Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Cult of the CEO and the Trumpification of the GOP
http://swampland.time.com/2012/10/25/the-cult-of-the-ceo-and-the-trumpification-of-the-gop/Oct. 25, 2012
The Cult of the CEO and the Trumpification of the GOP
By Michael Grunwald
The attention junkie Donald Trump announced Monday that he would give $5 million to, oh, never mind. That bozo needs more ink like Chris Matthews needs more coffee. But its worth remembering that 18 months ago, Trump was leading the Republican primary polls. And his circus of fail, along with Jack Welchs insane conspiracy theories about the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not to mention the entire George W. Bush presidency, ought to shine a harsh spotlight on Americas misguided but incredibly resilient cult of the CEO.
Trumps race-baiting ravings about President Obamas birth certificate and college transcripts have inspired a lot of ridicule about his own bankruptcies and other business woes, but thats missing the point. Trump has an impressive business recordeven if its not as impressive as Welchs or Mitt Romneysand an obvious genius for self-promotion. But hes still a Guiness Book of World Records jerk who knows less than nothing about public policy. Theres no reason his political bloviations should receive any more attention than any other celebritys.
Making money is a genuine talent, just like teaching physics or draining three-pointers or, dare I mention it, organizing communities. CEOs can produce real benefits for society, even though their main objective is maximizing returns for their shareholders, even though some of them create entire reality shows around the enjoyment they derive from firing people. But there is no reason to think that CEOs have any more insight into the national interest than their workers do. And the Trumpy drumbeat that Obama is an anti-capitalist radicalrecently amplified by a self-righteous parade of CEOs threatening to fire their employees if the president is reelectedis somewhat odd given the spectacular profits enjoyed by corporate America over the last four years. I understand why some of them are bummed that Obama wants to raise their taxes, and they have every right to finance Romneys campaign, but I dont see why their opinions (or for that matter the opinion of Obama-friendly executives like Warren Buffett or Jeff Immelt) are big news.
Romney has argued that his experience at Bain Capital makes him uniquely qualified to turn around the economy. I do think his managerial experience is an attractive quality in a chief executive, and unlike many blame-the-staff pundits I do think that experience has helped him run a strong campaign operation. (Of course, Obama ran a strong campaign operation in 2008, and he had never run anything bigger than the Harvard Law Review.) But Romneys record as a moneymaker in private equity tells us virtually nothing about his ability to produce macroeconomic success, to the extent that presidents can contribute to macroeconomic success. His ideas about the tax code and public investments and budget deficits and monetary policy tell us much more. So does his record as governor of Massachusetts, to the extent that he stands by his policies in Massachusetts. ...
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
0 replies, 531 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post