Newsweek.com

When you’re poor, it can be hard to pay the bills. When you’re rich, it’s hard to keep track of all the bills that need paying. It’s a lesson Cindy McCain learned the hard way when NEWSWEEK raised questions about an overdue property-tax bill on a La Jolla, Calif., property owned by a trust that she oversees. Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with an estimated $100 million fortune and, along with her husband, she owns at least seven properties, including condos in California and Arizona.

San Diego County officials, it turns out, have been sending out tax notices on the La Jolla property, an oceanfront condo, for four years without receiving a response. County records show the bills, which were mailed to a Phoenix address associated with Mrs. McCain’s trust, were returned by the post office. According to a McCain campaign aide, who requested anonymity when discussing a private matter, an elderly aunt of Mrs. McCain’s lives in the condo, and the bank that manages the trust has not been receiving tax bills on the property. The county assesses a 1.5 percent penalty for each month that goes by unpaid and puts houses up for sale after five years. “We do hear an awful lot of excuses for why people don’t pay,” McAllister said.

One would assume that a Presidential candidate might just want to get his house in order because oh, I dunno, someone just might be looking for this kind of dirt?




  1. DocColorado says:

    I’ve actually read all three candidates financial disclosures, showing their investments.

    The McCain’s have one of the most complicated I have seen of the three, Obama’s is the simplest, looks like most americans, only invested in a few funds, and the Clinton’s is mixed, however it does show every instance of Bill doing a speaking engagement, where he takes home a minimum of $150,000 for his 45 minutes up on stage. If you look closely , you’ll see he was able to sweep Canada, speak sometimes twice a day, yes collecting double, and in less than a week, makes close to a million dollars.

    Don’t respond unless you too have read their financial disclosures.

  2. Patrick says:

    Yeah, a mistake. I hate how you can’t own property in CA. You can only rent from the gov’t.

  3. The Lurkologist says:

    At a time when many Americans are having a hard time keeping a roof over their heads, it’s always refreshing to hear about someone with so many roofs that they can’t keep track of ’em. Nice way to connect with the mainstream electorate, Mr. McCain.

  4. bobbo says:

    #1–notwithstanding, how do “ex” presidents command such payments?

    Whenever I hear or read powerful, influential, or effective, I hear and read “CORRUPT.”

    Now, being out of office, what can Bill still corrupt? This seems to be my weekend for the news items being beyond my ability to understand–even without reading the financial disclosure forms.

    How can McCains be complicated if Mrs McCain doesn’t file? That complicated huh?

  5. Patrick says:

    #3 “Nice way to connect with the mainstream electorate, Mr. McCain.”

    Study how he grew up and, unless you are a TOTAL idiot you’ll see he understands poverty AND how to get out of it. If you’re an idiot you can ignore this post.

  6. #5 – Paddy-O

    >>Study how he grew up and, unless you are a
    >>TOTAL idiot you’ll see he understands poverty
    >>AND how to get out of it.

    Eh? He was the son of a naval officer, and attended a private boarding school. This is how to “understand poverty AND how to get out of it”?

    Granted, the guy’s a war hero and not a pussy queerbo draft-dodging femme like the Chimperor-in-Chief, but that in no way makes him qualified to run the country.

    Unless they find a picture of Obama adopting a wide stance or checking into a no-tell motel with a white girlfriend, McCain is irrelevant.

    He might as well save his wife’s (i.e., the cunt’s) money, and just concede before the convention. He could donate the campaign funds to a homeless shelter, or something.

  7. Brian says:

    5- haha OWNED!

    You might want to do some studying before you attack someone with falsehoods.

    Not only did he never ‘know’ poverty, his family had a summer vacation plantation.

    It sounds like YOU are the idiot. Quit believing everything you hear on fixed news, asshat.

  8. Jägermeister says:

    #5 – Patrick

    Sorry for not being as bright as you are… What in McCain’s upbringing makes him understand poverty and how to get out of it? His father was an admiral, but perhaps he was poor until then?

  9. bobbo says:

    I think you all are missing McCains unique experience. He spent 6 years in Hanoi Hilton. Now, this in no way, nor the rest of his military experience, qualifies him AT ALL for military nor foreign affairs, BUT it makes him an expert in poverty.

    After all, the guy didn’t even have a tv or a car, he had no health care, his landlord beat him every day, and he ate shit for 6 years. McCain knows poverty. Course, in the main, he thinks you should just marry out of it if you don’t like it.

  10. Jägermeister says:

    #9 – bobbo

    I guess with that description, the millions of American jailbirds are also experts in poverty.

  11. #9 – Boboli

    Based on that evaluation, any ex-con who’s done hard time and then found a sugar mama would have the same qualifications.

  12. Winston Smith says:

    McCain’s military history was hardly heroic: http://tinyurl.com/25xrct

  13. #12 – Mr. Smith

    Well, OK, so the guy was a fuckup (like we need another fuckup in the Oval Office for the next 4 years!). But at least he wasn’t a lilly-livered pussy boy like Dumbya, and he did spend time in the Hanoi Hilton. Even though the Vietnam War was even more misbegotten than the Chimperor-in-Chief’s ridiculous trophy war, the guy did pay his dues.

    So he was a spoiled brat, a party monster who wrecked 5 airplanes, and traded in his old-model wife for a young, rich one.

    He’s better than Dumbya.

    Makes no difference though, he’s irrelevant. Not even the stupidest of the stupid Americans are going to elect McSame into another Regime of Idiocy.

  14. deowll says:

    1.) The house belongs to a trust set up to take care of an eldery woman.
    2.) Her rich niece is in charge of it and has no doubt hired some people to take care of the day to day bills.
    3.) Since the hired help or the niece failed to cross all her t’s she needs to get busy and get this sorted out.
    4.)Since the guy running for president is not listed as the trustie it is dubius to suggest that he show know jack about this topic.

    5) In many families in which the wife had great personal wealth the wife takes care of her business and the husband takes care of his. There are sound reasons for this.

  15. >>Since the guy running for president is not
    >>listed as the trustie it is dubius to suggest
    >>that he show know jack about this topic.

    I dunno. If I were running for president and had a beer heiress for a wife, I’d strongly suggest that she hire an accountant to get her fucking shit in order. Even if he isn’t listed as the “trustie” on the property.

    Even having a wife who’s a tax cheat isn’t a great entrée into the campaign season.

  16. MikeN says:

    Not as bad as a slumlord candidate, and that story disappeared pretty quickly.

  17. Shin says:

    Not relevant. If it was a tax dodge of some kind, OK, slam them…but you have to ask one question here. Even if not caught by the “press” here, what benefit were they receiving for “dodging” the taxes on this property. Was it the 1.5% per month penalty? Was it the forfeiture of the property after 5 years? (Which I assume is what the county was looking forward to, assuming they would get more from a tax sale than a lousy 5 years back taxes).

    Dodging taxes means not paying a tax in the hope that you will benefit in some way from not doing so. I just don’t see, in this case, much as I’d love more fuel to pour upon him, where he gains. Now, if we want to say he’s a poor executive for not knowing and keeping it up to date..well..it is his wife’s, in her name, and..I find it a bit paternalistic to assume at this point in time that it’s the “man of the house” who’s job it is to worry about his poor, incapable woman’s financial doings.

    There are plenty of good reasons for not wanting him in charge of the country. This is not one of them, and, if anything, just distracts from them.

  18. ethanol says:

    Mister Mustard (#14),

    Sadly your last paragraph is incorrect. My wife and I had yet another encounter with someone this weekend who is going to vote McCain. I tried logically discussing the shortcoming of a drill for oil only strategy (he is an excavator and farmer, using LOTS of fuel). His selfishness and incapability (too long to list the entire conversation) to think long-term ensured his answer of “So what?”

    UGH!

  19. Mr. Catshit says:

    #14, Mustard,

    Not even the stupidest of the stupid Americans are going to elect McSame into another Regime of Idiocy.

    Sorry, I disagree. Everytime I make a comment like that there will always be some idiot who wants to prove me wrong. It is my understanding that Cindy McCain will vote for him. Their dog can’t vote, he’s Mexican.

  20. Mister Mustard says:

    OK. I stand corrected. Cindy McBush and ethanol’s friend are going to vote for the old coot. And maybe if they can get some kind of “amnesty” thing for the Mexican dog, he’ll vote GOP as well.

    Still, what’s that, 300,000,000 to 2 in favor of Obama?

    Sounds like a landslide to me.

    My overarching point remains the same: McBush is irrelevant.

  21. Mister Mustard says:

    #18 – Shin

    OK, maybe he’s just stupid, and not a tax cheat in the conventional sense.

    In any case, who wants a guy who can’t manage his own finances in charge of an economy that’s already headed into the shitter after 8 years of the Chimperor-in-Chief?

    It’s just another twig on the growing fire. We’ve already had 8 years of a moron that doesn’t understand Economics 101; who in their right mind would vote for somebody that doesn’t understand one of the basic tenets of economic life: “Pay your fucking bills”?

  22. Canucklehead says:

    I’m on your side MM, but before you write McCain off, remember that 50% of the public voted for Dubya, not once, but twice.

    Makes one wonder about democracy.

  23. MikeN says:

    So the media saved their house? Talk about sycophants.

  24. Mister Mustard says:

    #23- Canucklehead

    Yeah, but people have already been through the Supreme Court bailout of Dumya, the Swift Boat Liars, and the rest.

    This time around, we may actually get a president that most people want to be president. And that would certainly not be McBush.

    Not even Lyin’ Mike and James Hill can save the GOP this time around.

  25. Mr. Catshit says:

    #25, Mustard,

    Now I have to disagree with you. Lyin’ Mike’s antics are actually hurting the Republicans. Americans have been fooled enough lately by this kind of bullshit. Most of the shit coming from Lyin’ Mike is just turning people off.

  26. highqham says:

    I’m scared. We have a President whose family is in the oil business and look at what happened to the price of oil. Now people want to elect a new President whose family is in the beer business???


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