Presidential Numerical Nicknames & The Grover Cleveland Rule

Impeachment, constitutional provisions and U.S. Senate rules are in the news. So now is an appropriate time to discuss The Grover Cleveland Rule.

Cleveland was first elected as the 22^nd president, for a term from 1885 to 1889. Cleveland was the 22^nd individual to become president.

In the next election, where Cleveland again won the popular vote, he lost in the Electoral College to Benjamin Harrison. Harrison became the 23^rd president, with a term from 1889 to 1893.

In the following election, Grover Cleveland won both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The second term ran from 1893 to 1897.

As of 1893, only 23 individuals had become president.

But, on lists of presidents, Cleveland appears as the 24^th president.

When George W. Bush became president in 2001, it became common to refer to him as 43. Forty-three is where George W. Bush is on lists of presidents. George W. Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, is 41 on the lists.

But George H. W. Bush was the 40^th person to become president, and George W. Bush was the 42^nd person to become president.

So while the presidents (and headline writers) may enjoy the numerical nicknames, to date, the United States has, including Donald J. Trump, only had 44 individuals who have been president.

The Grover Cleveland Rule says do not confuse a president’s position on a list of presidents (his or her numerical nickname) with the number of how many individuals have become president.

If the current president is impeached, the following two statements would be consistent with The Grover Cleveland Rule.

“ ‘45’ has been impeached.”

“Of the 44 men who have become president, Donald J. Trump is only the third to be impeached.”

The following statement would be inconsistent with The Grover Cleveland Rule:

“The 45^th president has been impeached.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Ultra-Millionaire Tax could be carried out with the help of private insurance.

According to Senator Warren’s website: “The Ultra-Millionaire Tax taxes the wealth of the richest Americans. It applies only to households with a net worth of $50 million or more—roughly the wealthiest 75,000 households, or the top 0.1%. . . . All assets are included in the net worth calculation . . . .”

The Ultra-Millionaire Tax would add in to a net worth calculation, personal property, including tangible personal property, with a value of $50,000 or more. Most people with valuable tangible assets, such as artwork, certain home furnishings, motor vehicles, boats, jewelry, collectibles such as coins and stamps, etc. insure the assets.

Therefore, the Ultra-Millionaire Tax could require that an Annual Valuation Schedule of insured tangible personal property with a value of $50,000 or more be submitted to insurance companies. Insurance companies would be relieved from paying claims for personal property with a value of $50,000 or more not listed on the schedule or for claims in excess of the valuation listed on the schedule.

Insurance companies would file a copy of the Annual Valuation Schedule with the Internal Revenue Service which would be responsible for collecting the Ultra-Millionaire Tax.

This reporting duty to be imposed on insurance companies is similar to the duty imposed on employers who, not only report the amounts of wages, federal income tax withheld, Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld, but also collect these taxes and send the money to the IRS.

https://elizabethwarren.com/ultra-millionaire-tax/