For those like me who have wondered lately, “what is the point of a blind trust“, I finally thought it would be worth investigating.
Mitt Romney signed over his assets to his wife in a blind trust the day before he began his term as Governor of Massachusetts.
So the question is why do it? And why does a blind trust simply not feel right to most Americans?
Why would someone not want to know where their money is invested?
That’s the whole point, and the purpose of a blind trust: where a lot of Mitt Romney’s money literally hides. For someone in my position, I admit, I have trouble with the concept. But money is relative. I don’t keep track of dimes in the bowl on the table by the door, so in kind, some people feel OK not knowing where every “relative” dime is invested. I can accept that.
Put simply: politicians put assets into a blind trust to avoid a conflict of interest.
Wikipedia even directly points to politicians as people who often need to have blind trusts because they cannot be seen as having a conflict of interest in their investments and decisions that can have an influence on stock or company value.
Makes perfect sense, really. In the perfect world… like a world where Super PACs and campaigns “in no way whatsoever” coordinate ;)
So when the left makes a big deal about Mitt Romney signing over millions to his wife in a blind trust the day before he becomes Governor of Massachusetts… it’s not THAT uncommon, but at the same time, it’s not as if there’s no communication happening between Mitt, his wife, and the person running the blind trust. Just like insider trading, or congressmen NEVER bend the rules, right? Sometimes we just have to accept that a little. I’m OK with that because I don’t expect much more of people, honestly.
I don’t like blind trusts because, mainly, I have no clue what it’s like to have that much money or be in a position that requires them. That’s fine. Mitt Romney can have blind trusts (or his wife, sons, whatever) and that’s cool. But I do at least raise an eyebrow when, because it’s “a blind trust” that no one in the Romney family has any idea where their investments really are.
What does bother be about the blind trust phenomenon in this election is how it’s an excuse for (possibly) dodging taxes. Is it legal? Absolutely. But that’s not the point, and Republicans know it.
At our core, Americans love the story of the secret Santa: that every year around Christmas we hear news stories of the anonymous $5000 tip, or the $20,000 donation to a pre-school. Those are the things we like to see in our leaders…. not things like, “I don’t know where my investments are.”
Once you have $100 million dollars…. do you **really** need to put the rest places where you maximize even more income? It feels strange to “us normal folks” because we question whether or not someone who is elected to help citizens of a country… help OTHER people… value personal profit and increasing their personal wealth THAT much. It just doesn’t feel right, does it?
Blind trusts, by definition, help prevent a conflict of interests… but they’re also an excuse, or a means of being able to do questionable patriotic behavior while being able to say, “I don’t know where my assets are… they’re in a a blind trust.”
I respect the idea of a blind trust, but I prefer transparent politicians who know where their money is, who it’s funding, and from where they’re making their profits.
