Is Trump really a ‘legacy hire’?
The day after the inauguration, among the rants of the women on “The View” was a swipe by Sunny Hostin. She took issue with Trump’s pronouncement that he will end all Diversity Equity and Inclusion, DEI, programs and make us a merit-based country, in order to realize Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream.
She pointed out what she considers hypocrisy: “He had no political experience whatsoever, he had no business experience. He was given everything he has. He is a legacy hire.”
Donald Trump did end up running the businesses his father started despite being one of the youngest of five siblings. He was the only one who showed an interest in business. However, running a business isn’t as hard as staying in business, much less making it grow. Businesses fail every single day. In fact about 65% of all American businesses fail within 10 years. About 57% of real estate businesses fail, which was the Trump model.
Trump has had his share of failures, but today a large share of his business remains, and he went from being a millionaire to a billionaire.
Arguably, the United States government is one ginormous business. Just because one wins a political office doesn’t mean he or she is the least bit capable of running a business, let alone a large one. It’s no wonder this country is in such poor shape, trillions in debt with red ink as far as the eye can see.
Being a career politician does not equip someone to run the country. In fact, our Founding Fathers never intended for our congressmen to be full-time politicians. Most of the power wisely was left in the hands of the states. A few patriotic individuals were chosen to represent us in handling the relatively small amount of business of the federal government. They spent a couple of months in New York and then Philadelphia, did their patriotic duty, went home to real jobs and lived under the laws they passed.
Our first congressmen in 1789 were paid a per diem of $6. Six dollars would be about $215 today. Those trips were long and tedious. Furthermore, living away from home in a big city was expensive. That is why a third of the members of the Senate in the 1890s would resign before their terms were finished. Today our congressmen are paid $174,000 to $193,400 depending on one’s position, plus generous allowances for staff, postage, travel and now lodging.
Our Founding Fathers wisely left money matters in control of members of the House of Representatives who have to stand for reelection every two years. Why? Because they knew we would hold them accountable for any reckless spending. Today, most people can’t name the person who represents them, let alone how he or she votes on all those spending measures. Not only that, the longer these people stay in Washington, regardless of political party, the more they spend. Check out the report card issued on each member of Congress by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Is it any wonder we are now $36 trillion in debt, which is growing each and every day?
The average life of a democracy is 200 years. Most fail, not through war or revolution, but because of loose fiscal policy.
Most people are in favor of term limits, but they just keep electing the same people to represent them because they don’t know who they are or what they’ve done. Therefore, voters are reluctant to fire anyone.
Many representatives go to Washington with good intentions. Once there, however, they get sucked in by the power and benefits, so they stay. Many have never had any real-world experience in the private sector. Fewer still have ever met a payroll.
Joe Biden, sadly, was a case in point. Like many in Congress, he stayed too long. You would be surprised how many of our representatives and senators simply are propped up by their staffs when they reach a certain age.
Sadly, if you are basing your choice of president on his or her time in government, you are only making matters worse.
Trump may not be the perfect president (there never will be). The things he says at times drives me crazy, but he knows how to run a business. We need more businessmen and women in Washington who will stay for a short time and then leave.
Frankly, I’d vote for someone who ran a hardware store or a beauty salon to represent me before I’d vote for a career politician.