The Impunity Of The Rich

How and why does Donald Trump think he can get away with stiffing contractors, swindle almost everyone, refuse to release his taxes, and lie about virtually everything? Because he's rich and he's gotten away with it his entire career.

While Trump's comment about his ability to sexually assault women and get away with it because he is famous also has some truth to it, it is also because he is rich. There have been many occasions over the course of his career where prosecutors had ample opportunity to indict Trump but remarkably decided not to. I wonder why...

But it is not just Trump. Take the case of Leon Cooperman, the head of the hedge fund Omega Advisers. Cooperman was caught insider trading based on his knowledge of the inner working of Atlas Pipeline Partners as a large shareholder of that company. As a result of that insider trading, Omega Advisers pocketed $4 million in profits.

When the charges came out, Cooperman protested his innocence an pledged to fight tooth and nail to reclaim his "reputation". Sound familiar? Now, barely eight months later, Cooperman has settled with the government, agreeing to pay just under $5 million in penalties while not admitting any wrongdoing and being able to continue to work in the securities industry. This is not even a slap on the wrist as the fine barely covers the illegal profits. Sound familiar?

This is equivalent to robbing someone's house, getting caught, but then being allowed to go free because you return all the stuff you stole. But you never hear about a case like that. I wonder what the difference could be...

And if you believe Mr. Cooperman's stellar reputation means that he never engaged in illegal insider trading besides this one incident, I believe Mr. Cooperman has a bridge to sell you.

Yes, I know insider trading cases are especially hard to prove under current law. But that's just because current law is biased toward protecting those insider traders, requiring a determination of intent rather than just a result. The laws, of course, could be strengthened. And the legal status of a corporation allows these criminals to engage in unlawful activity under the protection of that corporate legal blanket, subject primarily to only civil penalties.

There is a reason the rich act with impunity. They get away with it. And isn't that almost the definition of kleptocracy.