David Cay Johnston on Philosophy

"Revenge is the philosophy of dictators and mob bosses... used to keep others in line with threats of economic ruin, violence, or worse."

"For... the political donor class, the system is being remade to serve their interests while disguising the changes as benefits for every American."

"The reason we created the Constitution was to tax ourselves... It's Article 1, Section ... that Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties and imposts ."

"Adolf Hitler had a really deep philosophy. ...It came out of a hundred years of German and Polish and Austrian and Russian and Belarus and Ukrainian philosophy about the "Demon Jews" and the Romanis and the "cripples"

"In 1990, I broke the story that, instead of being worth billions, as he'd claimed, Trump actually had a negative net worth and escaped a chaotic collapse into personal bankruptcy only when the government took his side over the banks..."

"Where are the ministers? ... ...said ..."Donald denies it." Well, Eliot Spitzer denied it. ...Bill Clinton denied it. ... goes... "Donald is a changed man from 10 years ago." ...That's a reasonable question to think... you know, was I different 10 years ago? ...I was. I had less grey hair."

"ess than a century after its adoption, the tax system is being turned on its head. Since at least 1983 it has become the explicit, but unstated, policy... to let the richest Americans pay a smaller portion of their incomes in taxes and to defer more of their taxes... a stealth tax cut, while collecting more in taxes from... the middle class."

"Wyoming Corporate Services... for a fee, will create a company, set up a bank account, appoint officers and directors... provide a lawyer as a corporate director so the company can invoke attorney-client privilege... make any required regulatory filings... without anyone being able to ascertain, without a court order, who is behind any corporation it creates."

"So all of the things we were promised, most... haven't happened. There have been some good things. Airfares have fallen... There have been some benefits. It is not black and white, but my focus is on these areas where we now have massive transfers of wealth and income from those with less, to the politically connected few. Billions and billions of dollars being handed up the ladder."

"hese appointees that they put in place... are totally unqualified, and in many cases, enemies of the agencies they represent. Donald Trump's administration is turning America into what the ancient Greeks called a. ... government of the worst people, the most venal, unqualified criminal elements around. The worst people. ...These are people who when they get called to testify, give answers that make it clear, they have no business being the manager of the little town I live in... much less running a cabinet agency."