What does a Trump presidency mean for note and real estate investors and lenders? The transition team says that he “will be working to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act.” One of the leading critics of Dodd-Frank, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, is a key advisor. Trump has also tapped long time Dodd-Frank opponent Paul Atkins to advise him on financial regulation. And his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, opposes much of D-F as well. It is disturbing that that Mnuchin is a product of Goldman Sachs. You don’t drain the swamp by putting the alligators in charge.
I worked for Ronald Reagan and was on his presidential transition team. I can tell you that not all campaign promises come true, and it’s not necessarily because the new president lied. Sometimes he discovers that it’s more efficient and/or politically possible to amend laws than to repeal them. Often 60 Senate votes are required to pass a bill, so sometimes you lose. Some programs have metastasized and are nearly impossible to eliminate completely. And sometimes the unelected, liberal, permanently entrenched bureaucracy just refuses to carry out the president’s orders. An exasperated President Nixon once exclaimed, “I give orders and nothing happens!”
Election time is always busy for us. Alison and I were in Iowa, where we have some political roots. On election night we had dinner with Gov. Terry Branstad, his delightful wife Chris and a couple of close friends and then watched the votes come in. (As you know by now, Terry is President-elect Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to China).
The Iowa Governor’s Mansion is a huge, gorgeous home built in 1869 in the Second Empire style. It is used for receptions, fundraisers, etc. The Governor and his family live in an apartment on the third floor. Chris has a terrific sense of humor. I mentioned how much we like the Mansion. She said, “Yes, it is a beautiful home. We live in the attic.”
Iowa has some of the finest office holders, state and federal, in the nation, and much of that is due to John Maxwell, the most successful political consultant in Iowa history. John wrote one of the best political ads ever: http://bit.ly/2es8YpZ (in the ad, “Judge” refers to Sen. Grassley’s opponent Patty Judge).
CNN is STILL faking the news to attack Trump: http://tinyurl.com/CNN-fakes-interview At the end of the interview the anchor outs the “Trump protestor” beng interviewed as a CNN cameraman. Don’t believe the media (except of course THE PAPER SOURCE JOURNAL.)
In future posts I will have much more to say about how the Trump Administration may affect your investments. In the meantime, here is who I am supporting for president in 2024:
http://tinyurl.com/my-2024-pick
