People Like Donald Trump Know That Economic Predation is Often Mistaken for Free Market Capitalism
Has anyone even bothered to notice that Trump is a landlord?
What I find so remarkable about former President Donald Trump isn’t just his loyal following. I’ve corresponded with some of his fans. If I should happen to mention that Trump is a card-carrying member of the Rentier Class, they just shrug their shoulders and say, “That doesn’t matter. He’s a good guy. He’s done great things for America!”
Trump is a landlord. He collects rent from tenants. He’s a copyright holder with gobs of intellectual property. He’s a magnet for litigation with access to an army of lawyers and accountants who know how to write off legal expenses in his tax returns. He knows how to buy influence in city hall, the state legislature in any state where he does business, and of course, Congress. Yet if you listen to his most outspoken supporters, he’s a champion of the free market.
There seems to be a strong correlation between fame and rent-seeking, and Trump is the most famous rent-seeker I have ever seen, anywhere. There isn’t a thing that he touches that does not seek or extract rent somewhere from someone. I have another name for rent-seeking: economic predation.
