# America's great economic "boom" exposed for what it was: the great American fraud **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772 "2020-03-31T23:22:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/101 "2021-03-02T17:28:30Z")
Trump tried to buy votes from senior citizens by promising $200 drug discount cards. > **[HHS lawyer: Trump’s drug cards could violate election law](https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/10/16/hhs-lawyer-trumps-drug-cards-could-violate-election-law-1326388)** > > Health department’s legal concerns about the drug-card plan for seniors could delay plans to promote it beyond Election Day > **[Those $200 Medicare drug discount cards from Trump administration won't happen](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/business/money-report/those-200-medicare-drug-discount-cards-from-trump-administration-wont-happen/2363464/)** > > The Trump administration will be unable to get the discount cards out to beneficiaries. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/102 "2021-03-02T20:11:25Z")
> [@MrMrmrmr](#): > > I have read that Trump could have more money if he would have just invested in an S&P fund. The 500 companies are run by people of the highest business acumen. Since he did almost as well, it follows that Trump has a high degree of acumen also. I have invested in S&P fund so I obviously have a higher acumen than Trump. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/103 "2021-03-02T21:41:59Z")
We are talking about people who run businesses. Trump runs his ,the CEOs’ of the 500 companies run theirs. It is their decisions that control profitability. How many companies do you run? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/104 "2021-03-02T23:31:24Z")
> [@MrMrmrmr](#): > > “Vote for me and you will get a $2000 check immediately”. That was a lie. > > Has there ever been a more blatant effort to buy votes before? That’s not what “buying votes” means. Buying votes is “I am giving you, individually, this specific reward right now in exchange for your casting a vote for me.” See also: [Expenditures to influence voting](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/597) Saying “If I am elected, my administration will implement a policy that will send everybody a $2000 check immediately”, by contrast, is not buying votes. It’s attempting to appeal to voters with promises of government policies that will be beneficial to Americans in general. Which, y’know, is what government policies are supposed to do: benefit Americans in general. We’ve got so used to the swamp of conservative looting and exploiting and destruction of government that it seems shocking to us to hear a politician promoting a policy that will help people. That’s not to say that I think this particular promise by Biden was optimally realistic or even entirely sincere. Just that you are wrong when you confuse it with the illegal act of buying votes. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/105 "2021-03-02T23:39:41Z")
I admit you are right. a bribe takes place before the agreed action, and a reward is given after. Thanks for your vulgarity and insult free post. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/106 "2021-03-02T23:39:59Z")
One (software consulting). And not one of mine has declared bankruptcy. Nor has it been sued. And none of my wealth was inherited. I have a much higher business acumen than Mr. Trump. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/107 "2021-03-02T23:41:38Z")
OK, fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/108 "2021-03-02T23:51:18Z")
> [@MrMrmrmr](#): > > Thanks for your vulgarity and insult free post. Shhhhhh!! I was hoping nobody had noticed my blatant violation of BBQ Pit etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/109 "2021-03-03T00:01:44Z")
Do you have SWOP reviews every quarter where your look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and they make a PDCA action plan where you plan, do ,check, act on maintaining strengths, shoring up weaknesses, exploiting opportunities, and addressing threats? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/110 "2021-03-03T06:34:14Z")
Nope, and neither does Trump. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/111 "2021-03-03T06:54:50Z")
> [@MrMrmrmr](#): > > {…} 2017 NYC rate of violent crime is 35.7 per 1000, while my city has 13.1. Yes, that is some sharp thinking paying through the nose to live in a crime infested, noisy, smelly, crowded land of concrete. > > You should visit Norther Wisconsin, lush forests, peaceful serenity, the air smells different, and you can buy a lake house for $250,000 on 3-4 acres. In which of those places, NYC and _Norther_ Wisconsin, has Trump spent more time and money? Fuck, Trump would rather be in Florida than _Norther_ Wisconsin! ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/112 "2021-03-03T13:04:37Z")
You found a spelling error, good job. Here I thought someone made a substantive rebuttal to any of the points I have made, but it seems they are unassailable. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/113 "2021-03-03T13:07:00Z")
So, gonna ignore the question asked? Yeah, go with that, it’s the best strategy you got. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/114 "2021-03-03T13:08:38Z")
I am going to assume you have zero knowledge about the internal management practices of any Trump business, and this comment only reflects a blind hatred of the man I have been wrong in the past. You might have served on the board of a Trump firm. Correct me if I am mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/115 "2021-03-03T13:27:36Z")
You’re the one who asserted, with no evidence, the process by which Trump manages his business. Can’t others do the same? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/116 "2021-03-03T18:18:48Z")
You have produced no evidence that Trump does any of those things. Since Trump’s own former aides (like generals Mattis and Kelly) say he has no aptitude for something as basic as reading briefs then I won’t believe he does anything without evidence. I see plenty of evidence that his companies go bankrupt and get sued for breach of contract, though. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/117 "2021-03-03T19:47:00Z")
So, what do you call it when someone votes for a politician that promises them tax cuts? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/118 "2021-03-03T20:30:11Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Since Trump’s own former aides (like generals Mattis and Kelly) say he has no aptitude for something as basic as reading briefs then I won’t believe he does anything without evidence. And the former CEO of Exxon called him a “fucking moron.” ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/119 "2021-03-03T20:41:56Z")
You are right . I have no evidence. I withdraw any claim that Trump is anything but a businessman who got lucky owning real estate in a hot market. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772/120 "2021-03-03T21:00:41Z")
I’d say he got lucky that he inherited so much wealth. [Julia Koch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Koch) is the fourth-richest woman in the world; would you say that means she has a high business acumen? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-great-economic-boom-exposed-for-what-it-was-the-great-american-fraud/850772.md?page=7)