Trump should realize United States is not a business

David Carlini lauds President Trump for his promise to “run the country like a business” and then goes on to describe his success at governing on “sound business practices.” I would like to point out that our country is not a business.

Unlike business, our nation’s goal is not to make a profit. Trump is used to acting as a CEO but has discovered that governing doesn’t work that way. The separation of powers so “valued” by this president is, in fact, getting in the way of his agenda, a problem he may not have faced when running his business. He has to work with Congress to achieve his goals, and he’s having little success even with a majority Republican Congress.

Trump referred to himself as the “king of debt” in running his business. Is this a desirable business plan for running the country? He promised to reduce the deficit and, ultimately, the debt. Is building a wall (and requiring us, not Mexico, to pay for it) part of this business plan? Congressmen from border areas are against it, and most believe it will not have the desired results. The patron saint of the Republican Party, Ronald Reagan, said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall.” How is this wall more effective than the Berlin Wall?

Contrary to Mr. Carlini’s letter, in the first 100 days Trump has not renegotiated NAFTA, and his regulatory reforms have amounted to such “values” as dumping coal waste into streams. Business doesn’t concern itself with environmental issues, but government should. He hasn’t required NATO to pay their “fair share.” He said NATO was obsolete and now he says it isn’t. China was a currency manipulator, now it’s not.

I do agree that for Trump, governing isn’t ideological but is a series of business transactions. These transactions are designed to further line his pockets and the pockets of other residents of the swamp he promised to drain.

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Trump should realize United States is not a business."