Here's an issue that gets no attention in the presidential race. Hint: It's boring but it's truly important.
No, I wasn’t thinking about “gravitas” which a few elections ago was the touchstone for a presidential candidate. Meaning seriousness and bearing. As in: Pat Paulsen lacks the gravitas to be president,
Instead, what I’m thinking about is administrative experience. You know, like running things, Heading up a big corporation. Serving as an elected administrator, like governor or mayor, Getting appointed to run a gigantic public agency like the Social Security Administration,
Why is that so important?
Well, there’s this:
About 4 million civilians work for the federal government. Add another 1.3 million or so serving as active duty in the military, Walmart, the nation’s largest civilian employer, doesn’t even come in a close second with 2.1 million workers.
A workforce that gargantuan requires unmatched sums of money. In fiscal 2023, Washington took in almost $4.5 trillion in revenue but spent—get this—6.2 trillion. (No wonder the federal debt is more than $35 trillion). Walmart’s latest annual income was a mere smidgeon—$648 billion—compared with the feds.
Someone who heads a $6 trillion institution ought to have at least the administrative skills of Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who has spent his entire career learning the ins and outs of Walmart’s business.
So, how do our two candidate for president—Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump—compare when it comes to administrative skills and experience?
Oh boy.
Harris is virtually bankrupt in that department. As a senator she ran nothing. Well, a handful of staff, if you insist. I’m unable to find anything about her administrative skills as California Attorney General. But the fact that 90 percent of her staff as vice president quit in three years ought to tell us something. (Trump doesn’t do well on that issues. See above the picture of those people who have left the Trump administration.)
Trump spent his entire career as the boss of his business interests. Even though that career was checkered with government investigations, law suits and counter suits and, importantly, six corporate bankruptcies.
But there’s this: Trump has had extensive administrative experience as the head of the massive federal bureaucracy. He should know where the skunks are hidden. Who’s wasting the most money. Which are falling short of their intended purpose. He ought to know about flow charts and reporting requirements. What agency is operating beyond its congressionally mandated job. One of Trump’’s main objectives as president was to “drain the swamp,|” an administration job if there ever was one.
Not everyone agrees that Trump drained the swamp, although he claims he eliminated a trove of unproductive regulations. There is a difference between having administrative experience and wisely using it.
Still, Trump wins this test. Too much is unknown about Harris on that score. Harris can’t hold a candle to Trump’s experience.