How is it possible to drain the swamp in American Politics? I sometimes wonder if that is even possible. My personal view is, yes, I'd like to drain the swamp too, I just want to drain the left-side of the swamp first, not sure how that would work. Back in late 2015 we discussed the issues with political corruption at our think thank and how to go about it, we determined it was necessary to 'clean house' or what Donald Trump calls; draining the swamp.
One of our think tankers asked; "What if the release of findings are to the people via an honest media source that reports on news as they really should?"
Yes, expose the corruption, kind of like WikiLeaks attempted to do with the DNC. Of course, one of the challenges is that much of the shenanigans going on in american politics are not even considered serious by the masses (more so business as usual), as long as they get their free stuff or the politician is of their party, they don't care. In the case of a reporter, if they lean-left they down play the allegations of Democrats and act as apologetics, then attack Republican politicians and leaders.
As a writer, I have no need for a Pulitzer, and I don't always place a lot of value on self-righteous whistleblowers, especially those who are involved and want immunity or have an ax to grind, or have done something dishonest to do the whistleblowing. I especially dislike traitors.
Our thinker also stated; "You know findings will also make their way to giant news corporations as well through the backdoor pipeline."
I suppose, and yet how will this information be derived? Remember Rupert Murdock scandal? Remember the HP scandal with the board members getting cell phone call records? Although there is some immunity, theoretically from the media not to reveal sources, that would mean being dishonest in the process. Can we even trust the media? I don't.
Another issue I see is that if this were not totally nonpartisan, it wouldn't work. I bet there are many very political animals on both sides of the aisle and secondary parties would want the NSA information for instance to clobber their political rivals. In fact, that could change history, even destroy the country if done wrong or un-orchestrated. (Remember: this was a conversation in late 2015).
Our thinker now notes: "We need good agents, and backed by a think tank (which can provide targets), it could prove effective."
Boy you'd have to have some super people on your team, integrity beyond reproach, and you'd have to have the command and control of the organization stay out of sight and out of mind (invisible almost). I don't know anyone I can trust at that level, only one, and I am unconvinced I'd want to do it, even if I understand the need.
You see, I also understand the animal, the political animal. I understand the competitive aspects and the type of person needed to do the job. Have you ever participated in politics? Some of these people are worse than stock brokers at the wire house, selling penny stocks, or working in boiler rooms. Last liar wins.
Indeed, I believe the United States Supreme Court has been compromised by corporations giving jobs and high-paying consulting gigs to immediate family members of our Supreme Court Justices. We cannot allow this. We must remove and replace those members on the Supreme Court who've allowed these compromises to affect their decision making. We need to look too at the Executive Branch, the Senate, and all Congressional Members of BOTH parties not just one.
We need to look at ALL governors, and ALL top bureaucrats at the Federal and State Levels, once we do this, we need that serious commitment to anti-corruption to make it all the way down to the municipal level. Think on it.
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Donald Trump can be hated and loved by many. I’m not going to make this into a political discussion by any means. But, love him or hate, there are traits that (especially in his earlier years) that can teach you lessons on becoming a better real estate/mobile home investor
I noticed some interesting things about him when my wife and I watched a couple of episodes of a Trump documentary series on Netflix.
Of course, all documentaries are biased in nature, but this one (surprisingly) swayed on favoring Trump.
Regardless of your political position and view of Trump, the man was a deal-maker.
Especially in his younger days, where he was less of an a-hole towards others (I’m talking about his insults and attacks… which are pretty humorous when you watch it.)
Anyway, this is how he operated when he was first buying up buildings (at least from what I see from his first success: the Grand Hyatt Hotel):
– He contacted the owner of a non-performing commercial building
– Negotiated a steep price (the owner was motivated)
– He knew what price to purchase it for
– Made a good deal with the owner
– Called on investors (he didn’t have the money to buy it)
– Negotiated with the city on a 40-year tax break (imagine the yearly taxes he would have to pay on a billion dollar building in New York?)
– Negotiated with contractors
– Never swayed on his view of the hotel
– Hired the best people for the position (he even hired a woman [gasp!] to the position of head engineer… and this woman was a tough cookie.
– He got the 7-year project done
– He became the expert in hotel construction (niching down is probably one of the best things you can do as a real estate investor)
Anyway, that looks a lot like how people do deals in the SFR business… or even the mobile home business. No matter how big or small there’s a ton of “deal-making” happening behind the scenes. Deal-making is a learned skill. Trump learned it from his father (Fred Trump) when he worked under his father’s commercial apartment business.
“Deal-making” is just what I described above… the art of the deal… which Trump was excellent at. So getting better at “deal-making” starts with a few traits that Trump was all too familiar with:
1. He stuck to his guns (he didn’t let the city bully him from sweeping their original agreement with him regarding the tax break)
2. He had a huge network of resources (He went out of his way to make himself known)
3. He knew more about the subject than the other guy (having the previous experience in the smaller commercial space helped)
4. He had powerful people behind him (the lawyer he had was the most feared lawyer in NY who represented the mafia)… having someone behind you to guide is a big help in structuring a good real estate deal.
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