How About a Business Literacy Test? Candidates and the Economy
Today, the U.S. is looking at some pretty hardcore economic issues. We may be facing a full out recession. Every single presidential candidate has a plan to fix the situation, from tax rebates to full fledged economic plans.
But, in my opinion, a key indicator of how a presidential candidate is going to handle economic issues is how they handle economics in action — little things like whether they can run a business without bankrupting it.
Mitt Romney seems to be basing a big chunk of his campaign on his claim to have spent 25 years in the private sector.
- 1974–1984 Vice President, Bain & Company
- 1984–1998 CEO, Bain Capital
- 1998–2002 CEO, 2002 Winter Olympics
Alright, I can’t fault Mitt Romney’s résumé. He turned the 2002 Winter Olympics around from a $379 million shortfall to a $100 million profit. Companies he’s worked for routinely ask him to come back. His stimulus plan, though, isn’t awe-inspiring. It involves a lot of initiatives similar to those proposed by other good Republicans: lowering taxes and reforming the Federal Housing Administration. It just doesn’t fill me with confidence, and for a very simple reason: the language it’s written in. No matter the value of his initiatives, they are described in terms of ‘fair’ and ‘not fair.’ It makes me feel like the government is some sort of bully intent on stealing my lunch money, not an entity that honestly needs tax dollars in order to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” — those crucial functions the Constitution requires our government to perform.
In strictest contrast to Romney’s business experience is Barack Obama’s C.V. prior to his first political win in 2003. Community organizer, civil rights lawyer, lecturer in constitutional law. Noble pursuits, all, but I want to see some proof that he actually knows something about the effects of economic policy on both corporations and small business. Furthermore, he wants to expand healthcare, provide further childcare opportunities and fund an expanded Family and Medical Leave Act, all while offering tax rebates, and even a few outright tax cuts. Now, math was never my strongest subject in school, but I’m pretty sure that all those amazing initiatives of Obama’s will need more tax dollars, not less.
Hillary Clinton seems to have struck a bit more of a middle ground. From 1978 until her husband’s election to the White House, Clinton continuously had a higher salary than her husband. While she did heavily specialize in child advocacy, she was a successful partner in the Rose Law Firm, a prominent Arkansas law firm, and handled cases dealing with patents and intellectual property. I do like that her stimulus plan involves actual numbers — nothing bothers me more than economic plans with no actual figures — but it also involves a $40 billion tax rebate, plus $70 billion in spending money.
Over the years, John McCain has had an impressive naval career and a lengthy political career, but, when it comes to business, the only thing I can mention is the year or so (1981–1982) he spent as Vice President of Public Relations for his father-in-law’s beer distributorship. McCain’s other attributes aside, I don’t find this work history exactly notable. His plan seems to focus on a long list of tax cuts and reforms — whether or not tax cuts can fix an ailing economy, I consider it a benefit that he’s not planning to spend more dollars out of a smaller pot … then again, that might be my inner accountant talking.
In terms of economic plans and experience, all candidates are not considered equal. I can’t say that an MBA should be a requirement for the presidency. After all, Ronald Reagan co-starred with a chimp prior to his election. But I can say that, in a time of economic difficulties, I would like some proof that candidates’ plans take into account the affects on bank accounts — not just on voters’ opinions. It’s all well and good to have a great healthcare plan, but without an economy robust enough to provide plenty of jobs, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.
Think about it this way. A candidate might get elected to the Senate on the strength of his involvement with improving the standard of living among poorer communities, but he still needs to be mindful of the fact that those poorer communities still need employers — companies that aren’t facing problems limiting their ability to hire workers.
Tags: business, Clinton, economy, mccain, obama, romneyRelated Stories
POSTED IN: The US Political Process
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