“Anything Goes America,” an abstract from The Economist, had a sad commentary on the decline of America.

The first paragraph detailed Harry Truman, who after his presidency, lived on an income from his memoirs and an army pension worth $1350 a month in today’s money.

His behavior is in stark contrast to our current president, Donald Trump, who will get paid enormous sums from speaking engagements, soliciting donations to his foundation from foreign governments, watching his children serve on company boards, getting investors to invest $ billions in his and his children’s worldwide business endeavors, and creating cryptocurrencies where he has collected billions in marketing fees. I recently read in the Wall Street Journal the following:

  • Shares of Trump Media & Technology are down 75% since his inauguration.
  • Trump Digital “meme coins” named for Donald Trump and Melania Trump are down 86% and 99% since inauguration day, respectively.
  • And, the Band Played on…

 

The Economist wrote the following:

“Donald Trump did not start the abuses, but he has upped the tempo and removed constraints that once held others back. Wealthy individuals will rest easy knowing that their tax returns will not be audited. The Department of Justice (I call it the Department of Injustice) has dropped prosecutions of politicians for corruption. This contrast highlights the shifting landscape of post-presidential life in America, where financial opportunities for former leaders have grown exponentially. While Truman represented a model of modesty and public service, today’s environment is marked by a blending of political influence and private enterprise, often blurring ethical lines and fueling public debate. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been gutted.”

“That is not true of tariffs, export controls and mergers, where Mr. Trump’s power and personality make it almost a fiduciary duty for company bosses to seek his good graces. Donors to the new White House ballroom, where the East Wing once stood, include firms whose main business is government contracts and those seeking regulatory approval for mergers.”

Mr. Trump’s clemency of a cryptocurrency mogul jailed for money-laundering, former ex-President of Honduras who was sentenced by a New York court to 45 years in prison for wide-spread drug laundering, and a man guilty of defrauding investors of $1.4 billion is an OUTRAGE.

The Economist asked the question: Did the administration approve a merger, or grant an export license, because it was in the national interest? Or, because the company bought the president’s goodwill? When anything goes, nobody knows. I think all of us reading this essay know the unseemly answer.

When I raise the question of Trump’s questionable ethics, friends say “things will get better with the next administration.” I am not so sanguine. Every empire prior to ours has fallen mainly due to corruption.

Although the eventual costs are uncertain, it is harder for an economy to thrive in the long run when the most important question for a boss is: “Do you know the president?”

Sadly, I see no prominent politician from either side of the aisle speaking out against Trump’s immorality. The Economist summarized our current political atmosphere.

“Surprisingly, the president appears to pay a puny political price for his self-dealing, or the loosening of rules that accompanies it. Partisanship means that if Democrats say something is crooked, MAGA types conclude that it must be fine. They say the other side has enough examples of grubbiness—think of how President Joe Biden’s family took advantage of his position, or the Clinton Foundation received money from Qatar—to make what Mr. Trump is doing seem different only in degree.”

In conclusion, I have no confidence that America will reform itself and return to the ethics of President Truman. After so many years of presidents enriching themselves, taking advantage of the presidential right to pardon people, and letting their children enrich themselves by touting government influence, I fear we have permanently lost our moral bearings.

When I was a child, it was said that President Washington never told a lie. My grandson will be taught that President Trump never tells the truth.