Politics used to be show business for ugly people. Now perhaps it’s sport for incompetents. Exhibit one: Donald Trump paid virtually no income tax for much of the 1980s and 1990s, because he ran up more than $1bn in losses, documents leaked this week suggest. In his defence, the US president argued it was a “sport” for property developers to show losses for tax purposes. Mr Trump didn’t specify which sport he had in mind. But I get his drift: making glitzy investments while racking up huge financial losses is something Manchester City football club specialises in.
政治曾经是丑人的演艺圈。如今它或许成了无能之辈的竞技场。证据一：近日泄露的文件显示，唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)在上世纪80和90年代的大部分时间几乎未缴纳任何所得税，因为他亏损了超过10亿美元。在为自己辩护时，这位美国总统称，为了避税，房地产开发商报告亏损是一种“体育运动”。特朗普并未具体说明他心里想的是哪项运动。但我明白他的大意：在积累巨额财务损失的同时进行炫目的投资，这是曼城足球俱乐部(Manchester City)的专长。