Letters to the Editor 11/07/2018

To the Editor:

The October 24 Nugget published a guest editorial by Jeff Mackey declaring that Donald J. Trump is the "right person for the job" based on the premise that Trump is a successful businessman and that the United States should be run like a corporation with the President as its CEO. This strikes me as a simplistic and absurd assumption.

Trump would hardly be a smart choice to run a business as complex as the United States. Trump companies have filed for bankruptcy six times, leaving bond-holders and lenders to foot the bill. More recently, he has demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of fiscal policy and the role of the Federal Reserve. According to the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) the recently passed tax-cut bill signed by Trump is estimated to add 1.4 trillion to the federal deficit by 2027. No business gets an unlimited line of credit like that.

Running a government is fundamentally different than running a corporation. A company's sole purpose is to make a profit for its owners. Period. The purpose of our Federal Government, as found in the Preamble of the Constitution, is to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity."

Doesn't sound much like running a company, does it?

Candidate Trump promised to drain the swamp. Instead Robert Mueller has multiple indictments, and guilty pleas and plea deals from Trump's lawyers and aides. Obama had none.

Integrity starts at the top, and the current leader seems sadly lacking. I will be voting for a change of course with my ballot.

Karen Lord