Fortune magazine (May 1, 2016) recently published a detailed analysis of Donald Trump’s business practices. The results are very disturbing.

The Fortune writers found that “Trump has a record of recklessly piling on debt — with disastrous results.” His reckless borrowing led to multiple bankruptcy filings. His publicly traded company (Trump Hotels, later renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts), had such enormous interest costs that it never made money.

In the late 1980s, Trump bought the Plaza Hotel and the former Eastern Shuttle (renaming it the Trump Shuttle) and then lost both businesses because of excessive debt and weak management.

In addition to his reckless borrowing and multiple bankruptcy filings, Trump has cheated hundreds of small businesses by refusing to pay for the work they did for one of his companies. All of these small businesses have been seriously injured by Trump’s dishonest behavior. Some have gone out of business entirely.

Trump now claims that if he were elected president, he would apply his “expertise” as a businessman to fixing our “broken economy,” including the national debt. His expressed plans for accomplishing these goals include a huge tax cut for the rich. Many economists, both liberal and conservative, have clearly demonstrated that if Trump’s tax policies were implemented, the national debt would skyrocket.

Donald Trump has been a reckless, dishonest businessman. His economic policies would be a disaster for our country. Please remember these facts when you cast your vote for president in November.

 

Gretta Van Bree

St. Joseph