I admit, I was angry when I learned that Trump paid between $0 and $750 in Federal Income Taxes over the past many years. I was also angry when I learned that he ignored public health measures, and planned/hosted a superspreader event at the White House--an event that led to viral spread to many and the resulting costly medical bills. This was even more upsetting in light of the fact that Trump is trying to strip 20,000,000 Americans of their health care with no replacement plan in place. He's happy to benefit from socialized medicine himself, but similar to all things he does, he doesn't support the same, extraordinary health care for all Americans. Trump is a liar and cheater who works only for his own interest.
In my career as a teacher, I earned less than $20,000 a year in my early years. My salary went up each year so by my 34th year I was making about $120,000 a year. My husband, who works for a health agency, had a similar salary timeline. Thanks to our generous and supportive families, we both had good educations which served us well in our professional lives. Over time, we paid our bills, lived on what we made, and made the best of it. We've had a rich life with a wonderful family, a nice home, and good careers--we have nothing to complain about. Yet, when I learned that we paid 60X what the President paid in federal taxes, I was upset. I felt like we were paying a lot more in taxes because we've been responsible, paid our bills, and did our part, while he's cheated time and again and therefore pays little to nothing in taxes. I'm sure we're not the only family that feels this way in the United States.
I stayed up late the night Trump's new tax bill was approved, a tax bill that greatly increased the wealth of the country's wealthiest 1%, but did little to nothing to support the overall economic health of most Americans. That night I did some research related to the lawmakers who supported Trump's bill--I found out that they were mainly lawmakers in states that had increaased poverty and poor schools--clearly self-serving politicians like Trump, not the kind of positive public servants I value. His big gift to America's wealthy 1% not only exasperated America's $3,000,000,000 deficit and widening wage gap, but also served to move us back closer to feudal systems of the past, systems of a few wealthy folk and lots of poor servants/peons--a truly unAmerican situation.
Trump himself has claimed that he's been smart to avoid paying taxes. Rather than smart, I would define his efforts to not pay taxes as greed, cheating, and self-serving behavior--he clearly takes more than his share of the American pie. His recent health care costs were $100,000 or more -- that's about 133 times what he paid in taxes. He also uses more than his share of taxpayer dollars to golf, eat, live, travel, and support his family. The Trumps have conducted countless business deals at their private clubs, resorts, and hotels to prop up their wealth, and still he has about $1 billion in debt owed to others, likely including suspect foreign leaders. I would like to know if he paid for his children's costly tuitions at their fancy private schools--I'm guessing that he avoided those payments with some kind of cheating deal too. As one who paid close to full price for my children's college educations, I'm sensitive to this. Trump, pure and simple, is a self-serving crook.
I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes. I loved working in public service with meaningful work that uplifted lives. I feel fortunate to have grown up with a loving family, a good education, and the opportunity to travel and enjoy many healthy pursuits. I want everyone in the United States to enjoy the opportunities I've had, and by looking at my financial history, we know that's possible, but it's not possible with leaders like Donald Trump--self-serving criminals who will the power, pleasure, privilege, and opportunity to a few, not most Americans. Don't be fooled USA--we can do a lot better, and electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is the first step.