Donald Trump does not like Amazon. Or more precisely, he doesn’t like Jeff Bezos. And this animus has been going on a while. Back in 2015, Trump tweeted that Amazon was a ‘no profit’ company and Bezos was a cheat – especially for using his ownership of the Washington Post to reduce Amazon’s tax bill.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpThe @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezosfor purposes of keeping Taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.11:08 AM – Dec 7, 2015Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpThe @washingtonpost loses money (a deduction) and gives owner @JeffBezos power to screw public on low taxation of @Amazon! Big tax shelter11:18 AM – Dec 7, 2015Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpIf @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag. The @washingtonpost scam is saving it!11:22 AM – Dec 7, 2015
No doubt the Washington Post had driven the thin-skinned bloviator to spit-flecked rage by reporting something accurate — there has been no suit for libel — and so he directed his bile toward a man who is everything he is not. A good family man — with a famously strong marriage. A fortune that makes Trump’s accumulation look like sofa change. And a superb scholastic record — Bezos won academic awards Trump can’t even spell while graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton with a 4.2 GPA.
But let’s put the personal animus aside and look at the substance of Trump’s tweets.
Actions vs. words.
To begin, whatever the Posts’ financial performance may be it is irrelevant to Amazon. The Post is personally owned by Bezos, while Amazon is a publicly traded company. (Note: The Post is now profitable)
Trump’s Twitter vomitus even fails a logic test. If Amazon is a ‘no profit’ company why would it need tax write-offs?
As for Amazon’s profitability. Trump ignores that Bezos’s strategy was to plow the profits back into the company. An approach the market adored. In the year before Trump’s tweets, Amazon’s stock doubled in value from $307 to $664 per share. And isn’t a no-profit company, with burgeoning sales, and a soaring market valuation better than a no-profit company that went bankrupt — repeatedly.
Trump doubles down by calling the Washinton Post a ‘tax-shelter’. But this comes from a man who says that his ability to avoid paying taxes proves he is ‘smart’.
Lastly, he says that if Amazon had to pay taxes, it would crumple like a paper bag — it’s a hypothetical so anything is possible, but is that the way you would bet?
So now let’s look at today’s offering.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpWhile we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars. The Failing N.Y. Times reports that “the size of the company’s lobbying staff has ballooned,” and that……does not include the Fake Washington Post, which is used as a “lobbyist” and should so REGISTER. If the P.O. “increased its parcel rates, Amazon’s shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion.” This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!
8:52 AM – 31 Mar 2018
The post Twitter Meltdown: Trump ($3B) Can’t Stand that Bezos ($107B) Is the Better Man. appeared first on The Critical Mind.
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