sure some is stock. Almost everyone I know has some sort of retirement plan hence an investment.

I don't think all his supporters are not in the stock market but I also realize that many people are not fortunate enough to have extra money to invest. You hear all too often that people have not planned properly for their retirement. If you listen to the news they report often that most Americans could not survive even a few months if one of the spouses lost a job.

 

[MarionC]

When I read that his businesses have been in trouble since the 2008 crash, something clicked for me. He's a hands-on guy and there is no better position to exert influence than as POTUS.

 

[Kbell]

Large corporations moved these jobs overseas because they make more profits by doing so. I haven't heard anything about Trump or Ivanka closing there factories in foreign countries and moving them back here. All companies make decisions based on their bottom line.

Exactly why the only way to get the work back is some sort of financial incentive or penalty for outsourcing XXX amount of work.

 

[Kbell]

I don't think all his supporters are not in the stock market but I also realize that many people are not fortunate enough to have extra money to invest. You hear all too often that people have not planned properly for their retirement. If you listen to the news they report often that most Americans could not survive even a few months if one of the spouses lost a job.

A lot of my friends are in this position. They still have 401K investments because that is $ they never see but are unfortunately bad "savers". If something happened they don't have enough liquid funds to survive for an extended period. Some of the very young generation I've spoken to about it think the gov't will just take care of them... why save? It's a sad state of affairs.

 

[t-c]

Don't have a great deal of knowledge about economics, but I don't see how it's possible for someone whose name is a brand to really have a blind trust.
Here's a simple explanation.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...-work-for-president-elect-trump/#5ea6582a725b

With those who hate Trump, there's no way he wins on this issue. In my opinion, he didn't take this job in order to make more money. Although a flawed person, I think Trump does love our country and wants to do a good job. Maybe he will be successful, maybe not.

The author's argument relies solely on: The Trump name is what makes Trump Tower the Trump Tower. It still has a value without Trump's name on it, but the value is starkly limited. I would argue against Trump's name being his most of the valuable asset -- just ask those Manhattan residents who petitioned to get Trump's name removed from their building because it was hurting their property values.

But even if it is, there is nothing in this article that explains why Trump cannot put all of his non-trademarked assets in the blind trust. This is the important part: "However, you can't take it with you: you have to allow your trustee to convert existing assets into new assets without any knowledge about what those new assets are or how they are invested. You can't keep your existing assets because you know too much about those assets. New assets inside a blind trust work like a clean slate. You can see, then, how a blind trust (think "I see nothing, I know nothing") would be desirable for public officials. That's why Bill Clinton relied on blind trusts while he served as President. Ditto for George W. Bush before him."

All Trump has to do is what every single president before him has done: divest and put assets in a blind trust. Other very rich guys have done it: Paul O'neill, Hank Paulson, Steve Mnuchin for example. Why is Trump so special that he feels he doesn't have to?

I have my theories why Trump won't comply with divestiture nor releasing tax returns. I think his real estate business is very leveraged that he doesn't want to sell them (take losses). And I think his tax returns might show him to not be earning/worth as much as he claimed (ego).

 

[Dee*Jay]

Article in today’s Chicago Tribune:

Chicago's Trump Tower has an unusually large number of condos for sale

Chicago's Trump Tower has an unusually large number of condominiums for sale and for rent, and real estate agents predict that a glut of available units in the building may pressure owners to drop their prices.

Already renters in Trump Tower say they have been able to get sizable discounts.

Bearing the president's name in massive letters, one of the most exclusive buildings downtown has taken on political overtones since Donald Trump's presidential campaign. About 10.7 percent of the building's 486 residential units are currently for sale — a far higher percentage than comparable downtown condo buildings.

"I've never seen such a glut" of condos for sale, said real estate agent Carla Walker of KoenigRubloff Berkshire Hathaway. "When people live where they've paid $1.5 million and up, they don't want to see people hanging out and demonstrating. And there's still a stigma there for some people."

While it's not clear just how many of the sales in the building are being driven by politics, it is evident that far more units are up for sale than in other large luxury buildings in the downtown area.

The number for sale "is amazing," said Gail Lissner, vice president of Appraisal Research Counselors. "I've never seen that number for sale since they opened, and there have been very few transactions."

Only four units sold this year, and there was a decline in the number sold last year compared with the previous year, she said. There are about 52 residential units for sale now. With the addition of the hotel condos also on the market in the building, the number of units for sale jumps to about 70. Hotel condos are units that are privately owned but rented to paying hotel guests.

Based on the residential units alone, the number of available condos in Trump Tower is almost three times higher than other large condo buildings downtown, according to Lissner's data. No comparison is perfect, because the very high-end Elysian and Waldorf buildings are small with little turnover in units. But Lissner said that while Trump Tower has 52 of its 486 units on the market, the John Hancock building has 26 out of 703 for sale; Water Tower Place has 9 out of 260 for sale; Aqua has 12 out of 262 for sale; 340 on the Park has 11 out of 343; 600 N. Lake Shore Drive has 20 out of 395; and The Heritage has 5 out of 358.

Next to the Trump Tower, Renelle on the River — a building still awaiting groundbreaking — has sold 17 of 51 units, according to developer Belgravia Group. The units start at $1.3 million.

In a troubling sign for people wishing to sell units in Trump Tower, units for sale in the building have been on the market for increasingly lengthy periods of time, Walker said. Those currently listed for sale have been sitting on the market for an average of 205 days, significantly longer than the 152 days during the previous six-month period that preceded the election, said Walker.

Whether the glut is related to controversy over Donald Trump is difficult to ascertain. While the average home for sale in Chicago has been on the market for less than three months, Walker notes that the luxury market has been slower to move.

John Robert Wiltgen, of John Robert Wiltgen Design, has done interior design work for several units in the building and said the chatter he's heard in the building is mixed. "If they voted for Trump the name is a positive; if not, it's a negative," he said.

Entrepreneur Jack Thompson purchased his unit in the Trump building prior to the election without considering politics. He lives in Dallas but was coming to Chicago frequently for business and staying in the Trump hotel. As he shopped for a condo in the building, he was drawn to one unit because of its Beatle decor in one room. He's now adding to that design.

"It spoke to me so much and I said I have to have this," he said. Trump's politics wasn't the driver behind his decision to buy in the building, but Thompson figures his investment could be valuable in the future because of the president. "If all the dude does is make China free up their currency, he will go down in history as an important president," Thompson said.

Ajay Goel, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur at a marketing firm and a renter in the Trump building. He was tempted to leave Trump tower when his lease recently came up for renewal because of the controversy. But he said there were 36 units up for rent — "the highest ever in the building" — giving him the ability to negotiate a steep 7.5 percent decrease for his two-bedroom 2,700-square foot condo. The deal was so good, he decided to stay. "My landlord knows that the value of the Trump brand has eroded," he said.

Walker has a client who purchased a two-bedroom unit soon after the opening of Trump tower in 2009 "because she loved Trump," but she's never lived there and has been renting it out. After raising the rent continually over the years to $8,000 a month, she recently decided to reduce the rent to $7,500 because of the supply of rentals in the building and downtown, said Walker.

The average price of condos for sale in the building, however, does not reflect competitive pressures. In fact, the average sale price was $1.16 million for the last six months compared with $1.08 million during a comparable time last year, Walker said. And owners during the last six months sold their units for 93.7 percent of their list price. During a comparable time last year, it was 91.8 percent.

Lissner said the average sales price per square foot during the last quarter of 2016 was $861, an increase over the $840 during the first two quarters of the year.

Walker said she thinks owners of condos in Trump Tower often do not feel the urgency to sell because they own the units as part-time residences or investments. Yet Wiltgen wonders if some units already are coming onto the market because owners want to sell before the price drops as people move into the newest luxury building, the Wanda Vista tower, which is scheduled to open 2020. For clients seeking luxury, he said, the newest building tends to be the attraction.

 

[AnnaH]

tc, certainly Trump and his family would lose a great deal of money if they held a fire sale. It is a family business, and they aren't all serving as President. Trump has to follow the laws. If he doesn't, I'm sure we will hear all about it.

 

[t-c]

tc, certainly Trump and his family would lose a great deal of money if they held a fire sale. It is a family business, and they aren't all serving as President. Trump has to follow the laws. If he doesn't, I'm sure we will hear all about it.

The issue is that he helps make the laws.

 

[siamese3]

The record high stock market is in agreement with him.

What goes up, must come down.

 

[AnnaH]

The issue is that he helps make the laws.

Trump isn't king.

 

[redwood66]

I wouldn't want a condo in a building where lunatics are protesting outside everyday either. Sounds like some people need jobs - or maybe they are getting paid to be there.

 

[ruby59]

Too many able bodied people have way to much time on their hands.

If you are able to be outside protesting every day then you should be able to work.

 

[soxfan]

Too many able bodied people have way to much time on their hands.

If you are able to be outside protesting every day then you should be able to work.

You conservatives are sooooo predictable. "You must not have a job." Yeah. Ok. Ever heard of sick pay? Personal days? Vacation? No. Because the conservative way is that you cannot miss work unless you are dying. How is that working out for you?

I saw a LOT of conservatives out there during the anti-abortion marches. Does it swing both ways?

 

[AnnaH]

That's called prolife.

 

[soxfan]

That's called prolife.

No. Actually its called "pro-birth." After that, you are on your own.

 

[redwood66]

That was soooo unpredictable.

 

[soxfan]

That's called prolife.

You support welfare? Free lunch?

 

[t-c]

Trump isn't king.

Do you really not know that you don't need to be king to help make laws? As president, Trump sets the legislative agenda. I believe #1 on the list of legislative measures he would pursue, according to the Donald J. Trump Contract with the American Voter, is simplify the Tax Code.

 

[siamese3]

Trump's plan to kill Energy Star could benefit his properties
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/polit...ergy-star-epa1101PMVODtopLink&linkId=36898849

 

[redwood66]

That people actually think that Trump ran for president solely to benefit himself and his businesses is on par with all that Alex Jones' rants about including some crap about pizza and Clinton, Sandy Hook hoaxes, 9/11 was done by the US, etc. That is just my opinion.

 

[soxfan]

That people actually think that Trump ran for president solely to benefit himself and his businesses is on par with all that Alex Jones' rants about including some crap about pizza and Clinton, Sandy Hook hoaxes, 9/11 was done by the US, etc. That is just my opinion.

You're right. He's all about the "little People."

 

[redwood66]

None of them are about the little people. They just say they are until the lobbyist takes them to dinner.

 

[t-c]

That people actually think that Trump ran for president solely to benefit himself and his businesses is on par with all that Alex Jones' rants about including some crap about pizza and Clinton, Sandy Hook hoaxes, 9/11 was done by the US, etc. That is just my opinion.

I certainly don't think Trump ran for President solely to benefit himself. But I do think that, now that he is in the office, he and his businesses are taking advantage of it. I don't think people should use the office to get richer. I don't begrudge Trump profiting after he leaves office -- pretty much all ex-presidents do -- but not during.

Presidents have avoided even the appearance of impropriety with the use of blind trusts, but Trump hasn't, so he's opened himself up to questions and we have the right to ask them.

 

[AnnaH]

You support welfare? Free lunch?

Certainly, for those who need it.