Forum Post: The sheer lunacy of looking to business people for political leadership

Here's a quick overview of the dilemma: In organizations it's a given that the closer the owner is to his assets, the more likely they're protected from either misuse or theft. A sole proprietorship is the least likely to suffer from losses, followed by a closely held corporation. But after that, in either a large, widely held corporation, or worst of all, a government, the distance between the 'owners', we, the people, in the case of the government, and our 'assets', everything collectively owned by us from military weaponry to gold bullion and national parks, the risk of pilferage and worse is high and dependent on policies and procedures specifically instituted to catch such losses.

Sometimes it's enough, but often it isn't most directly due to the philosophy and character of our elected officials. In the case of successful businessmen, their ability to feather their own nest is hardly a sign that they are going to be good stewards of our national treasure. This is no idle worry. The shenanigans that go on at the national level are legendary and so obscured by layers of bureaucracy and red tape, they often take years to uncover.

The fundamental error conservatives make is thinking that just because someone has managed to run a business successfully, they can run a country just as successfully. The problems are NOT comparable. Running a country is FAR more difficult and complex. It is NOT a matter of just earning more than we spend as with a business.

GDP is a silly measure that would have been replaced years ago by the economic profession if they really had more concern for the commonweal than their own tenure. As one of my professors once said, it's the equivalent of judging an orchestra by how loudly it plays instead of how well.

We need to elect selfless, intelligent people into office, not those celebrated mostly for their ability to get rich. Those giving, responsible people are out there, often being actively suppressed by the powers that be, but they're out there. They're the kind of people that make up the OWS movement and the polar opposites of those who make up the Tea Party.

With a little luck and hard work, one day a mention of participation in OWS in one's resume is going to be considered the mark of someone who didn't just stand by while our society imploded from poorly chosen objectives and unfettered economic injustice.