I am no fan of the Trumps. Nor do I approve of many of the financial shenanigans engaged by him, his company, and his family. But the problem lies primarily with the loopholes created by legislators at the behest of the rich so they can avoid taxes and get richer all the while sucking at the public teat through government contracts. Trump himself has acknowledged publicly in one of the debates that he used money to purchase influence and garner favor. The Fact is that politicians love power and want to keep it. To do that they need lots of money and people like Trump were there to fulfill their wishes. At a price.

"Consultants" hire themselves out to help get politicians elected. Then get hired to work in the government they helped elect. Then leave that government and create lobbying firms to sell the influence and connections they now possess thanks to their time in that government.

One of the advantages to owning a casino is how easy it is to launder money and get unregistered loans. His father bailed him out when Trump was close to insolvency and unable to make a bond payment by walking into one of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City and purchasing $3.5 million worth of chips and then just walking out effectively giving his son a free loan. Clearly, following the refusal of American banks to loan him more money following a string of bankruptcies in which they lost millions, the Russian oligarchs stepped in to fill the void.

Given what Trump said during the debates, i.e., how he gave money to both parties in order to garner favor and influence, I should not have been surprised with the close political relationships between the Kushner family and the Democrats, especially Bill Clinton, but I certainly was with their connection to Benjamin Netanyahu. Perhaps the Jewish connection and appreciation for Israel stemmed from the horrific experience of their family under the Nazis. (The failure of Trump to denounce the anti-Semitism of his more radical followers is the more surprising given the Kushners' Jewishness and the conversion of Ivanka to Judaism.)

Trump benefited from the Bloomberg policy of seeking foreign investment for New York. Bloomberg actively solicited money from overseas, proclaiming that the city needed them to help pay taxes and fund schools and police. The Trumps took advantage of this policy, and so did the Russians, who invested heavily in Trump projects, often buying condos and apartments in his buildings for millions of dollars in cash. It was a marvelous way to laundry money and curry favor with the future president. More than 50% of these units were occupied less than two months out of the year. A less beneficial impact was a doubling of rental costs in the city.

Ultimately, this is a very depressing book. The clear lesson is that if you have money, you can flaunt the laws; if you have money you inherited, you can create an image for yourself that may be completely at odds with who you are; that if you have money, the rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to you; and, if you have money, you can buy influence among politicians who then build loopholes for you to drive your trucks through. One wonders what the net effect of the Trump presidency will be. One danger will be, as a reviewer in the Washington Post noted, " cottage industry of Trump biographers and researchers has uncovered so many examples of deceptive, fraudulent and mean-spirited behavior by the president and his family that one succumbs to outrage fatigue." ( )

Greed, Power, and the Destruction of Democracy

Andrea Bernstein paints one of the most complete, succinct histories of how the Trump and Kushner families, representatives of the new American oligarchic class, are destroying the meaning of representative government for all in the United States. She traces the family origins of the Trumps and Kushners from their European roots, to their migration to the U.S., to business practices that have put both families at the pinnacle of both American wealth and power. Some of the early history, particularly that of the Kushner family’s escape from Nazi Germany, is nothing short of inspirational. What follows, however, when the families have established themselves in the U.S. is troubling, especially Fred and Donald Trump’s constant deception, lying, and law breaking, and Charlie Kushner’s and son Jared’s betrayal of their mother’s legacy. Taken in total, Bernstein gives us a better understanding of how the families have operated to achieve their wealth and power, and how they are using those same experiences to increase their wealth and power, while dealing crippling blows to our republic.

This resurgent oligarchic class, as restricted, greedy, and powerful as the Gilded Age titans, and of which the Trumps and Kushners represent prime examples, have used the very benefits provided by the U.S. government to achieve their status, and then close off these government programs to others, thereby consolidating power in the hands of a few. Bernstein’s history of how the immigrant Trump and Kushner progenitors took advantage of and in many cases manipulated home building programs. Later, the sons, Charlie and Donald, employed shady business practices, including establishing a myriad of shell companies to shield profits from taxation and pass on wealth to their children, as well as the cultivation of politicians for favors that included protection from prosecution, not to mention intimidation, especially on the part of Donald. It’s these very practices of flaunting and sidestepping laws that Donald Trump now wields in Washington, along with his demagogic bloviating, threats, and insults, all things that have taken an insidious toll on American norms and the operation of the U.S. government both domestically and internationally. Readers will find the book, which reads as quickly and disturbingly as a Faustian melodrama, an enlightening primer on how to blow up a government.

While any number of passages lend themselves to quoting, here are two that should unsettle any American, and encourage you to read the book. First, on the infamous meeting in Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, with Donald, Jr., Jared, Paul Manafort, Rob Goldstone, Natalie Veselnitskaya (the Russian lawyer with close ties to the Russian government), and Ike Kaveladze (advocate for oligarch Aras Agalarov in America) present. This is the meeting in which Don, Jr., Jared, and Manafort anticipated picking up dirt on Hillary Clinton.

“But this meeting was a highly significant moment, an inflection point, an indicator of a broad breakdown of restraints on corruption, foreign influence in elections, and the power of big money in politics … Campaigns are not allowed to coordinate with independent actors. They are not allowed to use business resources, their own or others’, without declaring in-kind contributions. They are especially not allowed to accept money, or any ‘thing of value,’ from foreign actors or governments. They’re not even allowed to accept offers of help: the law specifically bans not just actually receiving aid, but accepting from a ‘foreign national’ any ‘express or implied promise to make a contribution.’ This was, previously, a bedrock of campaign finance laws, to ensure that campaigns didn’t become tools of a foreign government’s geopolitical aims.” In other words, a total disregard and destruction of standing law for personal political purposes.

Second, so who knew the Trump presidency would resemble the Putin mafia-like presidency? Someone who studies and critiques Putin regularly, and Donald Trump, Masha Gessen, who wrote a piece published on December 13, 2016, prior to Trump’s inauguration. In the piece, Gessen discussed mafia style governments, of which Putin’s is classic, and then:

“Gessen describes mafia states as, previously, existing in the wake of totalitarian regimes, but suggested Trump might ‘introduce the world to the post-democratic mafia state. In this model, he will still be the patriarch who distributes money and power. The patriarch’s immediate circle will comprise his actual family and a few favorites … They will concern themselves with issues of interest to the president, and with enrichment of themselves and their allies. The outer circle will be handed issues in which Trump is less interested. In practical terms, this will mean that the establishment Republicans in the cabinet will be able to pursue a radically conservative program on many areas of policy, without regard to views Trump may or may not hold, and this will keep the Republican Party satisfied with a president it once didn’t want.” And doesn’t that explain a lot?

Best advice for understanding what is happening before our very eyes: read American Oligarchs as soon as you can. ( )

Greed, Power, and the Destruction of Democracy

Andrea Bernstein paints one of the most complete, succinct histories of how the Trump and Kushner families, representatives of the new American oligarchic class, are destroying the meaning of representative government for all in the United States. She traces the family origins of the Trumps and Kushners from their European roots, to their migration to the U.S., to business practices that have put both families at the pinnacle of both American wealth and power. Some of the early history, particularly that of the Kushner family’s escape from Nazi Germany, is nothing short of inspirational. What follows, however, when the families have established themselves in the U.S. is troubling, especially Fred and Donald Trump’s constant deception, lying, and law breaking, and Charlie Kushner’s and son Jared’s betrayal of their mother’s legacy. Taken in total, Bernstein gives us a better understanding of how the families have operated to achieve their wealth and power, and how they are using those same experiences to increase their wealth and power, while dealing crippling blows to our republic.

This resurgent oligarchic class, as restricted, greedy, and powerful as the Gilded Age titans, and of which the Trumps and Kushners represent prime examples, have used the very benefits provided by the U.S. government to achieve their status, and then close off these government programs to others, thereby consolidating power in the hands of a few. Bernstein’s history of how the immigrant Trump and Kushner progenitors took advantage of and in many cases manipulated home building programs. Later, the sons, Charlie and Donald, employed shady business practices, including establishing a myriad of shell companies to shield profits from taxation and pass on wealth to their children, as well as the cultivation of politicians for favors that included protection from prosecution, not to mention intimidation, especially on the part of Donald. It’s these very practices of flaunting and sidestepping laws that Donald Trump now wields in Washington, along with his demagogic bloviating, threats, and insults, all things that have taken an insidious toll on American norms and the operation of the U.S. government both domestically and internationally. Readers will find the book, which reads as quickly and disturbingly as a Faustian melodrama, an enlightening primer on how to blow up a government.

While any number of passages lend themselves to quoting, here are two that should unsettle any American, and encourage you to read the book. First, on the infamous meeting in Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, with Donald, Jr., Jared, Paul Manafort, Rob Goldstone, Natalie Veselnitskaya (the Russian lawyer with close ties to the Russian government), and Ike Kaveladze (advocate for oligarch Aras Agalarov in America) present. This is the meeting in which Don, Jr., Jared, and Manafort anticipated picking up dirt on Hillary Clinton.

“But this meeting was a highly significant moment, an inflection point, an indicator of a broad breakdown of restraints on corruption, foreign influence in elections, and the power of big money in politics … Campaigns are not allowed to coordinate with independent actors. They are not allowed to use business resources, their own or others’, without declaring in-kind contributions. They are especially not allowed to accept money, or any ‘thing of value,’ from foreign actors or governments. They’re not even allowed to accept offers of help: the law specifically bans not just actually receiving aid, but accepting from a ‘foreign national’ any ‘express or implied promise to make a contribution.’ This was, previously, a bedrock of campaign finance laws, to ensure that campaigns didn’t become tools of a foreign government’s geopolitical aims.” In other words, a total disregard and destruction of standing law for personal political purposes.

Second, so who knew the Trump presidency would resemble the Putin mafia-like presidency? Someone who studies and critiques Putin regularly, and Donald Trump, Masha Gessen, who wrote a piece published on December 13, 2016, prior to Trump’s inauguration. In the piece, Gessen discussed mafia style governments, of which Putin’s is classic, and then:

“Gessen describes mafia states as, previously, existing in the wake of totalitarian regimes, but suggested Trump might ‘introduce the world to the post-democratic mafia state. In this model, he will still be the patriarch who distributes money and power. The patriarch’s immediate circle will comprise his actual family and a few favorites … They will concern themselves with issues of interest to the president, and with enrichment of themselves and their allies. The outer circle will be handed issues in which Trump is less interested. In practical terms, this will mean that the establishment Republicans in the cabinet will be able to pursue a radically conservative program on many areas of policy, without regard to views Trump may or may not hold, and this will keep the Republican Party satisfied with a president it once didn’t want.” And doesn’t that explain a lot?

Best advice for understanding what is happening before our very eyes: read American Oligarchs as soon as you can. ( )

If you read the news, you know Trump is a crook and a shady businessman. You don't need to read this book to know that. If you're from New York (as I am), you've known that since the 1980s.

You probably know less about the Kushners, though. And what you know less about is how they were able to purchase political influence and just how easily they avoided taxes. This book did nothing to improve my opinion of either Albany or Trenton. The late Gov. Mario Cuomo got one point for not falling for Trump's attempt to force him to use his influence over his son (then HUD secretary).

Small note: While I trust Andrea Bernstein, knowing her background, there were some small errors-typos and the like--that made me think this was rushed into press without proper copy editing. ( )

Money really is the root of all evil. ( )