I came upon something the other day that gave me a new perspective on the Trumpian world view. In 2006, Trump sued a reporter for understating Trump’s personal wealth. This is an exchange that he had with the writer’s lawyer under oath:
Trump: “My net worth fluctuates, and it goes up and down with the markets and with attitudes and with feelings, even my own feelings, but I try.”
Lawyer: “Let me just understand that a little. You said your net worth goes up and down based upon your own feelings?”
Trump: “Yes, even my own feelings, as to where the world is, where the world is going, and that can change rapidly from day to day .…”
Lawyer: “When you publicly state a net worth number, what do you base that number on?”
Trump: “I would say it’s my general attitude at the time that the question may be asked. And as I say, it varies.”
So, Donald Trump’s wealth, his net worth, is based on his feelings. Wow – a net worth based on your feelings! We would all like that! Can you imagine? Your actual bank account says that you can afford a Ford Focus but you feel that you need a Jaguar. You only have enough in your paycheck to pay a $1,200 per month rent, but you feel that you should be the owner of a 4,500 square foot home with a pool.
The luxury of an imagined net worth is only available to the rich. It’s certainly not available to those of us who live in what a George W. Bush aide disparagingly referred to as the “reality based community.”
Now I know that net worth and income are two different things, but they are relayed. Higher income households most often have higher net worth. And there is a tax advantage to those with a high net worth. The IRS taxes you on how much you make, not how much you have.
Now Donald Trump’s imaginary net worth makes sense! So does his unwillingness to reveal his taxes. As a real estate investor, he has the benefit of favorable tax rules that allowed him to actually report negative income of over $400,000 in 1978 and over $3 million in 1979. That was the last time Trump revealed his income taxes in order to get a casino license. Casinos – the definition of imaginary wealth.
Poor and working people have to reveal their income all of the time. If they want food stamps, or fuel assistance, Head Start or help with their rent, they don’t get to keep their income private. If they want to help with their child’s college costs they have to submit pages and pages of financial information. Over 50 percent of the people who need fuel assistance are elders or people with a disability. Over 500,000 veterans use food stamps to feed themselves and their families.
And if their income goes up, the help goes down. They don’t get to withhold their income information. They live in the “reality based community.”
Trump wants to be president. He wants to live in the White House, the biggest public housing unit in the country. He beat out the Bushes as they tried to move back to the old neighborhood. Even George W. and George H.W. released their taxes when they were vying for that piece of real estate. The Clintons also want to return and we know what’s in their tax returns for the last 33 years.
But not Trump. In fact, he said his tax rate is none of our business. Is it because we will find out that he is grossly exaggerating his wealth? Is it because he doesn’t pay taxes because the tax code benefits him – not the veteran on food stamps or the graduate dealing with college loan debt? Will we see that he doesn’t donate to charity? We already know that he hasn’t donated to his own foundation since 2008.
He says that he is being audited and that prevents him from releasing his taxes. In the “reality based community” that is what is called an excuse and it is one that the IRS doesn’t agree with.
I know way too much about Trump’s “feelings.” He has let us know how he feels about women, Mexicans, Muslims, Hillary and Obama over and over again. Now I want some facts.
How much did he pay in taxes? How much did he donate to charity? The least he owes the owners of the White House is the answers to these questions if he wants to move in.
Clare Higgins of Northampton, the city’s former mayor, is executive director of the nonprofit Community Action! of the Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions. She writes a monthly column and can be reached at opinion@gazettenet.com.