13 Mar 2016
Wodehouses Spode v Trump
March 13, 2016
TRUMP MAY NOT BE FOR SALE, BUT IS HE ALREADY OWNED BY WALL STREET?
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”Only takes one tree, to make a thousand matches
Only takes one match, to burn a thousand trees”
Stereo Phonics. A Thousand Trees.
Can Trump Be Bought, Or is he already owned?
They say that people in glass houses should not throw stones. Perhaps Mr Donald trump or more importantly those who would vote for him should bear this in mind. Trump is ´´Rich´´not wealthy or well off or small town rich but New York Gliterati Rich, A swell a Dandy a Billionaire , don-cha know , ya better b´lievit. Trump sits on the Lapel of Manhattan like a crocodile on the chest of a Lacoste Sweater.
Trump is a brand and no one believes in the value of the brand more than a Trump the lesser sions the Trump; minors, juniors and ms´s. But the biggest believer of all is the Donald, Grand Master Trump, Real Estate Mogul.
A 92 page submission of Trumps business interests was required in disclosure to declare candidacy for the US Presidential Race. Reality TV for the political Class acquired its own fully indentured reality TV star for this super-paced extravaganza as the guild of screen actors pension on page 30 item 160 of Trumps disclosure attests to his Superannuated small and big-screen credits. Maybe Trump has a shot of Reaganesque mythos after all.
http://tinyurl.com/z6dxfvq( click URL for full form. )
What did the Wall Street Journal Make of it all?
With Great Wealth…Comes Great Liabilities.
Mr. Trump has between $265 million and $450 million worth of liabilities, including three mortgages and one loan valued at over $50 million. He has 12 mortgages total, seven of which are set to mature by 2020.
Trump Likes Trump.
In the disclosure, Mr. Trump lists over 500 entities in which he is a trustee, president, chairman or member. Many of the listed entities are limited liability corporations attached to Mr. Trump’s real-estate holdings, including properties in Panama, Istanbul, Mumbai, Puerto Rico and Dubai. Of those, at least 391 entities that have the word “Trump” or his initials in them.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/07/22/what-we-learned-in-donald-trumps-financial-disclosure/
Its the debts and liabilities on the Trump Empire Balance sheet that we really need to bear in mind when examining Trumps biggest claim to Authenticity. According to Trumps own boastful claims in debate, He Buys Politicians and as such can not himself be bought? To Examine that claim properly there are two questions we need to Ask. Does Trump control his liabilities or do they control him? Notwithstanding the old saying If you owe the bank a 100 dollars and can´t pay it back you have a problem if you owe the bank a million dollars and can´t pay it back the Bank has a problem. In real Estate remember the penalty for default is forfeiture. ´´He also has between $5 million and $25 million in his Capital One checking and savings account, and another $1 million to $5 million in J.P. Morgan Chase accounts.
´the WSJ tallies Trumps Cash position to call it 41 million dollars. Without rental income or cash generation figures from properties operated as opposed to leased out a true figure for Trumps cover of cash income and rents over Principal and interest liabilities is beyond the scope of this Blog. Certainly beyond it´s writers inclination to fathom at any rate. As with Polling, probability based upon a statistically significant sample is sufficient for our purposes to decide this question. The preceding sketchy figures derived from Trumps own solemn disclosure of qualified information to run for the Presidency of the US, not a trivial matter by any measure, will do. So what does this tell us.?
¨
To do that lets consider Leverage.
Leverage is the ratio of Equity or cash put into a deal to the level of debt borrowed from a bank or some other creditor. It is key to bear in mind that Bank money is credit created by Banks as originators of debt not as intermediaries matching savers to borrowers, essentially we need to be very clear about who has ´´Skin in the Game´´. http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2015/07/on-skin-in-game-interestinf-question.html
The rules of the game of leverage are that its all beer and sandwiches as long as prices of assets and income streams are going up, but something of a car crash when prices of assets or rents and income are going down. The More thinly you spread your assets to buy assets with high levels of gearing(debt) on the way up the higher the return you make on the money you actually had to put into deals in the first place. When prices start to fall or income for debt service starts to fall in a high leveraged deal the way back down is a real shit sandwich. So for Trump it´s all Bellini’s and Caviar on the way up and a real shit sandwich on the way down, if his leverage is high. Its more regular beef jerky all the way up and all the way down if his leverage is at what we might call ´´prudent´´levels.
These are flexible rules and laws according to how one is connected to the issuers of Credit/Debt , as we all now know there is something we now have called ”To Big To Fail ” , or ”One rule for the rich and another for the poor”, if you want to get on the same page with other not rich people you meet on your travels back through the ages, if you happen to find a time machine.
Trump famously got into trouble with the leverage trap back in the Early 90’s recession, Wall Street bailed him out much the same way say that William Randolph- Hurst was bailed out back in the 1930´s. The details are un-important as to the why’s and the where-for´. Debt is like playing with fire and sooner or later the Creditor can demand their pound of flesh either by chance or indeed through manipulation, all Billionaires owe their pound of Flesh to Wall Street if the bargain isn’t made then you don’t get to be or remain a Billionaire, end of story, or in American English Period!!
The real question isn’t, ´is Trump owned by Wall Street’ ? But, rather ‘why would he wish to be president. Rather than share part control of the president´? Narcissism lurks very near to the surface whichever way one approaches this question, why would anyone wish to be in the public eye in such a poorly paid job?
At this point we need to roll out a hackneyed old quote from Josiah Stamp a Director of the then Privately Owned Bank of England.
The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banking was conceived in inequity and born in sin . . . . Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them but leave them the power to create money, and, with a flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again. . . . Take this great power away from them and all great fortunes like mine will disappear, for then this would be a better and happier world to live in. . . . But, if you want to continue to be the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let bankers continue to create money and control credit. [Web of Debt, p. 2]
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/dollar-deception.php
I prefer some of Montague Normans statements Such as the following
“Capital must protect itself in every possible way, both by combination and legislation. Debts must be collected, mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible. When, through the process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers. These truths are well known among our principal men who are now engaged in forming an imperialism to govern the world. By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance. It is thus by discreet action we can secure for ourselves that which has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished.”
— Montagu Norman, Governor of The Bank Of England
addressing the United States Bankers’ Association, NYC 1924
and a particular favourite this found in Tragedy and Hope from Carol Quigqleys 1966 Opus ( see In January, 1924, Reginald McKenna, who had been chancellor of the
Exchequer in 1915-1916, as chairman of the board of the Midland Bank ) below.
P.277…´The Money Power Seeks to Create a World System of Financial
Control in Private Hands Able to Dominate Every Nation on Earth
In addition to these pragmatic goals, the powers of financial capitalism had another
far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private.”…
Montague Norman Was the Commander-in-Chief of the
World System of Banking Control
”This power of the Bank of England and of its governor was admitted by most qualified
observers. In January, 1924, Reginald McKenna, who had been chancellor of the
Exchequer in 1915-1916, as chairman of the board of the Midland Bank told its
stockholders”:
“I am afraid the ordinary citizen will not like to be told that the banks can,
and do, create money…. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of
Governments and hold in the hollow of their hands the destiny of the people.”
Let’s do some simple arithmetic then to see if the Trump tail wags the Wall Street Dog ( to call it a tail more than say a zit or pimple or flea has a certain Trumpesque exaggeration about it, not altogether inappropriate to the point being made), or whether the Wall Street Money masters laugh at the Donald’s pimplesque stature? That’s not to deny Trumps claim that he need not produce the ´Schlong Form Girth Certificate´´based upon his assurances and tabloid headlines over the empirical evidence of the size of his hands offered by the Boy Rubio.
In a fraction the top part is called the Numerator and the bottom part the denominator. If one thinks of One persons wealth as The top part of a fraction or Numerator and the bottom part of that fraction being all of the other units of the same token in existence as the Numerator , in this case all money enumerated in Dollar denominations as Cash or as Broad Money M3.
Take say 10 billion for Donald Trumps total wealth.( there have been sightings of some Trump boasts in excess of these figures , but ten Billion free and clear still makes the point and is an exaggeration in Trumps Favour beyond any I have ever heard him make himself.)
How many Dollars are in Existence.http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2013/05/apples-cash-mountain-is-it-real.htmlI examined this same question with respect to Apples then 145 Billion Cash Mountain back in 2013.
figures from the fed.
There was approximately $1.19 trillion in circulation as of May 15, 2013, of which $1.14 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12773.htm
Trump Cash Dollars, 10 Billion
Dollars in Circulation 1.14 trillion 2013
10,000,000,000
1,140,000,000,000
10/1,140
= 0.87%
Wider Measures of Money
http://www.nowandfutures.com/key_stats.html
M3 2015 17,500,000,000,000
10
17,500
= 0.05714%
From the above it can be seen that a property Mogul with 10 Billion of total Assets all in Cash would represent around one twentieth of one percent to the Annual money supply in the broad M3 Measure. Bearing in mind the preceding quotes regarding Banking power and noting that since 2008’s crisis the major Wall street Banks have got bigger and the federal reserve has in the terminology Increased its balance sheet substantially, the idea that a Property Mogul of modest international standing and wealth is not at the mercy of a Fiscal ´´Flick of the pen´´and therefore the collective might of Wall Streets monied interests is absurd.
Not taking political donations from Wall Street and other financial interests does not equate with not being under the influence and control of Wall Street. It is an arguable point that Trump is in fact more in hock to Wall Street than any of his political rivals, including Hilary Clinton, with, of course the notable exception of Bernie Sanders.
So in his posturing and his claims of independence from any external influence by powerful interests Mr Trump is either ; 1. unaware of the frailty of his position in the great financial scheme of things;2. Is aware of his subservient position as are the Powerful monied interests though it suits them both to appear inimacable to each other , or ; 3. as is more likely. Wall Streets sions are tacitly happy to continue to provide support to Trump through funding his business empire just as say Prescott Bush through Brown Bros Harriman funded the rise of Adolf Hitler. But Trump is unaware of his vulnerability being Ignorant of the nature of money creation. Personally I favour 3 as the most likely. In truth it is of no relevance to the fact that Trump as demonstrated is owned by Wall Street whether he likes it or not!
Trump is a man of estimable talents no doubt yet Roderick Spode (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Spode ) the Invention of P G Wodehouse, based upon Oswald Mosely & Bennitto Mussolini ´Il Duce´is always conjured up by the stage persona of The Donald. This claim comes with both evidence and a warning, if you are a Trump supporter and ever wish to hear your Great Leader speak again without recalling Spode and in turn Mussolini do not click on the following Video. ( brought to you by the time machine mentioned earlier). ´´Too big to bail and one Law for the rich another for the poor´´. As for entertaining the notion that Trump can not be bought? Well you can not buy something that is already owned and Trump is assuredly owned by Wall Street. They have no need to buy him again, although his debts have doubtlessly been Re hypothicated, lets not do Derivatives today though!
Brilliant Roger. I have re-posted the link in my Part 2 on Saturday (paywall) but will be FOC later on Saturday at: https://www.theburningplatform.com/author/austrian-peter/