https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/28/politics/donald-trump-loans-debt-new-york-times/index.html
How do you get a bank to forgive almost $300 million in loans for a failed real estate project? You act like Donald Trump.
This, from The New York Times about a Chicago skyscraper built by Trump that led to him to incur $287 million in unpaid debt by 2010, is remarkable:
"When
the project encountered problems, he tried to walk away from his huge
debts. For most individuals or businesses, that would have been a recipe
for ruin. But tax-return data, other records and interviews show that
rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking
client, lenders cut Mr. Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have
been counting on."
Which means this: Donald Trump was such a public bully that the lenders preferred to work to eat the debt (or a large portion of it) rather than risk a fight with him because, well, they had made the calculation it simply wasn't worth it.
This is the pattern you repeatedly see
ReplyDeleteHe has broken no laws. He played a game, played it aggressively and won.
That's how he won in 2016. It's why he still might win in 2020. And why he's accumulated so much debt and never had to worry about it.
It's not ethical, sure, but it's not illegal.
You think immoral or unethical activity is fine as long as it is not illegal?!
ReplyDeleteThat happens in real estate all the time. If the lenders lend him more money, then obviously it is their own greed/ stupidity.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember the story carried by FailedMessiah in which a "gadol" (the one who wore 100 talis kotons I think) said that when a Rav fondles a little boy, it's only an issue if there's penetration?
ReplyDeleteNo!
ReplyDeletewhat is the source?
Failed Messiah is not a high Quality source
Why is this relevant to the thread
Because he also separated between ethical and legal. His position was that while it might be ethically wrong for a rebbe to fondle little boys, it's wasn't illegal and therefore it was forbidden to report that rebbe to the police or even to take him to beis din.
ReplyDeleteIn short, "it's legal" is also used by the Chareidi community when it's convenient.
Straw man argument - citing a dubious report from a poor source and then generalizing it to the whole community!
ReplyDeleteYou are the one who is defending immoral unethical behavior by saying "but it isn't illegal"