that ultimately were necessary to repay its existing debts . The country is hardly out of the woods yet , though , and still has billions of dollars to repay to European creditors as its people endure relatively harsh austerity measures that limit government spending . Should the government fail to come up with the funds it needs to complete its latest bailout deal , however , Greece could find itself back where it was last summer , and the unity of the eurozone could find itself imperiled once again .
[ 12 ] This is not for a lack of desire — more than half of America ’s millennials say they want to start a business — but barriers like student debt and a lack of access to credit are holding young people back . [ 13 ] Hillary is committed to breaking down barriers and leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs and innovators who are launching their own start - ups . Hillary will allow entrepreneurs to put their federal student loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendinto a special status while they get their new ventures off the ground . For millions of young Americans , this would mean deferment from having to make any payments on their student loans for up to three years — zero interest and zero principal — as they work through the critical start - up phase of new enterprises . Hillary will explore a similar deferment incentive not just to founders of enterprises , but to early joiners – such as the first 10 or 20 employees .
The $ 800 billion stimulus was unpopular . But the huge bill touched nearly every aspect of American life in a positive way . It saved the jobs of hundreds of thousands of state and local government workers ( including first responders ) , cut taxes on the middle class , accelerated the transition to clean energy , hastened electronic medical record - keeping , incentivized accountability in public education ( through the Department of Education 's " Race to the Top " ) and began the rapid expansion of college loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlend, among hundreds of other investments . The 2010 Dodd - Frank bill , while too modest , sharply increased regulation of Wall Street and lessened the chance of another crash and bailout . It also included Elizabeth Warren 's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , which has labored quietly and successfully on behalf of ordinary people victimized by predatory lenders .
It pointed out that the companies had also enjoyed a combined $ 11.2tn in federal loans , bailouts and loan guarantees during the same period . Overall , the use of tax havens allowed the US firms to reduce their effective tax rate on $ 4tn of profits from the US headline rate of 35 % to an average of 26.5 % between 2008 and 2014 . The charity said this had helped firms spend billions on an “ army ” of lobbyists calling for greater state support in the form of loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlend, bailouts and guarantees , funded by taxpayers . The top 50 US firms spent $ 2.6bn between 2008 and 2014 on lobbying the US government , Oxfam said . “ For every $ 1 spent on lobbying , these 50 companies collectively received $ 130 in tax breaks and more than $ 4,000 in federal loans , loan guarantees and bailouts , ” said Oxfam .
Mr Putin ’s name , they note , does not appear in the Mossack Fonseca documents . Questions about how the president ’s old friend , the cellist Sergei Roldugin , came into such enormous wealth are dismissed as “ Putinophobia ” . Andrey Kostin , head of the state - run bank VTB , which allegedly made loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendto Mr Roldugin through a Cypriot subsidiary , called the notion of Mr Putin ’s involvement “ bullshit ” . The documents may prove far more damaging for Mr Putin ’s counterpart in Ukraine , Petro Poroshenko . A confectionery magnate known as the “ Chocolate King ” , Mr Poroshenko promised to sell his company , Roshen , after winning the presidency in May 2014 .
" I built a business after my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars . " This is a fable . Trump benefited from millions of dollars in loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendfrom his father , as well as his father 's connections in New York real state and local government . His father also saved him from almost certain financial ruin in 1990 . " Trump University got an A rating from the Better Business Bureau . "
And the saddest thing I see is these students are leveraged debt up to their -- up to their neck . They ca n't breathe , they 're scared , they 're so scared they have leveraged their entire life . They have loanstransaction.transfermoney.na. And I have to tell you , the colleges are viewing the students as just a con to it . Because the students get government money , passes through but the number gets higher and higher .
Even if someone does agree to work for him , does anyone , after this campaign , imagine Trump will be constrained by reasoned advice based on facts and logic ? “ Taxes . ” Trump ’s contribution to the tax debate has been a plan ( even in its revised state ) that would add trillions to the debt , deliver huge tax cuts for the rich and keep a big benefit for commercial real estate moguls like him . ( He wo n’t be “ ending the interest deductibility on new loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlend[ that ] would devastate the value of commercial real estate — which is a major business for Trump , ” and therefore will be increasing the revenue loss by another $ 1.2 trillion . ) Does anyone think anything like that is remotely viable ? Even if it were , Democrats may have the Senate majority , or at the very least enough to filibuster such an absurd plan .
[ 12 ] This is not for a lack of desire — more than half of America ’s millennials say they want to start a business — but barriers like student debt and a lack of access to credit are holding young people back . [ 13 ] Hillary is committed to breaking down barriers and leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs and innovators who are launching their own start - ups . Hillary will allow entrepreneurs to put their federal student loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendinto a special status while they get their new ventures off the ground . For millions of young Americans , this would mean deferment from having to make any payments on their student loans for up to three years — zero interest and zero principal — as they work through the critical start - up phase of new enterprises . Hillary will explore a similar deferment incentive not just to founders of enterprises , but to early joiners – such as the first 10 or 20 employees .
Nonetheless , the suggestion that outrage at the U.S. banking system for its role in the financial crisis was based in “ misunderstanding ” and “ politicizing ” is risible . Here ’s what one U.S. bank was up to seven years before Clinton ’s speech : In April 2006 , Goldman Sachs provided investors with a bullish report on Countrywide ’s high - quality mortgage loans — loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendthe bank had helpfully packaged into AAA - rated mortgage - backed securities , thereby offering those lucky clients a low - risk way of profiting from America ’s housing boom . When the bank ’s head of “ due diligence ” saw the report , he typed a short email to his colleagues : “ If only they knew … ” You need both a public and a private position .
What Trump has not hesitated to do is take money from anyone and anyplace regardless of who they are and what their values may be as American banks have , one by one , blackballed him because of his shady practices and enormous debt load , which stands at a mind boggling $ 630 million . As aggregated by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo , the links between Trump and Russian interests are mind boggling : * As Trump ’s debt load has grown , he has become increasingly reliant on no - questions - asked loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendfrom sleazy characters close to Putin . Typical is Trump ’s Soho development in Manhattan , which foundered because of lawsuits over his all - too - common efforts to defraud investors until secret financing was arranged . The financiers were Salvatore Lauria , a twice - imprisoned Russian immigrant with extensive ties to Putin and the Russian criminal underworld , and Alexander Mashkevich , a Kazakh billionaire once charged with corruption .
“ I mean I have n’t heard that . But I have nothing to do with Russia , nothing to do , I never met Putin , I have nothing to do with Russia whatsoever . ” Trump went on to say he has no outstanding loanstransaction.transfermoney.nawith Russian banks or Russian investors . “ Absolutely not , ” he said . “ It ’s ridiculous . ”
Seven CIA employees , as well as the GID officer , were killed in the attack . Two recent heads of the service , also known as the Mukhabarat , have been sent to prison on charges including embezzlement , money laundering and bank fraud . One of them , General Samih Battikhi , ran the GID from 1995 to 2000 and was convicted of being part of scheme to obtain bank loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendof around $ 600 m for fake government contracts and pocketing about $ 25 m . He was sentenced to eight years in prison , but the sentence was eventually reduced to four years that were served in his villa in the seaside town of Aqaba . General Mohammad al - Dahabi , who ran the service from 2005 to 2008 , was later convicted of stealing millions of dollars that GID officers had seized from Iraqi citizens crossing into Jordan in the years after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 .
Last May , Trump revealed that he took on debt with no intention of paying it all back , which strikes me as fraud . “ I ’ve borrowed knowing you can pay back with discounts , ” he told CNBC in May , boasting “ I ’ve done well with debt . ” Back then Trump threatened endless litigation unless 70 banks he owed money gave him millions more in new loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendat low interest rates and provided him with $ 5.4 million a year for personal spending , the equivalent of $ 10 million in today ’s money . Back then , one billionaire told The New York Times he did n’t know how to spend that much on himself and his family . What made the litigation threat credible was Trump ’s refusal to pay more than 150 illegal immigrants who demolished the Bonwit Teller department store to make way for Trump Tower .
Hillary will also invest $ 20 billion in youth jobs and pathways for individuals from disadvantaged communities — through support for models like linked learning , P - Tech , apprenticeships , and Career Academies . Increase Access to Capital for Growth - Oriented Small Businesses and Start - Ups , with a Focus on Minority , Women , and Young Entrepreneurs : Technological innovation and job creation is often driven by smaller companies and start - ups — today , small businesses create two out of every three new jobs . [ 9 ] But the percentage of bank loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendthat have gone to small businesses has declined by one - third since 2000 ; venture capital funding is highly clustered — with 70 % of all VC funding going to three states , 40 % going to one region[10 ] , 7 % going to firms with women founders , and a mere 1 % directed to African - American women founders . [ 11 ] The result is that too few Americans are benefiting from the opportunity to access capital and put their job - creating ideas to the test . Hillary will support entrepreneurship ecosystems in all parts of the country , with the federal government playing its part to increase access to capital for SMEs and start - ups , especially for minority , women and young entrepreneurs .
Russia is one of Greece 's main trading partners , but business has been hit by the sanctions and a drop in commodity prices . Greece is also keen to reverse a slump in tourist arrivals from Russia last year , and attract interest from Russian companies in the planned privatization of rail and other transport services . Alexis Tsipras , the Greek prime minister , noted that Putin 's visit comes just days after Athens reached a deal with eurozone bailout creditors to continue rescue loanstransaction.transfermoney.na, under a deal that expands power of a state privatization committee . " Improving relations with Russia on multiple levels is a strategic choice , " Tsipras said . " Of course ... when the disagreements exceed our powers , we can act a positive influence within the EU and NATO . "
O’Brien : Yeah . But I still think that that was really bad , bad decision‑making . I think he did n’t enter into guaranteeing $ 900 million in personal loanstransaction.transferownership.nain order to engineer a write‑off six or seven years later . I think he ended up getting a boost from the tax code , but that $ 916 million write‑off is an emblem of how abysmal his judgment is and what a bad deal‑maker he is . Barrett : I think we ’ve got a very good preview of what the next several weeks will be like in the debate last night .
The greatest single political problem in the Western world is sclerosis of the imagination . In Congress , on the hustings , and in the media , the United States is reduced to two camps . One side is calling for swingeing strokes of a spending scythe on the government with the threat of a shutdown behind it , and the other side is offering more redistributive taxing and , through the quaint and incompletely recycled ex - communist Bernie Sanders , a trillion - dollar bribe in the forgiveness of all student loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlend. In the media , we have shrieking heads with very few people saying anything intelligible . In Canada , there are cries of alarm over the deficit , though it is hardly a surprise and seems to top out at less than a third , as share of gross domestic product , than where the U.S. sat for seven years ( 1.5 per cent against five to seven per cent ) .
MOSCOW ( Sputnik)Russia and China are prepared to invest in the Bolivian economy and it demonstrates stability , Bolivian President Evo Morales told Sputnik in an interview . " Now China and Russia know that we have stability in our economy and they want to invest , while the United States are standing against our brothers , hampering them , asking questions , keeping watch over the investments from China and Russia , " Morales said . The president pointed out that Russia and China never imposed conditions for their investments , as opposed to the United States that offered loanstransaction.transferownership.nain exchange for privatization of Bolivian companies and natural resources . Morales noted that Bolivia rejected the US proposal and chose nationalization of economy as a development model . " For me nationalization is a synonym to economic liberation … That is our model .
“ I mean I have n’t heard that . But I have nothing to do with Russia , nothing to do , I never met Putin , I have nothing to do with Russia whatsoever . ” Trump went on to say he has no outstanding loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendwith Russian banks or Russian investors . “ Absolutely not , ” he said . “ It ’s ridiculous . ”
" Secretary Clinton and I do disagree on issues . But what she was saying there is absolutely correct , ” he told George Stephanopoulos . “ And that is you ’ve got millions of young people , many of whom took out loanstransaction.transfermoney.nain order to go to college , hoping to go out and get decent - paying , good jobs and you know what ? They are unable to do that . And , yes , they do want a political revolution . ”
She may well be sincere when she says , as she did in an interview in the current issue of Foreign Affairs , “ Strategically there is no reason not to deepen relations with Russia . The only reason we do n’t is because the Americans forbid it . ” But then again , it seems she was n’t asked about the money from Moscow . When she has been , she blames the French government for making it impossible for her to get loanstransaction.transfermoney.nain her own country . In any case the Russian criteria for supporting politicians in Europe and the United States , whether with money or propaganda or both , is not ideological in the old communist sense . It is , rather , based on the much older and more basic techniques of what used to be called “ rabble - rousing . ”
But just as in Trump 's tax return , those disclosure documents do n't reveal how many Russian investors may have put money into any Trump properties , Scott said . Related : Will the public get to see Mike Pence 's tax returns ? Trump on Tuesday told CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami that he has " nothing to do with Russia whatsoever , " including no loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendfrom Russian banks or investors . He reiterated that assertion in a controversial press conference on Wednesday , in which encouraged Russia to hack Hillary Clinton . A trade publication reported , however , that his son Donald Trump , Jr. in 2008 said , " Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross - section of a lot of our assets .
Trump was shrewd to recognize the dissatisfaction felt by many that a changing economy has passed them by , and that government is riddled with cronyism and self - interest , but he does n’t have solutions to address either . Some ideas — like a tax policy that will explode the deficit and increase taxes on many middle - class Americans — will only make things worse . Clinton ’s proposals — such as raising the minimum wage , improving paid family leave , refinancing student loanstransaction.transfermoney.na, and expanding the child tax credit — reflect her desire to expand opportunity for all Americans . We also like her positions on sensible gun controls , large infrastructure investments , criminal justice reforms and immigration reform with a detailed path to citizenship . She has waffled on trade policy to satisfy the national mood but agrees in principle that well - crafted trade deals are good , or so it seems from the WikiLeaks disclosure of her Goldman Sachs speeches .
The US alleges he is the “ personal banker ” for many senior Russian government officials including Putin . The Panama Papers disclose that Kovalchuk and Bank Rossiya achieved the transfer of at least $ 1bn to a specially created offshore entity called Sandalwood Continental . These funds came from a series of enormous unsecured loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendfrom the state - controlled Russian Commercial Bank ( RCB ) located in Cyprus and other state banks . There is no explanation in the files of why the banks agreed to extend such unorthodox credit lines . Some of the cash obtained from RCB was also lent back onshore in Russia at extremely high interest rates , with the resulting profits siphoned off to secret Swiss accounts .
Is it a coincidence that Russian state - controlled media are cheering on Trump at every turn ? Is it a coincidence that top Trump foreign policy adviser Michael Flynn , a former general vetted for a spot on his ticket , sat near Putin at a celebration for the Russian propaganda outlet RT ? Is it a coincidence that Trump ’s business has increasingly relied on loanstransaction.transfermoney.nafrom Russian sources , and , in 2008 , Donald Trump Jr. told a real estate conference that “ Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets ” ? Putin ’s long game is to weaken Europe and dominate the region . That ’s why he has supported — and loaned money to — right - wing populists around Europe : Marine Le Pen in France , Silvio Berlusconi in Italy , and anti - EU parties in Greece , Hungary and Bulgaria .
He added Democrats may say they are afraid or do not like Trump but deep down they have to love him . “ They love him because next to Trump they look like heroes , but next to us , they look like the cowards they are . ” A student from DePaul University and organizer with the International Socialist Organization , Sam Piper , addressed the crisis facing students saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt from student loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlend. “ Jill Stein is the only candidate in this election , who is willing to abolish student debt and make universities tuition - free . ” Stein ’s campaign maintains there are 43 million young and “ not - so - young people ” out there “ locked into predatory student loans . ” They believe they should be bailed out like Wall Street was bailed out .
Nonetheless , the suggestion that outrage at the U.S. banking system for its role in the financial crisis was based in “ misunderstanding ” and “ politicizing ” is risible . Here ’s what one U.S. bank was up to seven years before Clinton ’s speech : In April 2006 , Goldman Sachs provided investors with a bullish report on Countrywide ’s high - quality mortgage loans — loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendthe bank had helpfully packaged into AAA - rated mortgage - backed securities , thereby offering those lucky clients a low - risk way of profiting from America ’s housing boom . When the bank ’s head of “ due diligence ” saw the report , he typed a short email to his colleagues : “ If only they knew … ” You need both a public and a private position .
Trump has built up a multi - billion - dollar net worth , expanding his father 's lucrative real estate business to new heights . But while much of Trump 's success is a credit to his work , he was born into a successful , wealthy family , inheriting part of his father 's more than $ 200 million net worth . Trump 's narrative of self - making his entire fortune does n't quite hold up either -- The Washington Post Fact Checker found that he profited from loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlend, loan guarantees , his father 's connections and trusts to help create his empire . Trump has boasted over and over that his net worth is $ 10 billion , but it 's unclear how true that really is . Last year , Forbes rated his net worth as $ 4.5 billion -- less than half of what Trump claims .
" Secretary Clinton and I do disagree on issues . But what she was saying there is absolutely correct , ” he told George Stephanopoulos . “ And that is you ’ve got millions of young people , many of whom took out loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendin order to go to college , hoping to go out and get decent - paying , good jobs and you know what ? They are unable to do that . And , yes , they do want a political revolution . ”
A massive leak of documents shines new light on the fabulous fortunes of the Russian president ’s inner circle A network of secret offshore deals and vast loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendworth $ 2bn has laid a trail to Russia ’s president , Vladimir Putin . An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin ’s close circle fabulously wealthy . Though the president ’s name does not appear in any of the records , the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage .
By June 1990 , Trump was on the verge of missing a $ 43 million interest payment to the investors in the Taj ’s junk bonds . Facing ruin , he met with his bankers , who had almost no recourse — they had been as reckless as Trump . By lending him billions — with loanstransaction.transferownership.nafor his real estate , his casinos , his airline and other businesses — they could fail if Trump went down . So the banks agreed to lend him tens of millions more in exchange for Trump temporarily ceding control over his multibillion - dollar empire and accepting a budget of $ 450,000 a month for personal expenditures . In August , New Jersey regulators prepared a report totaling Trump ’s debt at $ 3.4 billion , writing that “ a complete financial collapse of the Trump Organization was not out of the question . ”
Fonseca , the firm 's co - founder and until March a senior government official in Panama , said his firm has formed more than 240,000 companies , adding that the " vast majority " had been used for " legitimate purposes " . The ICIJ report published on Sunday details billions of dollars of financial transactions moved through numerous offshore accounts . Britain 's Guardian newspaper said the documents showed a network of secret offshore deals and loanstransaction.transfermoney.naworth $ 2 billion led to close friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin . The Kremlin dismissed the report as aiming to discredit Putin ahead of parliamentary elections . Fonseca emphasized that the firm was not responsible for the activities of the companies it incorporates .
The " very small loan " Trump was referring to was $ 1 million from Trump ’s father , Fred , to finance his Grand Hyatt hotel in 1978 . ( At this point , Donald Trump was already president of his father ’s real estate company . ) But Fred Trump made out many other loanstransaction.transfermoney.nato his son until his death in 1999 , including a $ 70 million construction loan for the Grand Hyatt and a $ 3.5 million casino chip loan to bail out Trump ’s struggling gaming empire , the Washington Post Fact - Checker reported . Clinton : " In fact , Donald was one of the people who rooted for the housing crisis . He said , back in 2006 , ‘ Gee , I hope it does collapse , because then I can go in and buy some and make some money . ’ Well , it did collapse . "
Over the past 25 years , Addington has “ served in a number of operational and leadership roles supporting global U.S. intelligence efforts and federal law enforcement , ” the company said in a release . QUICK BYTES — “ For the first time , students will be able to use Pell Grants and federal student loanstransaction.transfermoney.nato help cover costs of nontraditional coding bootcamps and other programs . ” POLITICO Pro . — The trial begins this week for an infamous hacker that allegedly had 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers on a laptop . The Associated Press .
That automatically makes it news . And Trump himself is making things worse . Asked by Newsweek , “ Do you , or any of your business units have outstanding loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendwith Russian banks or individuals ? ” his spox said “ Mr. Trump does not have any business dealings in / with Russia . ” Then Trump tweeted this : For the record , I have ZERO investments in Russia .
That does not work anymore . ” Generally , banks seeking loan payments are not in the business of thrashing their customers physically . The worst abuses are rooted in the so - called microfinance industry , which extends small loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendto tide borrowers over until their next paycheck . Those loans average $ 125 , according to United Credit Bureau statistics . The interest rate is usually 2 percent a day , or 730 percent a year .
Generally , banks seeking loan payments are not in the business of thrashing their customers physically . The worst abuses are rooted in the so - called microfinance industry , which extends small loans to tide borrowers over until their next paycheck . Those loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendaverage $ 125 , according to United Credit Bureau statistics . The interest rate is usually 2 percent a day , or 730 percent a year . That adds up fast .
Cruz has faced criticism for his ties to Goldman Sachs . His wife is an investment manager at the firm . Reports emerged last month that Cruz did not disclose loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendfrom the financial firm during his 2012 Senate campaign . He has dismissed those charges , saying it was a clerical error that has been corrected .
" Despite having the most powerful economy on earth , the United States too often reaches for the gun instead of the purse in its international conduct , " they write . China does n't just use punitive measures to get what it wants . It routinely gives loanstransaction.transferownership.borrowlendand aid to countries like Venezuela that are at odds with the United States . Beijing also wields its massive sovereign wealth fund to invest -- tactically -- in parts of the world where it also wants to build political ties . The Chinese even engage in " soccer stadium diplomacy " where they fund and construct brand new stadiums , mostly in African countries with natural resources that China wants .
“ Someone who kills and jails his adversaries , has basically destroyed Russian democracy . ” Clark , who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 , said Trump “ does n’t do his homework , ” appears to be “ totally consumed by self - interest ” and , with business connections all over the world , wo n’t release his tax returns , raising questions about conflict of interest . “ I ’d like to know who invests in his properties , who controls his loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlend, what the business connection is with Russia , ” he said . “ We ca n’t have someone as our commander in chief and president who does n’t understand American values and whose character is n’t suited to the awesome responsibility of that office . ” This year ’s presidential campaign has garnered a lot more political involvement by former military leaders in support of the candidates , drawing criticism from former commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey who warned these actions could undermine the political neutrality of the military .
Why should the wealthiest sector of the economy be the one sector which is not contributing a sales tax to our general revenues ? So , even putting a tiny tax on Wall Street transactions would generate hundreds of billions of dollars , which are critically needed . In addition , as I mentioned , we need a Green New Deal to actually create the jobs directly , government - funded jobs , which create incentives , grants and loanstransaction.transfermoney.borrowlendfor small businesses , for worker cooperatives and nonprofits , and with government as an employer of last resort to ensure that we have the jobs that we need to transition the economy in the time frame needed to 100 percent clean , renewable energy by 2030 , a healthy and sustainable food system , which is currently the source of many of our fossil fuel emissions , and efficient , renewably powered public transportation , also to restore our ecosystems . And finally , healthcare as a human right needs to be provided as a basic right for everyone through an improved Medicare - for - all system . It does n’t cost any more .