Appalled by Trump’s balance sheet | Letter
President Trump is a change agent and an entrepreneur. What’s changed since he took office? How has his wealth grown?
The second question is easier to answer. Published estimates report a tripling from $2 billion to $6 billion over the past few years. Trump signed over day-to-day operations of his businesses to family when he became president. Are these individuals better at business deal-making and investing than he is? Or is the Trump team profiting from his elected position? I think the latter.
The biggest of Trump’s changes I see are on the world stage. The U.S. has raised the proverbial middle finger at just about every ally and enemy. Trump threatened annexation — Greenland, Canada — and pursued real war without any planning. Our interceptor missile stocks are so low we can no longer defend our own bases in the Middle East. Iran is winning. World trade is a mess. Russia is threatening NATO with attack. China is thrilled.
At home, Americans are as polarized as ever. Disdain for immigrants and minorities is growing. Just about everything is substantially more expensive. Our abilities to detect and stop threats to public health are diminished. And data centers are rapidly erasing pollution and climate mitigation gains of the past decade. I could say much more.
Trump’s campaign promises of positive change were crafty lies. He never intended to raise living standards of the working class, for example. Americans will live and die with Trump’s changes for decades. What a waste of resources and human capital.
Tom Meuser
Portland
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: letter to the editor
