One of the complaints against rich people in America is that they do not pay enough taxes. The truth is, however, that the rich do not pay more in taxes than they need to by virtue of the law. One of the strategies they employ to avoid paying taxes is the creation of trusts and foundations. By donating their income to a nonprofit, they get a tax deduction. This is made possible because our society values the work of nonprofits and wants to encourage people to give to the same.
Organizations such as the Red Cross, veterans’ organizations, the YMCA, and the Boys & Girls Club probably couldn’t exist were it not for the fact that donations to these organizations are tax deductible.
The other major reason people create foundations is that they would rather use and direct the money they earned instead of giving it to the government. When you give money to a nonprofit, you can exercise discernment as to whether the nonprofit is successful and efficient at what it does. Moreover, you can also inspect the financial records of the organization to ensure that the staff is not overpaid and that the bulk of the money is actually being spent for altruistic purposes. This form of direct giving allows for a measure of control and oversight, which is a good thing. Conversely, who can argue that the federal government makes good use of your tax dollars efficiently and competently?
So, what do you make of the fact that Hillary and Bill Clinton have two foundations? You would think that these big-government fans who favor redistributing wealth would give all the money they can to the government instead of holding some back.
Of their foundations, one of them is under investigation by the FBI. The second foundation is a private foundation that only takes in money that the Clintons themselves donate in order to avoid taxes. The Clintons gave their own charity $1 million, while their only other donation was for $42,000 to a charitable golf tournament in Palm Springs. One of my radio guests rightly quipped that the Clintons’ one and only favorite charity is apparently the Clintons! Go figure!
Whereas the media has ignored the Clintons’ wealth in this presidential election cycle, much has been said about Donald Trump’s fortune. Democrats criticize Trump for having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. They say he can’t relate to the plight of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck. The problem the Dems have in making this case against the Donald is that the Clintons have become filthy rich by way of public service. Think about that for a moment, will you? While everyone knows that the Donald turned millions into billions by way of private initiative and personal risk, just how did the Clintons manage to earn a quarter of a billion dollars in gross income since leaving the White House?
Let’s begin with Hillary’s claim that she and Bill were dead broke and in debt when they left the White House in 2000. The truth is, at the time, the struggling Clintons managed to own two homes worth a combined value of more than $4 million! Not long thereafter, Bill Clinton started collecting six-figure speaking fees. Hillary, after leaving the White House, earned millions in royalties from a publishing company. Within four years, the Clintons were worth more than $10 million, but that was only the beginning. Once Hillary became Secretary of State, Bill Clinton started collecting even higher sums including several occasions where he was paid $500,000 per speech! By the time this presidential election cycle rolled around, the Clintons had amassed a tidy fortune worth more than $100 million. How did they do it?
Does anyone really believe that Wall Street banks and other crony capitalists gave the Clintons tens of millions in speaking fees for any other reason than to curry favor with the Secretary of State and the next presumptive Democratic nominee for president? Or that foreign governments—including oligarchs, dictators and warlords, along with their business partners—gave more than a billion dollars to the Clinton foundation for altruistic purposes?
The Clintons have simply perfected pay-to-play to an art form on a global scale according to Peter Schweizer’s thoroughly documented book Clinton Cash. The book was a New York Times bestseller, and now a film version is available for free on the internet. You can see it at breitbart.com. I encourage everyone to either read the book or watch the film to understand just how Bill and Hillary Clinton have enriched themselves at the expense of some of the poorest people in the world, the environment, and our national security.
Clinton Cash follows the Clintons on a world tour of corruption, influence peddling, kickbacks, and exploitation that is truly alarming, dangerous, and disgusting. It is essential that as many people in America understand the depth of their financial turpitude.
I believe that any person who is willing to overlook the apparent corruption of the Clintons while disparaging Donald Trump is doing a great disservice to our country. Whereas Trump certainly has his flaws, the preponderance of evidence against the Clintons is just too overwhelming to ignore by way of comparison. I truly believe Trump will seek what is best for America, whereas the Clintons are clearly in it for themselves.
Andy Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB and the host of the Andy Caldwell Show weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m. on AM1440. Semd comments to our editor at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2016.