Posted on 03/26/2016 10:08:45 AM PDT by Steelfish
The Trump Network Was Scandalous. The Government’s Response May Have Been Worse
David Dayen,The Fiscal Times Mar 25
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is rooted in the idea that, with him at the helm, Americans will all get rich. In many of his affiliated businesses, he also promised great fortunes, while instead leaving people in ruins.
We already knew about Trump Mortgage, Trump University, and a few other get-rich-quick ventures. But the Trump Network, a classic multilevel marketing scheme, perhaps best exemplifies this tendency of Trump to over-promise and under-deliver.
Trump licensed his name to Ideal Health, a seller of multivitamins, diet pills and energy drinks, turning it into Trump Network in late 2009. Trump Network charged its salespeople for the products upfront, and then paid them through commissions and for attracting new sales recruits. It operated like a pyramid scheme. The salespeople took on all the risk, spending thousands of dollars in materials that they could only make back by bringing other people into the company and getting them to pay as well. Although salespeople say they were led to believe that Trump was actively involved — and why wouldn’t they, with a name like Trump Network — he merely lent his name to the company and gave a few motivational speeches.
Ultimately, few salespeople ever recovered their investments in leadership seminars, marketing kits and promotional leads. The company made money by impoverishing its sales force. Eventually, even that didn’t work; the Trump Network’s owners filed for bankruptcy and sold off the company.
We can go on about the perfidiousness of Trump participating in these predatory con jobs that rely on giving false hopes to vulnerable people. But we should also point out that running this kind of business can be illegal.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Your idiocy is scandalous.
Today's generation are just flat victims! Everyone is offending and invading their safe spaces! The whole idea of capitalism, which requires an investment not only of money (pay for the course, the supplies, whatever) and an investment of EFFORT — it's just so white! AND -- it "can be illegal!"
Well, is it, or isn't it? But knowing the answer to that might require EFFORT on the part of the "journalist", which is so, like, white and privileged!
Look yourself in the mirror and you will idiocy defined.
More BS. The
I read the article. Buyer beware. I got sucked into a couple of schemes years ago. I didn’t go broke but spent money for nothing.
I like the “and could be illegal” part. It is or it isn’t.
I see you did the experiment
I saw the word scandalous and thought the piece was about CheaTED.
I had no idea Trump was ever part a MLM scheme. That is very low.
Whenever you go in public and a complete stranger approaches you with a friendly smile, 99% of the time it is someone wanting to offer you an opportunity of a lifetime to easily get rich by joining their downline.
Should be illegal.
Hope Trump regrets lending his name to an MLM scam.
I agree with you if Trump remained a businessman. But we don’t want a snake-oil salesman running against a felon to be our President.
At least you, unlike a few there Trumpkins, needs to be commended for a thoughtful response.
“can be illegal”
You do innuendo very well. Care to try for factual?
1. People in sales got to get up off their “rear ends” and sell.
2. Trump net, eventhough it was only a licensed venture, did not promise trump would go out & sell it for you.
3. Btw, didn’t Amway just eliminate thousands of american jobs when they moved HQ to europe?
The eGOP has been using bait and switch for years.. Par for the course, sadly. Ask Mitch.. MultiLevel Mugwumping.. Been there, still doing ‘it’.
David Dayen should change his name to David Dayem. Dayem, for those who don’t know, is Southern for “damn.”
Has David Dayen written about Hillary’s corruption, selling influence through the Clinton Foundation? No? Case closed on his lack of objectivity.
So Trump licensed his name to an MLM business?? Oh the scandal!!! Someone send the marines in to shut down Amway immediately.
You’re close to qualifying for the Top Ten Most Likely To Be Zotted list.
Let the TDS flow through you!
“Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is rooted in the idea that, with him at the helm, Americans will all get rich.”
No, it is not.
Difficult giving credence to an article that commences with a lie.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.