David Cay Johnston – författare

Pulitzer Prize­–winning reporter and dean of Trumpologists David Cay Johnston reveals years of eye-popping financial misdeeds by Donald Trump and his family.While the world watched Donald Trump’s presidency in horror or delight, few noticed that his lifelong grifting quietly continued. Less than forty minutes after taking the oath of office, Trump began turning the White House into a money machine for himself, his family, and his courtiers. More than $1.7 billion flowed into Donald Trump’s bank accounts during his four years as president. Foreign governments rented out whole floors of his hotel five blocks from the White House while lobbyists conducted business in the hotel’s restaurants. Payday lenders and other trade groups moved their annual conventions to Trump golf resorts. And individual favor seekers joined his private Mar-a-Lago club with its $200,000 admission fee in hopes of getting a few minutes with the President. Despite earning more than $1 million every day he was in office, Trump left the White House as he arrived—hard up for cash. More than $400 million in debt comes due by 2024, and Trump still lacks the resources to pay it back. “Few people are as well positioned to write an exposé of the former president as Johnston” (The Washington Post), and The Big Cheat offers a guided tour of how money flowed in and out of Trump’s hundreds of enterprises, showing in simple terms how a corrupt president used our government for his benefit, even putting national security at risk. Johnston details the four most recent years of the corruption that has defined the Trump family since 1885 and reveals the costs of Trump’s extravagant lifestyle for American taxpayers.

Now updated with a new prologue!

 

Since the mid-1970s, there has been a dramatic shift in America''s socioeconomic system, one that has gone virtually unnoticed by the general public. Tax policies and their enforcement have become a disaster, and thanks to discreet lobbying by a segment of the top 1 percent, Washington is reluctant or unable to fix them. The corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the gift tax have been largely ignored by the media. But the cumulative results are remarkable: today someone who earns a yearly salary of $60,000 pays a larger percentage of his income in taxes than the four hundred richest Americans.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston exposes exactly how the middle class is being squeezed to create a widening wealth gap that threatens the stability of the country. By relating the compelling tales of real people across all areas of society, he reveals the truth behind:

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"Middle class" tax cuts and exactly whom they benefit.

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How workers are being cheated out of their retirement plans while disgraced CEOs walk away with millions.

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How some corporations avoid paying any federal income tax.

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How a law meant to prevent cheating by the top 2 percent of Americans no longer affects most of them, but has morphed into a stealth tax on single mothers making just $28,000.

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Why the working poor are seven times more likely to be audited by the IRS than everyone else.

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How the IRS became so weak that even when it was handed complete banking records detailing massive cheating by 1,600 people, it prosecuted only 4 percent of them.

Johnston has been breaking pieces of this story on the front page of The New York Times for seven years. With Perfectly Legal, he puts the whole shocking narrative together in a way that will stir up media attention and make readers angry about the state of our country.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

The bestselling author of Perfectly Legal returns with a powerful new exposé How does a strong and growing economy lend itself to job uncertainty, debt, bankruptcy, and economic fear for a vast number of Americans? Free Lunch provides answers to this great economic mystery of our time, revealing how today''s government policies and spending reach deep into the wallets of the many for the benefit of the wealthy few. Johnston cuts through the official version of events and shows how, under the guise of deregulation, a whole new set of regulations quietly went into effect-- regulations that thwart competition, depress wages, and reward misconduct. From how George W. Bush got rich off a tax increase to a $100 million taxpayer gift to Warren Buffett, Johnston puts a face on all of the dirty little tricks that business and government pull. A lot of people appear to be getting free lunches, but of course there''s no such thing as a free lunch, and someone (you, the taxpayer) is picking up the bill. Johnston''s many revelations include: How we ended up with the most expensive yet inefficient health-care system in the world How homeowners title insurance became a costly, deceitful, yet almost invisible oligopoly How our government gives hidden subsidies for posh golf courses How Paris Hilton''s grandfather schemed to retake the family fortune from a charity for poor children How the Yankees and Mets owners will collect more than $1.3 billion in public funds In these instances and many more, Free Lunch shows how the lobbyists and lawyers representing the most powerful 0.1 percent of Americans manipulated our government at the expense of the other 99.9 percent. With his extraordinary reporting, vivid stories, and sharp analysis, Johnston reveals the forces that shape our everyday economic lives and shows us how we can finally make things better.From the Hardcover edition.

“No other modern country gives corporations the unfettered power found in America to gouge cus­tomers, shortchange workers, and erect barriers to fair play. A big reason is that so little of the news . . . addresses the private, government-approved mechanisms by which price gouging is employed to redistribute income upward.”

You are being systematically exploited by powerful corporations every day. These companies squeeze their trusting customers for every last cent, risk their retirement funds, and endanger their lives. And they do it all legally. How? It’s all in the fine print.

David Cay Johnston, the bestselling author of Per­fectly Legal and Free Lunch, is famous for exposing the perfidies of our biggest institutions. Now he turns his attention to the ways huge corporations hide sneaky stipulations in just about every contract, often with government permission.

Johnston has been known to whip out a utility bill and explain line by line what all that mumbo jumbo actually means (and it doesn’t mean anything good, unless you happen to be the utility company). Within all that jargon, disclosed in accordance with all legal requirements, lie the tools these companies use to rob you blind. Even worse is what’s missing—all the contractually binding clauses that companies hide elsewhere yet still enforce and abuse. Consider, for example, how:

An insurance company repeatedly delayed paying for a paralyzed man’s vital care despite court orders to pay up. Laws in nineteen states let companies like Goldman Sachs, General Electric, and Procter & Gamble pocket the state income taxes withheld from their workers’ paychecks for up to twenty-five years. A little-known government rule gives safety waiv­ers to deadly industrial facilities secretly located underneath schools and playgrounds. The “FCC Charge” on your phone bill, which appears to be a government fee, actually goes straight to the phone company.

Johnston shares solutions you can use to fight back against the hundreds of obscure fees and taxes that line the pockets of big corporations, and to help end these devious practices once and for all.

Essays on the dangers of the wealth and income gap, collected by the New York Times–bestselling author of It''s Even Worse Than You Think. This collection includes writings by a wide range of voices—including Adam Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Barbara Ehrenreich, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Studs Terkel, Paul Krugman, Barack Obama, and David Cay Johnston—illuminating the reality of economic inequality in America, where in spite of the fury that followed the 2008 financial crisis, little has to been done to address the gulf between the one percent and the ninety-nine percent. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Cay Johnston explains that in this most unequal of developed nations, every aspect of inequality remains hotly contested and poorly understood. These writings, from leading scholars, journalists, and activists, offers a multifaceted look at the problem, exploring its devastating—and dangerous—implications in areas as diverse as education, justice, health care, social mobility, and political representation. Provocative and eminently readable, here is an essential resource for anyone who cares about the future of America—and compelling evidence that inequality can be ignored only at the nation''s peril.

Praised as a page-turner. just the kind of spotlight that is needed' (Counterpunch) and, 'a potent chronicle of America's 'extreme inequality'' (Kirkus Reviews), DIVIDED collects the writings of leading scholars, activists and journalists - including Elizabeth Warren, President Barack Obama, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Paul Krugman and Barbara Ehrenreich - to provide an illuminating, multifaceted look at one of the most pressing issues facing the world today.'

Pulitzer Prize­–winning reporter and dean of Trumpologists David Cay Johnston reveals years of eye-popping financial misdeeds by Donald Trump and his family.While the world watched Donald Trump’s presidency in horror or delight, few noticed that his lifelong grifting quietly continued. Less than forty minutes after taking the oath of office, Trump began turning the White House into a money machine for himself, his family, and his courtiers. More than $1.7 billion flowed into Donald Trump’s bank accounts during his four years as president. Foreign governments rented out whole floors of his hotel five blocks from the White House while lobbyists conducted business in the hotel’s restaurants. Payday lenders and other trade groups moved their annual conventions to Trump golf resorts. And individual favor seekers joined his private Mar-a-Lago club with its $200,000 admission fee in hopes of getting a few minutes with the President. Despite earning more than $1 million every day he was in office, Trump left the White House as he arrived—hard up for cash. More than $400 million in debt comes due by 2024, and Trump still lacks the resources to pay it back. “Few people are as well positioned to write an exposé of the former president as Johnston” (The Washington Post), and The Big Cheat offers a guided tour of how money flowed in and out of Trump’s hundreds of enterprises, showing in simple terms how a corrupt president used our government for his benefit, even putting national security at risk. Johnston details the four most recent years of the corruption that has defined the Trump family since 1885 and reveals the costs of Trump’s extravagant lifestyle for American taxpayers.

Pulitzer Prize­–winning reporter and dean of Trumpologists David Cay Johnston reveals years of eye-popping financial misdeeds by Donald Trump and his family.While the world watched Donald Trump’s presidency in horror or delight, few noticed that his lifelong grifting quietly continued. Less than forty minutes after taking the oath of office, Trump began turning the White House into a money machine for himself, his family, and his courtiers. More than $1.7 billion flowed into Donald Trump’s bank accounts during his four years as president. Foreign governments rented out whole floors of his hotel five blocks from the White House while lobbyists conducted business in the hotel’s restaurants. Payday lenders and other trade groups moved their annual conventions to Trump golf resorts. And individual favor seekers joined his private Mar-a-Lago club with its $200,000 admission fee in hopes of getting a few minutes with the President. Despite earning more than $1 million every day he was in office, Trump left the White House as he arrived—hard up for cash. More than $400 million in debt comes due by 2024, and Trump still lacks the resources to pay it back. “Few people are as well positioned to write an exposé of the former president as Johnston” (The Washington Post), and The Big Cheat offers a guided tour of how money flowed in and out of Trump’s hundreds of enterprises, showing in simple terms how a corrupt president used our government for his benefit, even putting national security at risk. Johnston details the four most recent years of the corruption that has defined the Trump family since 1885 and reveals the costs of Trump’s extravagant lifestyle for American taxpayers.

DER NEUE US-PRÄSIDENT – WER IST DONALD TRUMP?In Die Akte Trump zeigt Pulitzerpreisträger David Cay Johnston den Aufstieg des 45. Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten – angefangen bei Kindheit und Erziehung bis zum erbitterten Wahlkampf gegen Hillary Clinton. Mithilfe zahlreicher Interviews, Gerichtsakten und Finanzdokumente wird das Gefl echt aus Lügen und Halbwahrheiten rund um Donald Trump entwirrt und offengelegt. Wer ist der mächtigste Mann der Welt? Sachlich und fundiert entwirft David Cay Johnston ein vollständiges, brandaktuelles und mitunter erschreckendes Bild des neuen US-Präsidenten. »Was Johnston über den neuen Präsidenten erzählt, ist beeindruckend. Näher kann man Trump zurzeit wohl nicht kommen.« Süddeutsche Zeitung »David Cay Johnston gehört zu den Wenigen, die das komplexe trumpsche Firmengeflecht durchdrungen und hinter die vergoldeten Kulissen geblickt haben.« Der Spiegel Die Akte Trump »enthüllt die dubiosen Geschäfte des Donald Trump – und seine Skrupellosigkeit selbst gegenüber der eigenen Familie«. Stern

Schlimmer als befürchtet Wo steuert diese Präsidentschaft hin? Und vor allem: Welche Folgen birgt sie für uns? David Cay Johnston, einer der besten Kenner des amtierenden amerikanischen Präsidenten, zieht nach dem ersten Jahr mit Donald Trump eine düstere Bilanz: Die Lage der Wirtschaft ist desolat, die globale Sicherheit in permanenter Bedrohung, das Alltagsleben spürbar eingeschränkt. Ein schockierendes Buch, nicht nur über den Präsidenten und die amerikanische Gesellschaft, sondern auch über die Instabilität der politischen Weltlage. »Kein anderer Journalist kennt Donald Trumps Biografie so gut; schon aus diesem Grund verdient jedes Buch von David Cay Johnston Beachtung und viele Leser.« Süddeutsche Zeitung

GANADOR DEL PREMIO PULITZERCubriendo el largo recorrido de la carrera de Donald Trump, Johnston cuenta la fascinante e hilarante historia de cómo un chico de una tranquila zona de Queens (Nueva York) se convertiría en una completamente nueva y compleja especie de figura pública. Trump es un hombre de gran inteligencia mediática, espíritu emprendedor y poder político. Sin embargo, su carrera ha estado plagada de innumerables problemas legales y una enorme controversia en torno a su persona y sus actividades financieras. Desde los orígenes de la fortuna inmobiliaria de su familia, hasta su propio imperio de negocios demasiado grande como para fracasar; desde su educación y carrera temprana, hasta el torbellino de su candidatura presidencial, el libro proporciona la imagen más completa del extraordinario ascenso de Trump.La influencia masiva de Trump es innegable, y figuras tan diversas como Woody Guthrie (quien escribió una canción mordaz sobre el padre de Trump) y el fiscal Roy Cohn (más conocido por su actuación durante el Temor Rojo), jefes de la mafia, estrellas del deporte, así como el votante medio estadounidense, han sido arrastrados a su órbita. David Cay Johnston, que ha seguido a Trump más de cerca que cualquier otro periodista, nos da una mirada más profunda sobre el hombre que ya es presidente, partiendo de décadas de entrevistas, registros financieros, documentos judiciales y declaraciones públicas.