Bidnessman President

I'm lazy today. Just into bookmarking.

If this is what "running government like a business" looks like, it's no wonder President Trump's companies kept going bankrupt.

One week into the presidency, we've gotten a taste of Trump's management style. And so far it's been plagued by many of the bad habits common to poorly run businesses.

Looking forward to the going out of business sale for our country. 

During a news conference Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer refused to answer a simple measurement question: What is the current unemployment rate?

The answer is not exactly a secret. Three weeks ago, the Labor Department publicly announced its latest reading as 4.7 percent.

But Spicer -- whose boss has variously claimed the rate is "a total fiction" and as high as "42 percent" -- ducked.

I wonder what metrics will be used with Trump's presidency. Zero per cent unemployment because everyone does something, don't they. 

"The president, he's not focused on statistics as much as he is on whether or not the American people are doing better as a whole," Spicer said.

I thought he was fixated on the size of the crowds at his inauguration. 

He's made hiring decisions based not necessarily on qualifications or experience, but on whether candidates are members of his family or have the right "look." Funny facial hair, inadequate height and absence of "swagger" reportedly disqualified some contenders.

Oh my God. George Steinbrenner is back and he's in the WH.

Rather than thoughtfully assessing rules and regulations coming down the pike -- by, say, conducting a cost-benefit analysis, as you might in a real-life business -- Trump halted them across the board. They include one related to keeping airplanes from crashing. (It's about inspecting aircraft fuselages for cracks.)

Glad I don't fly much. A practice I intend to keep now. 

Finally, Trump has recently committed to spending billions of dollars on pet projects that are essentially expensive solutions to problems that don't exist: a border wall with Mexico, despite the fact that we've seen a net outflow of unauthorized Mexican immigrants in recent years, and a "voter fraud" investigation into the "millions" of illegal votes that he believes -- with zero evidence -- were cast in an election he won.

Again, hard to imagine that such costly, low-upside executive windmill-chasing would fly at a competitive business.

Needless to say, there are major differences between running a business and running a government; it's a myth that aptitude at one necessarily translates to aptitude at the other.

But with ineptitude, maybe it's a different story.