@JMShort I wish you’d write an article about this. Most of us really don’t understand how these markets and currencies work or how delicately they are poised. Ignore the “we hate banksters” naysayers, who have some obscure agenda that rests on who knows what, not gathering more information, that’s for sure– you have interesting insights AND information few others have. You’ve also known people like Trump in your business life. I’d be interested in reading more.

Why Me?

For those of you who haven’t read my book, Carnal Abuse by Deceit, I’ll clarify that my first career was on Wall Street, culminating with a position as the very first woman that Salomon Brothers, a highly regarded investment bank, ever hired to trade. My title was Junior Corporate Bond Trader.

It’s not as if the old-boy-network wanted a female face on the desk. They didn’t. Back in those days, the women in The Room, as our trading desk was known throughout the industry, were secretaries or clerks. But the firm was forced to hire a woman in a more responsible role by the  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After interviewing about 250 females, I was it.

I got the distinct impression that my hire wasn’t so much a resounding support for my talents as much as it was for my timing. My boss had opposed every woman HR passed his way. He was on vacation when I came along. I had background in the field. HR signed the deal before he returned. Fortunately, as time marched forward, he became one of my staunchest allies.

I worked on the trading desk alongside many industry notables. Bill Salomon and John Gutfreund sat a few feet behind me. Lew Ranieri, the architect of securitization, bundling of mortgage backed securities, (see the movie The Big Short), a product that ultimately lead to the collapse of the US financial market in 2007, sat a few feet away. Mike Bloomberg, who was destined to become NYC’s 108th Mayor and the creator of some of the most sophisticated technology tools in the financial markets, was a couple of rows over. Michael Lewis, the author of Liars Poker, was given my seat after my departure.

We occupied a state-of-the-art room, often filled with the acrid odor of cigar smoke and the constant din of multiple transactions taking place all at the same time. It was so hectic that sometimes, you needed to hold two receivers to your ears, one on each side. I got the hang of it.

Along the way, I learned some things about finance…. and certainly more than Donald Trump. Don’t worry, this is not my bid for the Presidency! Just laying the foundation that, unlike Mr. Trump, I might actually know what I’m talkin’ about.

Rating- It’s impact on Debt

First off, leverage, using other people’s money (OPM), enables you to do things you otherwise couldn’t afford. As long as you repay your debt (principle) and pay the interest in accordance with the arrangements that were established at the outset, investors are happy to lend you money, locking in a specific return. But when you don’t pay, skip payments, or try to renegotiate the deal you made, you fall out of grace….. just like if you borrowed money from your friend and didn’t pay them back. They’d be a fool to lend you money again, right? You would lose your “credit rating” with them.

A good rating, a grade that’s based on your history and the likelihood of repaying your debt as well as some other mitigating factors, makes it possible for you to secure a loan (issue a debt instrument) at a lesser interest rate than if you had bad credit. And the US Government has extremely good credit. That’s why the interest we pay to secure the things we need is next to nothing.

Treasury Bills are the instruments that secure most of our debt. And they are purchased by all kinds of investors including pensions, money market funds, the Social Security Administration (who holds several trillion dollars worth), and foreign nations. If the rating of the US debt instruments are devalued, it would destabilize the economy of the world. The prices of our bonds, bills and notes would plummet and the holders would lose boatloads of money. Senior citizens who rely on their Social Security benefits would be up the creek without a paddle.

Some people who support Mr. Trump will say, “That’s a good thing! That’ll show-up those bankers as the thieves they are. We’ll go back to charging a fair dollar for our resources and assets, and we have everything we need, so the heck with the rest of the world!”

Mr. Trump counts on people to be angry at the status quo and he espouses ridiculous solutions to fool them into thinking he’ll do something about it. He panders to people’s ignorance. I don’t mean being dumb. I mean “not knowing.”

Warfare, why we have it

Through the years, the greatest causes of  warfare have been power, the acquisition of real estate…. particularly to acquire resources that are sorely needed by other nations, and  bigoted religious hatred. If you’re in need of oil, a seaport, farmland, minerals, or if you’re intolerant of their religious beliefs, wage war against your neighbor.

In today’s technologically advanced world with the simplicity of travel, anyone can be anywhere in a flash. We learned that lesson in 2001 when two planes, overtaken by foreigners terrorists, imploded the World Trade Center. The first contained a distant cousin of mine along with her young daughter. The second destroyed my office. The reality of terrorism is crystal clear to me.

Trumped Up foreign policy

Most US citizens consider bankruptcy a failure. Trump considers it a method of conducting business. He’s declared bankruptcy four times.

He’s also well-known for screwing (pardon my French) his contractors. He has a reputation of welshing on deals once the work is complete. The contractor agrees to a price for their service. They count on paying their suppliers and staff. They need to feed their kids and pay their mortgage or rent, just like all of us. But Mr. Trump shorts them. The cost of suing him isn’t worth the effort, so he gets off without consequences. But behaving that way in international financial circles will undermine the credit of the United States, destabilize domestic and international markets, and destroy our position of leadership throughout the world.

It will create the kind of chaos that, along with his total disregard and insensitivity for religious freedom, will make our resource rich country a ripe target for attack by outside interests and could lead to a global war.

Lastly- Trump believes it’s okay for a man to force his wife to have sex

His first wife, Ivanna, disclosed a 1989 incident in which she alleged that Trump had raped her.  He’d had an operation to reduce his bald spot and was very angry at the level of pain it produced. She’d recommended the plastic surgeon. He directed his rage to her, raping her and screaming, “Your f*cking doctor has ruined me!”

Michael Cohen, an attorney for the Trump Organization stated, in defense of Trump’s actions, “You cannot rape your spouse, and there’s very clear case law.” Mr. Trump has never refuted his attorney’s statement.

A man who can justify defiling his wife and the mother of his children can do any form of harm to anyone.  

It’s likely that the reason the Hillary camp does not focus attention on this horror is because it would raise the specter of her husband’s philandering ways. But Bill is not running for office, Hillary is. Hillary neither raped nor was accused of raping anyone. And she has every right to be upset at women who had sex with Bill knowing he was a married man. That doesn’t let her husband off the hook for his part, but those women were far from innocent in knowingly contributing to the infidelity of her husband.

Trump has no conscience. When you think of the horrors perpetrated on society by conscienceless political figures think Atilla the Hun, Hitler, Pappa Doc, Maummar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. Do I need to say more?

Do you want a person who:

1. doesn’t stand behind his word,
2. promotes hateful bigotry,
3. espouses financial policy that can destabilize the world,
4. and condones rape against a spouse,

……. all behaviors that exemplify the character disorder we recognize as sociopathy and psychopathy, sitting with his finger on a button that launches nuclear warheads?

Trump as President of the US is total insanity! 

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When Combating Romance Scams, Why Lying to Get Laid Is a Crime! hits the book stands, I’ll be giving away a free Kindle Fire to a person who purchases the book on the very first day, and writes one of the first 20 inspiring book reviews within the first two weeks.

Why? Because together we can put an end to romance scams!

Click here to pre-register for your copy! 

 

 

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