'I support higher taxes': The billionaire behind the National Debt Clock has had it with Trump
When U.S. government debt topped a trillion dollars for the first time in the early 1980s, New York real estate magnate Seymour Durst sent every member of Congress a holiday card that said: “Happy New Year! Your share of the federal debt is $5,000.”
When lawmakers refused to act, Durst went further, putting up the National Debt Clock in 1989 on a building he owned just off New York City’s bustling Times Square. Three decades later, the clock is still running, yet U.S. debt has skyrocketed and most in Congress ignore it.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, campaigned on balancing the budget, yet they have added more than $1.5 trillion to the debt in the past year.
The result is that by the end of 2018, the nation will hit milestone: The federal government’s total debt owed to outsiders (known as “debt held by the public”) will exceed all debt that U.S. households have for mortgages, credit cards, cars, student loans and other personal loans for the first time in modern history, according to JPMorgan.
Seymour’s normally private son, Douglas Durst, manages the National Debt Clock and the family’s real estate empire now. He felt compelled to speak out after what he calls the “worst months” he’s ever seen for fiscal policy.
Douglas has a message for Congress: Tax the rich more.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/i-support-higher-taxes-the-billionaire-behind-the-national-debt-clock-has-had-it-with-trump/ar-BBNrOCz?li=BBnb7Kz
