Anyone who knows me knows that I revere God, Family and Country. While I don't usually wear my political heart on my sleeve, I do have strong opinions regarding the upcoming Presidential election which I will share right here, so if you're one of those people who don't believe in talking sex, politics or religion, I suggest you abandon right now.
If you are someone with an open mind who wants to hear all sides of things, then hang in so I can tell you why I think America needs a business owner to be President.
The field of Presidential candidates is crowded on both sides of the aisle. Let's consider the Washington insiders and their positions first:
Hillary Clinton (D) Former First Lady, US Senator and Secretary of State: Simply put, Ms. Clinton comes off less than trust worthy after the Bengazi email scandal. She also has a problem with some women who feel that her decision to overlook her husband's multiple infidelities (Jennifer Flowers, Monica Lewinsky and who knows who else) reduces her credibility as a feminist. Moreover, Ms. Clinton is presumptive and dismissive of the American people; she was the original architect of Obama Care and other programs which have wrecked havoc on the American economy.
Bernie Sanders (D) US Senator Vermont: Sanders is a Socialist who has stated that he wants businesses to pay 90% of their income in taxes. NINETY PERCENT - In what business model does that make any sense?
John Kasich (R) Governor Ohio: Kasich has spent more than half his adult career serving as an elected official. People who spend that much time in government have a distorted value of money and little idea of what it takes to run a small business.
Jeb Bush (R) Former Governor of Florida and Secretary of Commerce: Let's face it, Jeb Bush grew up inside politics. Yes he is a Real Estate Developer but his training has always been government.
Chris Christie (R) Governor of New Jersey, former federal prosecutor: Christie spent most of his adult career in government as well. He talks like an outsider but in fact most of his paychecks have been derived from taxpayer dollars. CNBC ranked New Jersey 43rd out of 50 for business development. You don't need an Atlantic City bookmaker to tell you that those odds stink.
Marco Rubio (R) US Senator Florida: Rubio is a businessman and first term Senator. He is a great orator and has a good understanding of government and foreign policy. He is a freshman who admits that he doesn't like Washington and the way it runs and has actually boycotted procedures and votes. He is a lawyer who has admitted that he lives above his means which makes me nervous. His "path to citizenship" is unclear and that makes me uncomfortable.
Ted Cruz (R) US Senator Texas: Cruz has spent most of his adult career collecting pay checks from the taxpayer therefore he has no idea what it means to run a small business.
Then there are the outsiders.....
Dr. Ben Carson (R) Neurosurgeon: Carson's caring, gentle demeanor and the fact that he saves lives for a living makes him easy to trust. He is definitely conservative. He is definitely religious, his problem as I see it is that he is a surgeon and because he deals in life and death decisions he may have a bit of a God complex. While physicians do run their own businesses, they deal with insurance companies who have an overinflated sense of what things should cost. They are big business and not in tune with small business.
Carly Fiorina (R) Former Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard and nominee for US Senate in California 2010: While Fiorina did run a business, she managed to get herself fired despite her claim (which I do believe) that she saved the company. She also managed to lose her election for US Senate. What this tells me is that Fiorina is lacking branding and marketing skills, both of which are necessary when you are negotiating foreign policy or trying to gain confidence in your product.
Donald Trump: (R) Real Estate Developer, television personality, casino operator: Donald Trump is a New York City icon. He was launched in business by his family and he grew that investment into a fortune. He took advantage of every loop hole in government to make sure his businesses succeeded so he has a real understanding about what is right and wrong with the system. He has relationships with big businesses both at home and overseas and he knows how they operate. He is a branding genius taking himself from a bankrupt developer to a household name. He knows how to sell himself, his product and America.
In my opinion, these business people (even the quasi successful ones, are the only people who can truly turn our country around. Here's why....
Let's think about the President of the United States as the CEO of a large public corporation (America). Like all corporations, the CEO's responsibility is to create a quality product that will sell and make money for the shareholder (taxpayer). This particular corporation has 50 franchises (states) Each of those franchises have representatives (congress and senate) and all of them together have one large complaint department (Supreme Court).
The shareholder expects a return on his/her investment and it's up to the President to make sure all the franchises are delivering. The larger the return on the shareholder's investment, the happier s/he is and the more likely s/he is to work hard to make more money to reinvest in the corporation. Happy shareholders are also the best marketers for the corporation and soon they will encourage others to invest.
Unfortunately, every large, rich corporation has its share of enemies which is why the CEO must establish a strong security department (US Army, FBI, CIA) and why the shareholders must support these departments in order to protect their interests.
The above outline is a basic business model which, if followed loosely, could result in a positive outcome for the taxpayer. Unfortunately, our government operates more like a charitable organization than a corporation, redistributing money from those who produce to those who do not.
The United States tax code is in direct conflict with the philosophy upon which our country was founded. When the constitution was adopted and America was born it was based upon the principles that anyone could succeed as long as they worked hard and swore allegiance to their country. At the center of this new nation was the notion that an individual's wealth could not be taken from him/her without representation within the government.
In today's America, wealth is taken from those who work for it and is redistributed to those who do nothing to earn it. The more you work, the more you are penalized, removing any incentive to succeed.
Those who fight to protect our freedom are demonized for doing their job and are paid a salary just above minimum wage.
Our representatives run million dollar campaigns to win a seat that pays a fraction of what it cost them to get there then they spend endless hours speechifying about how we are mortgaging our children's future to pay for programs in place today. Worse still is the fact that only half of the eligible voters participate in these elections which determine who our leaders will be.
There was a time in American history when parents wanted their child to aspire to be President of the United States. Now they encourage them to be a basketball player or football star.
In today's America, political correctness has taken the place of common sense and entitlement has taken the place of responsibility. If we have any hope at all of returning America to its glory days, when hard work was revered and rewarded, we need to elect a leader who understands you are only entitled to rights if you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions.
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