Trump’s Self-Serving Business Agenda

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Donald Trump has held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President

Today, Hillary Clinton returned to Florida to layout what’s on the ballot this election — an economy that works for everyone not just those at the top. She shared her vision for more good jobs, economic fairness and how to bring Americans together. Meanwhile, Trump spent the morning promoting the opening of his new hotel, making this the 32nd event at Trump properties in 16 months of running for president.

From his using his presidential campaign to promote his business, to a decades-long practice of stiffing small businesses, to outsourcing jobs, to his proposal to cut taxes for billionaires like himself at the expense of everyone else, Trump’s self-serving agenda is clear. America deserves better than Trump – a candidate who would rather line his own pockets than prioritize our economy, businesses, and workers.

Donald Trump’s trickle-down economic tax plan would include cutting taxes for billionaires like himself and his family, at the expense of everyone else.

Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the estate tax, which would give his own family as much as a $4 billion windfall. Just think about what we could do instead with that one $4 billion windfall alone, which is just for Donald Trump’s family, if we invested it in America.

Trump’s plan includes a massive loophole that gives many millionaires and billionaires like himself a backdoor tax cut, letting them pay less than half the current tax rate on a substantial portion of their income.

Trump claims his tax cuts would be paid for by economic growth – but they come at the expense of hardworking Americans.  Far from growing the economy, experts on both sides of the aisle predict that Trump’s plans would risk a recession.

Trump’s tax plan is a bait and switch – he claims he’ll protect middle class families, but what he actually does is give huge tax breaks to the rich while raising taxes on at least 8 million middle-class families.

Trump called his tax avoidance “smart.”  Trump’s tax avoidance is not smart – it means $0 for first responders, $0 for education, $0 for veterans and $0 for our military.

New York Times: “Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.”

New York Times: “Donald J. Trump explicitly acknowledged for the first time during the first presidential debate that he used a $916 million loss that he reported on his 1995 income tax returns to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years.” Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

New York Times: “But even as his companies did poorly, Mr. Trump did well. He put up little of his own money, shifted personal debts to the casinos and collected millions of dollars in salary, bonuses and other payments. The burden of his failures fell on investors and others who had bet on his business acumen.”

Wall Street Journal: “An analysis by Temple University law professor Jonathan Lipson ranked Trump-branded casinos ‘the worst’ among their peers when it came to jobs over a 14-year period. Mr. Lipson, a bankruptcy scholar, found that Trump casinos shed some 7,400 jobs between 1997 and 2010. That works out, on average, to job losses per casino of 900—37% higher than at other Atlantic City gambling venues in the same period.”

No business person or contractor has proven too small for Trump to stiff, no single parent or retiree too in-need to escape the target of Trump University’s scams. The truth is that Donald Trump’s business antics have spelled disaster for countless working people and small businesses.

Trump has repeatedly refused to make good on his obligations to pay small businesses and contractors for work – from Marty Rosenberg, whose family business was paid hundreds of thousands less than it was owed for its work at Trump’s casino, to Andrew Tesoro, the architect of one of Trump’s golf course clubhouse who was told by Trump’s lawyers to accept pennies on the dollar or he’d be tied up in court for years.

Trump doesn’t buy American-made and his own products are outsourced.

The products that are branded with Trump’s name are outsourced from at least 12 countries. That doesn’t include the products used in his hotels and casinos, from bed linens made in Italy to furniture made in China.

Trump has used his campaign to promote and funnel money into his businesses.

Politico: “Trump’s Campaign Paid His Businesses $8.2 Million”

Politico: “Trump has used the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and a new Washington hotel. Trump’s tangle of businesses has raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest should he win the presidency, while the Trump-branded campaign has drawn mockery and allegations of pocket-padding from Trump’s critics.’”

Huffington Post: “Donald Trump used small donors’ money to buy nearly $300,000 worth of books from the publisher of his Art of the Deal last month, continuing a pattern of plowing campaign money back into his own businesses.”

@KatyTurNBC: “After this morning’s ribbon cutting, Trump will have held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President”

Today, Trump is Washington, DC to open a new luxury hotel where he unsurprisingly used undocumented workers to make his project cheaper.  He even sued the District of Columbia in an attempt to pay lower taxes for the property.

Washington Post: “[A] Trump company may be relying on some undocumented workers to finish the $200 million hotel, which will sit five blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, according to several who work there.”

Politico: “The city of Washington, D.C., is fighting Donald Trump’s legal drive to cut his tax bills for the luxury hotel he’s set to open in the Old Post Office Building next month … Attorneys for the Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul contend that the roughly $1.7 million annual tax bills for the development for 2015 and 2016 were too high.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Hillary Clinton Announces Plan to Boost Small Businesses

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On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton announced a plan she would introduce as president to boost small businesses. She introduced her plan in an article for LinkedIn followed by a teleconference with members of the press and several small business owners. Clinton warned of Donald Trump’s past business practices with small businesses arguing that a Trump presidency would not be good for small business owners. The comprehensive plan builds on her overall economic plan which would create millions of jobs by investing in infrastructure upgrades and clean energy. Small businesses play into her overall plan as they will provide American workers and products. An outline of the plan is below and the full plan is available on The Briefing.

  1. Make it easier to start a business and become profitable
    • Push states to make it faster and cheaper to start a business
    • Working with states to standardize licensing requirements
    • Making technical assistance and resources available to states
    • Provide incubators, mentoring, and training to 50,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners in underserved communities
  2. Make it easier to get financing and find investors
    • Streamline regulation and cut red tape for community banks and credit unions
    • Harness the potential of online lending platforms
    • Reduce the burden of student debt by allowing entrepreneurs to defer student loan payment
    • Promote the 100% tax exclusion on capital gains for long-term small business investments
    • Expand and streamline the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company program
    • Support new innovative ways to assess creditworthiness for small business owners
    • Expand access to credit in underserved communities
    • Give the SBA administrator the authority to continue providing 7(a) loan guarantees to small businesses
    • Expand access to working capital by expanding the SBA’s working capital guarantee programs
  3. Make it cheaper and faster to file taxes and pay for tax relief
    • Work to create a new standard deduction for small businesses
    • Allow 4 million small businesses with gross receipts under $1 million to take advantage of “checkbook accounting”
    • Allow small businesses to immediately expense up to $1 million in new investments
    • Quadruple the start-up tax deduction to significantly lower the cost of starting a business
  4. Make it easier to offer health care and other benefits to employees
    • Simplify and expand the healthcare tax credit
    • Allow more small businesses pool together to offer retirement plans
  5. Make it easier to work with the federal government
    • Work to completely revamp the digital experience for small businesses
    • Use the leverage of more than $400 billion in federal government contracting to encourage businesses to pay their suppliers in full and on time
    • Guarantee a 24-hour response time to small businesses with questions about federal regulations and access to capital programs
    • Ensure that Small Business Development Centers are placed in the highest-need communities with staff that speaks the language of local residents
    • Work to ensure that federal regulations aren’t unnecessarily holding small businesses and our economy back
    • Increase federal contracting opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses
    • Defend and strengthen the Export-Import Bank
    • Encourage small business exports by expanding SBA funding for export development
  6. Make it easier to fight back when you’re getting stiffed

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: LinkedIn, The Briefing, Bloomberg, Forbes

Hillary Clinton Continues to Focus on Jobs During Florida Campaign Events

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Hillary Clinton continued to speak in Florida today about her plans to help small businesses, bolster manufacturing, and create new jobs. She began in St. Petersburg where she toured the local 3 Daughters Brewery. She briefly spoke to employees and the press before heading to The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. There she spoke to a crowd of 2,000 about her plans to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes, repair the country’s infrastructure, invest in clean energy, and create new jobs by investing in American made products. Clinton criticized Donald Trump’s economic speech, delivered earlier in the day. She said, “It’s really outrageous to me that somebody who claims to be so successful  has done it by stiffing hard working Americans.” During the event, Clinton advised the crowd, “Don’t let a friend vote Trump.” A combined video from both events is below.

Clinton then spoke at a rally in Kissimmee where she continued to go after Trump’s economic speech. She criticized his plan saying that he “hasn’t offered any plans on infrastructure besides building a wall and having Mexico pay for it.” Clinton continued to focus on her broad plan to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, focus on small businesses, and bolster American made manufacturing. A plan that many economists have said will create millions of jobs nationwide. She made it clear that her plan is intended to help everyone whereas; Trump is focused on helping the one percent. A video from the rally is below.

In New York City, a fundraising event was held on behalf of Hillary for America. The event featured a conversation with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and actor Audra McDonald.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: WJXT, The Tampa Bay Times, WFLA,

Tim Kaine Campaigns in Wisconsin and Michigan

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Tim Kaine wrapped up the work week with stops in Wisconsin and Michigan. He began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he spoke to a crowd at supporters at the Lakefront Brewery. During his speech, he focused on American made products and Hillary Clinton’s jobs plan. He criticized Donald Trump for his campaigns focus on him and less on the American people saying, “We’re talking about jobs, and Donald Trump is basically shadowboxing with every enemy he can think of.” Kaine also praised a Wisconsin court for striking down a law passed by Republicans to limit early voting. A video from Kaine’s speech is below.

In Michigan, Kaine spoke at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. He continued to speak about job creation and Clinton’s plans to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. He continued his attacks on Trump by contrasting the two campaigns and the policies proposed by both candidates. “This is the guy who wants to be commander in chief, but during his entire life Donald Trump has bragged about figuring out every trick to avoid paying taxes,” he said. Kaine also spoke about the significance of Clinton’s nomination as a historical event. A video from the event is below.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, California, a fundraiser was held on behalf of Hillary for America. The event included a conversation with Campaign Chair John Podesta and Darren Criss.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Detroit Free Press, Michigan Live, Wisconsin State Journal

Hillary Clinton Talks about the Economy During Vegas Campaign Stop

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Hillary Clinton made two stops in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday. She began her visit with a tour of Mojave Electric, a company that manufactures state of the art electrical components. She made brief remarks praising the company’s locally made products and their apprenticeship program. Clinton then went to the IBEW Local 357 Hall where she spoke to a crowd of supporters. After being introduced by Senator Harry Reid, Clinton outlined her plans to continue building the economy by focusing on jobs and education. She also discussed her plans to invest in clean energy and improve the country’s infrastructure as a way to create jobs. Clinton attacked Donald Trump again for not having contracts from American businesses for his products saying, “He talks a lot about how he’s going to grow the economy and yet he doesn’t make things in America.” A video from the rally is below.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, News 3

DNC Wrap-Up: Day 1

Last night was night one of the Democratic National Convention, and it was a packed event! The night was filled with speeches from  Representative Nancy Pelosi, Representative Elijah Cummings, Hillary for America Campaign Manager John Podesta, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Al Franken, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Cory Booker, and many more. The headliner of the night was First Lady Michelle Obama who delivered an impassioned speech supporting Hillary Clinton, and she firmly said, “I’m with her.”

Senator Sanders, Clinton’s rival for the party’s nomination, spoke in an attempt to unify the party behind Clinton. Sanders said that while he understands the disappointment of his supporters, it is important that the party unites and defeats Republican Donald Trump in November. He said that Clinton understands “the real problems facing this country and has offered real solutions – not just bombast, fear-mongering, name-calling and divisiveness.” Videos from a number of key speeches are below and all videos from the event are available on the DNC YouTube channel.

The DNC also featured several videos highlighting Clinton’s career and attacking Trump’s divisive attitude. With the two videos below, the DNC highlights Clinton’s commitment to combating substance abuse while the other video highlights Trump’s use of outsourcing as a business strategy despite his call for American made products.

You can follow the convention live on most television news stations or watch it live online. Be sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter (follow #DemsInPhilly), Instagram, and check out the full schedule of events on the Convention’s website. Each day, we will post a schedule of the day and the speakers scheduled for that night.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today