Letter to the Editor:

This letter offers neither support nor lack of support for Hillary Clinton. Someone else can write that letter.

A former letter writer will vote for Donald Trump because she admires Trumps’s being a “successful businessman.” Let us examine that “success.” First, he began his career being bankrolled by his dad – no coming up from nothing.

Then Trump is a master of bankruptcy which he uses to escape paying his creditors by having his debts forgiven or restructuring that leaves his creditors holding the bag. Those creditors include people who sold him real estate and even the lawyers who represented him in court. Trump calls himself the “king of bankruptcy” because in his several bankruptcies, he manipulates the law so well.

Trump University was a money-making venture. However, it is now closed and under litigation for bilking students out of 40 million dollars.

Trump adds to his billions by cutting labor costs. What should give blue collar workers pause is that among those suing Trump for unpaid wages are plumbers, painters, a dishwasher, and other hourly workers in his clubs and resorts. As recently as April of 2016, Trump had to settle with 48 workers for failure to pay overtime at a special event at his Miami golf resort.

Another labor cost saving device is that, as he rails against those who take jobs overseas, he is wearing a Trump suit made in Mexico and a Trump tie made in China.

Yet another way he added to his profits and decreased labor cost is when he hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to demolish a building to make room for the Trump Tower. They were paid $5.00 an hour. Trump said he was unaware they were illegal, but he certainly was aware enough to avoid giving them back pay. Marco Rubio cited this example and said this made Trump’s stand on illegal immigrants hypocritical.

Trump is successful in that he is a billionaire. For some, that seems to be reason enough to support him regardless of how he got his money. It would be interesting to see Trump’s tax return because it is quite possible that he paid no taxes at all since he knows how to game the system. And, yes, his returns can be made public when they are being audited. Just perhaps there is something he would prefer not be seen.

Finally, I offer a sincere apology for misleading that former letter writer. I mistakenly thought readers would recognize that my comments concerning politicians’ telling untruths or partial truths were directed to far too many of those representing us in Washington DC. Sorry for the obvious confusion.

Anne Michael

Tama