Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Mark Cuban slams Donald Trump: Not paying taxes is greedy, not ‘smart’
A fellow billionaire criticizes Republican nominee Donald Trump for not paying taxes. Telling him you can not just, "Take take take." Do you believe the upper class should be paying taxes just like everyone else? Does Trump's statement change your opinion of him, for better or for worse? Why?
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I do believe that the upper class should be paying taxes just like everyone else. If the rest of Americans have to pay up, so should you. I understand using a loophole or two to pay a little less, but paying none whatsoever is ridiculous. However, my opinion of Trump is so negative that I am basically numb to anymore of his bizarre behavior. He acts like a bully and has no respect for people. To be honest, many 6th graders act more mature than him. He insults our allies and seeks closer ties with Russia, a hostile foreign power. He is a threat to our nation.
ReplyDeleteMany of the richest in this country already don’t pay their fair share in taxes, but to hear that one of the supposedly rich (I say supposedly because I have seen the tax releases yet) persons in this country is not his paying taxes is deplorable. Trump said his money would be wasted, but this of course does not justify his actions. He is setting an example for millions of American and if they hear Trump doesn't pay taxes, they might start to question whether or not it’s worth paying theirs. He has hit a new low, and I’m sure has lost the respect of even more people.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly dangerous and upsetting. I already had a pretty strong anti-Trump attitude going into the debate, but I think I audibly gasped when he said that not paying his taxed makes him smart. I am a strong believer that everyone should have to pay taxes of some sort, so to hear that one of the alleged richest people in our country AND our possible future leader thinks its a good idea not to pay taxes -not to contrubte and give back to the country he is campaigning to run- is absolutly absurd. Just when I thought my opinion of him counting sink any further, it did, and I'm sure it will again.
ReplyDeleteSo a super rich guy who owns lots of very expensive things and is perhaps best known for appearing on a really dumb TV show is criticizing Donald Trump. I don't love Mark Cuban, and this feels a bit like a Scientologist approaching a Pastafarian and saying "Wait! You really believe that Bologna??", but he raises a fair point. Taxes are taxes. And he's honest, too. He admits he takes advantage where he can but certainly does not oppose paying taxes, and even tries a little voluntary philanthropy here and there.
ReplyDeleteBut the guy who reads Ayn Rand for fun criticizing the Donald is kind of funny. What I really enjoy is that even he admits taxes are good. They are!! You are donating money to infrastructure and government programs and if you're unhappy with where your taxes go you have a phone and an email and a pen so go talk to your congressman.
Did it change my opinion of Trump in any way? No. Of course not. Narcissists (which Trump clearly is) do not think they make mistakes. Trump probably has a litany of tax-avoidances and insurance scams, and I'm sure he's proud of them. He's also a compulsive liar, claiming after the debate that he did not say that, but of course he did. In the end, it doesn't matter. His supporters don't care, and as long as he doesn't win, neither do I.
There is a difference between "good business" and "advantageous business." Good business is when both parties receive fair treatment. They both don't necessarily benefit in terms of outcome, but the process was just and fair. Donald Trump participates in advantageous business. In this scenario, one party is himself, and the other party is every single welfare or health or education program that the federal government provides for the people of the United States. Trump is taking advantage of these programs to benefit himself. Nobody, regardless of how wealthy you are or how talented your accountants, is above taxes.
ReplyDeleteThis theme of advantageous business is reoccurring with Trump's behavior. He often takes advantages of small businesses. For example, he refused to pay the caterer for his wedding, claiming that because she did a job for him, she would now get better business, so he owed her nothing else other than that bullet point on her resume. I'm not comfortable with such a manipulative man being our commander in chief.
The upper class should absolutely pay taxes. Every US citizen should be paying taxes. Cuban said that he takes advantage where he can in regards to his taxes which I believe is smart and good business. Trump, on the other hand, is definitely hiding something. I don't believe that he is paying his taxes but all people are inncoent until proven guilty. His comment that not paying his taxes makes him "smart" is ridiculous. Not paying taxes is ridiculous and unfair. Cuban is the one who is "smart" and is morally a pretty good person. Paying taxes is a much, however paying the bare minimum is smart. Why would anyone want to pay more than they truly have to pay? This is just another example of something ridiculous and stupid that Trump has said.
ReplyDeleteI believe that every US citizen should have to pay taxes regardless of financial wealth. There is a baseline for how a citizen should act, and paying taxes is necessary. That being said, trying to pay less taxes, like Cuban, is okay. But avoiding taxes altogether is unacceptable, and definitely not smart. I can't figure out why trump would think saying he doesn't pay taxes would gain him a bigger following. And I definitely can't figure out how he has the audacity to say that he never said that, even though it was broadcatsed (and filmed) on live tv. This didn't cause my opinion of trump to change, rather it reinforced how I already thought of him.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of wealth, one should give back to the government that paves their roads, educates their children, and keeps them safe. Donald Trump may take advantage of a broken system, and while you can't blame him for that, it definitely is not smart to announce he doesn't pay income tax on national television. I believe he should pay taxes, as everyone should, but I believe that the system has to be fixed before we expect anyone to do what's right out of the goodness of their hearts, because generally people do as little as possible to get by. Once the system is repaired and the rich pay their fair share (which should definitely be more than it is now), then we can expect every person to pay. Morally, I can fault Donald Trump on this; however, the American Government is at fault for this loophole logistically, not Donald Trump. After making this comment, however, I did not gain any respect for Donald Trump. I remain completely opposed to him in most all regards. However, on this particular issue, we can wish he would follow the rules and be a good person, but until we force him to, we all know he will not do that. As a side note, I feel as though Cuban definitely pays very little in taxes as well, and I don't think he should be criticizing Trump on cheating the system when he almost definitely does as well to a degree.
ReplyDeleteThe upper class should definitely be paying their fair share of taxes, but there is no way to enforce that. Many rich people evade their taxes and hide their assets such as the ones uncovered in the Panama Papers; they just don't admit to it on national TV. Also, taking advantage of the broken tax system, in my opinion, is smart to some degree. Many people believe that not paying taxes, keeping the money to themselves, and picking what to spend the money on for society is better than giving the money to a broken government that is just going to waste it. However, this only works if the person actually does give money back to society. In Trump's case, it only makes him look worse as he doesn't donate nor does he pay taxes.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprises me most about this incident is how blatant Trump has been with this revelation. Mr. Trump isn't known for his subtlety, but this is taking it to a ridiculous level. SNL spoofed this in a recent bit, and if I hadn't watched the original debate it would've seemed too outlandish to be real! Cuban noted that "this is a country that’s been great to us and you can’t just take, take, take, take, take, take take", calling Trump greedy and suggesting he take more responsibility as a fellow top-earner. What is especially baffling, however, is how Trump could think this would help his campaign. He said during the debate that this made him "smart", yet most of the American public probably won't see it this way. Trump's has previously criticized illegal immigrants for not paying taxes, and often tried to adopt the persona of an "average (yet incredibly rich) Joe" when compared to political insiders like Clinton. Overtly admitting he doesn't pay income tax seems like it would be detrimental to his campaign and image.
ReplyDeleteAs an American, it is our duty to pay taxes, whether you want to or not. Cheating this system does not make you look smart, it makes you seem shady and makes it look like you have secrets to hide. Donald Trump's statement makes me dislike him even more, which I didn't even think was possible. The fact that Mark Cuban, a pretty famous and successful businessman, is critiquing Trump's tax choices should be throwing out some red flags to Trump and his supporters. America, although famous for some of its businesses, is not a corporation, and therefore shouldn't be run by a CEO with crooked priorities.
ReplyDeleteAll Americans should have to pay taxes that are in proportion to their income. But for Donald Trump, who is running to be President, to say that it's smart of him to not pay taxes is just dumb. How could he set an example as the president if he doesn't pay taxes himself. Not to mention his endless claims of his own wealth, so paying taxes shouldn't be too hard for him
ReplyDeleteLooks like Donald Trump was the victim of a shark attack! (Get it? Cause he's on Shark Tank? I'm so sorry)
ReplyDelete"Smart" shouldn't be the term used by a candidate who doesn't pay taxes. While, as a business student, I have the upmost respect for both Trump and Cuban and believe they are both brilliant business men, however, Cuban is obviously the more charismatic and professional of the two. While Cuban's instructions to his tax lawyers to "'take advantage' where they can" sounds slightly unsettling, it's apparent that Cuban operates on a much more professional level than the Republican presidential nominee. Cuban's explanation about his taxes seems business savvy while Trump's seems downright offensive to the American people. Given that exaggerations pour out of Trump's mouth like water from Niagara Falls, I guess we'll never know what Trump truly means by "smart" until we see his tax returns.
"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes"(Ben Franklin).
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, if the American public should have to pay taxes than so should the American billionaires like Trump and Cuban. Trump clearly did not get the message that taxes are something every law-abiding citizen has to complete. While taking advantage of the system at times may be "smart" as Cuban pointed out, not paying your taxes is far from "smart." As a man who is campaigning to "Make America Great Again," not paying your taxes is hardly the way to go about doing that. Personally, I never liked Trump, but when he called evading taxes "smart" I disliked him even more. Cuban said that as a highly successful businessman himself, he recognizes that paying taxes is a necessary evil. The American public (the majority of whom pay taxes) will likely not see Trump as "smart" for avoiding his taxes, but will instead see him as shady and evasive.
Trump's statement definitely did not make me feel any better about him, however I can see how other people can take it as a positive, "clever" thing to say. However, taxes are taxes. Why should wealthy people be exempt from them, only to get wealthier while the middle and lower class have to pay more taxes to catch up? If it's so "smart" not to pay taxes, why don't we all just not pay?
ReplyDeleteI saw this statement by Trump live, and was utterly disgusted by it. Tax returns or not, Trump clearly has had much wealth and has been doing extremely well for himself, so the fact that he can exempt himself from these taxes due to a legal clause is absolutely infuriating. For a guy who is all about keeping jobs in America and trying to stop the flow of money out of the country, he really doesn't walk the walk, keeping that same money that could build up our country for himself. In terms of numbers, yeah sure, Trump could qualify as "smart". More like politically and economically aware, but regardless, that doesn't make it right. Everyone has an obligation to pay taxes to the government, especially the rich and economically well off. They got this far, they have more then enough money to support themselves and their families comfortably, they should have to give back to the country that allowed them to earn their success in the first place. This is just disgusting, and I'm not sure why more people haven't called him out on this.
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