Do Businessmen Make Good Presidents?

[courseofhistory]

http://electoral-vote.com/

Since the start of the 20th Century, only three Presidents have been voted out of office after a single term. All three, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush, were businessmen. It is startling but true that GDP has grown 45 times faster under Presidents with little or no business experience than when these businessmen were in office. The Presidents who had the best stock market growth, FDR, Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, and Obama had essentially no business experience. The Dow has gained 16.8% per annum under Democrats with no business experience and lost 3.7% per year under Republicans with business experience. It is not clear why having business experience makes you a bad President; most likely there is no correlation between the business experience of the President and his performance on the economy.

[ksoze]

1. CEO's probably not

They are tasked at making money for a small group of people - investors or employees. A President needs to have winners all around - that is death for a CEO.

[gopiscrap]

2. No not at all

All business is evil and at direct odds to the common good. The only noble professions are those of working for the church or state or some limited non-profits. How can you expect a business prick to care about the rest of the nation?

[ksoze]

3. All business is not evil - a little sweeping judgement there maybe?

A CEO may not make a good president, but casting all business as evil is a bit much

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I Thought Sweeping Generalizations Were The Province Of The Right

It's not about having money. It's about how you earned it and what you did with it.

[yellowcanine]

4. George W. Bush had 2 terms but was supposedly a business man also....

I would say he is one more strike against the premise.

[DURHAM D]

5. LOL Jimmy Carter was a business man?

That would be news to him.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. He Ran The Family Peanut Business After His Father Died

.

[DURHAM D]

9. First he is was in the navy from 1943 through 1953.

Then he was a farmer.

Not the same thing as being a "business man". Like I said, President Carter would find this OP a big laugh.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. I Agree With You.

He also was a nuclear engineer.He was a Sunday School teacher. He was a multi layered person.

[AJH032]

6. Saying a successful business person has a good understanding of the economy

is like saying any consumer good at finding deals in the market has a solid understanding of the economy.

The two sides are simply filling their roles in our multi-market macroeconomy. Being good at your role does not mean you understand predominant macroeconomic forces and how to influence a positive change as president.

[JI7]

11. not in itself , Being President means not doing things like a Business Person would do

Carter had a bunch of other experience than the peanut farmer thing. and he was right on many things which if he had been re-elected and able to do and we could have avoided Reagan we would be a lot better off today.

Bush was always backed by people associated with his dad. everything he did was because of his name and family connections. from his business to being President. but i odn't think he was ever directly in charge .

[treestar]

12. No, because the Presidency is not the running of a business

It is directing the Executive Branch of the federal government, which includes foreign policy, which cannot be conducted like a business.

The idea they understand the economy is silly - they understand their company and that's about it.