Donald Trump and America's 'Moral Bankruptcy'
Posted August 16, 2016 08:35 am | Op-Ed
By
Moishe Mana
Trump has established himself as the King of Bankruptcies.
It is public record that in the late 1980s, Trump hid the facts from banks and the public about his severely failing casino companies, and convinced the banks to lend him additional billions of dollars.
Shortly after, these Trump companies defaulted on their debts, failed the bondholders and the people, and thousands of those people became the victims of Trump’s scams.
Ten years later, Donald Trump had the audacity to brag to the media about the “cash cow” Atlantic City was for him and how “the money (he) took out of there was incredible.”
His six bankruptcies in 25 years have resulted in a cumulative loss of billions of dollars for banks, investors, and ordinary people. This does not include other projects carrying the Trump name that have gone bust.
In my opinion, the day the Republican Party accepted the Trump nomination was the day that America officially filed for a Moral Chapter 11.
Chapter 11, known as the “reorganization” bankruptcy, was created in order to give a company the chance to clean up the past, renegotiate its debt commitment, and give it the chance to get back on its feet and move forward stronger and better than before.
Should Chapter 11 fail, then the law forces a Chapter 7, which would call for liquidation, meaning a dismantling of the company and the disposal of selected assets.
America has until Nov. 8, 2016, Election Day, to decide whether to go forward with a Moral Chapter 7 — which would mean the reorganization effort has failed and declare the damages are beyond repair.
Chapter 7 would mean the liquidation of All-American values and the write-off of what so many Americans have sacrificed their lives for on the battlefield. Or, we will have to decide to reorganize, to protect the assets and keep the country secure from pirates like Trump, and move forward united and stronger, toward a brighter future.
I fear Nov. 9, 2016. I fear it because Nov. 9 is one of the worst days in human history. This was the night in 1939 when Germany officially became Nazi. It is called the Crystal Night. On this night, thousands of Germans broke into and looted Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues and also beat many Jews to death.
On that very night, Hitler completed the process he had started 20 years earlier of breaking down the German people and finally succeeded in making them 100 percent Nazi.
Hitler first appeared on the scene in 1920. Until 1930, the German people and the media regarded him as a joke (and a funny joke, at that) and he had only 10 percent support among the German population. By 1939, Hitler had full support of the German population. Hitler was no longer a joke; Hitler had become a reality.
I fear the day so much, but I have trust in American values and the American spirit to fight back. Nov. 8, 1965, is known in history as “Operation Hump.” This was the day the 173rd Airborne Brigade was ambushed by 1,200 Viet Cong.
Forty-nine lost their lives, many were injured and 400 Viet Cong were killed. It was a heroic battle and a severely wounded medic named Lawrence Joel risked his life and received the United States Medal of Honor for saving so many lives. Lawrence was the first black American since the Spanish-American War to receive this honor.
And I hope this Nov. 8 will be the night Trump and his surrogates, who have committed a severe ambush on us, will be defeated and removed from our lives forever.
Moishe Mana is an Israeli-born billionaire who first came into the spotlight after his company ‘Moishe’s Moving Systems’ became the largest private moving company in the New York City area. He has since founded the world-famous MILK Studios and Mana Contemporary, which helped reinvent both NYC’s Meatpacking district and New Jersey’s Jersey City. Mr. Mana has now set his sights on South Florida, where he is the largest landowner in the popular Wynwood arts, culture, and entertainment district.
This piece was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license. Column courtesy of Florida Politics.