No. The last thing we want is a government run like a business.

The government is not a business. It is just the opposite. A government does not provide goods and services for a price, and then has a surplus income which rewards the owner or which can be plowed back into the enterprise for maintenance and growth.

The government is just the opposite, it is meant to operate at a loss, it is meant to engage in activities which are not profitable. We do not expect it to generate surplus revenue. Governments are assigned tasks no business should be expected to do, and vice versa. The whole point of having a government is to do those things business can't do.

To "run a government in a businesslike manner" is folly. It is foolishness. Oh sure, we have a right to demand good management, competent administration, efficiency, fiscal responsibility, all of those things we expect in our business affairs. But the whole point of government is to do those things business can't. Likewise, the purpose of business is to do those things government can't or shouldn't do. The relationship is not interchangeable, in fact, it may often be adversarial.

A businessman can be a good politician if he brings with him those qualities we expect in a good businessman, good management, competent administration, efficiency, fiscal responsibility, and so on. Those are necessary, but not sufficient conditions for a politician or government bureaucrat. But he must not bring the business ethos with him. The qualities we expect in a man we hire to run our business are not those we expect in the man we elect to run our government. In fact, they are just the opposite.

This idea that a good businessman is instantly qualified to be a good politician inevitably leads to a Trump. If we haven't learned that lesson by now then we deserve him and people like him forever.