As I’ve said, I’d like to see a private insurance system without artificial lines drawn between states. We need to get rid of those lines and let people and companies cross state lines to purchase the best plan for them. The government should get out of the way and let insurance companies compete for your business.
I have a big company. I have thousands of employees. If I’m negotiating for health insurance for my people in New York or California or Texas, I usually have one bidder in each state. Competition brings down prices, and the way the law is now, it discourages real competition between insurance companies for customers. They have virtual monopolies within the states. That makes no sense. It’s very stupid and unfair for us.
You know who loves a lack of competition? Those insurance companies, who are making a fortune because they control the politicians. They’ve paid for them with their contributions, and it’s a good investment from their perspectives. For our country, not so much. They give money to almost all the politicians. I’m using my own money so I am free to do what’s right, and serve the people, not the lobbyists.
Nobody understands business better than I do. You want better plans at a better price? Increase competition for customers.
The government doesn’t belong in health care except as the very last resort. The main way the government should be involved is to make sure the insurance companies are financially strong so that if there is a catastrophic event or they make some kind of miscalculation, they have the resources they’ll need to handle it.
If we follow my logic, our health care system, and our economy, will be well again very soon.
8
IT’S STILL THE ECONOMY, STUPID
ALL THE PUNDITS, AND just about everyone else, said I would never really run for the presidency. When I announced I was a candidate for president, some of those same people predicted it wasn’t really going to happen. They were sure I would drop out of the race before submitting my financial disclosures.
Apparently they thought I would be embarrassed to admit that I was not as wealthy as most people thought. But after filing those papers they found out I was worth much more.
I’m rich. I mean, I’m really rich. I’ve earned more money than even I thought I would—and I’ve had some pretty big dreams.
You know, I hear politicians talk, and they say things like “I was a constitutional law professor, so I’m an expert on the Constitution.” Or maybe they say, “I was on the Senate Foreign Relations committee for 25 years, so that makes me an expert on foreign policy.” They point out how “successful” they were when they were CEO of a great company—where they cut 30,000 jobs, many of which ended up overseas, thus making them experts on job creation—experts on sending jobs outside of America to replace jobs inside of America.
I listen to these people talking about how they are going to fix our economy, how they are going to create jobs, how they are going to lower taxes and balance the budget. I shake my head and I think, You wouldn’t have even qualified to be a contestant on The Apprentice.
We shouldn’t take any fiscal advice from members of a Congress that can’t pass a budget, nor should we expect them to keep their job-creating promises. We need someone who is a tough negotiator and a real leader. Sadly, the Republican majority doesn’t possess the leadership or the negotiating skills necessary to pass a budget that would eliminate programs that ought to be entirely in private hands, or even eliminated completely.
The only time they really stand up to Obama, and then they fold, is in the final days when spending authorizations are running out. Where were they this summer when the real work and consensus could have been developed?
They’re going to screw up the lives of millions of Americans—and destroy our credit rating—because they don’t have the leadership skills needed to make our country great again and to look out for Americans.
What we are confronted with is a mixture of bad management and bad politics.
We need leadership in the White House that will keep government functioning while getting the feds out of all the areas where they don’t belong. If the government is properly sized and properly focused, we won’t need to go from crisis to crisis.
We need to start with the United States Congress. We’ve had presidents (Lyndon Johnson for one; Ronald Reagan for another) who have managed to build consensus and get things done. When President Reagan fired the air traffic controllers during his seventh month in office, he sent a signal to the unions that they heard loud and clear. When President Johnson twisted arms to get enough votes for the passage of a civil rights bill, he took on the far left and the far right and threatened them in order to get his way.
It can be done.
President Obama is big on playing golf. But he doesn’t play with the right people. He should be playing with those smart people who can help our country, establishing bonds to get things done—and not just his friends.
Believe me, I know how to use a golf course—and golf clubs—to make deals. The only things that work are having a clear point of view and knowing how to get your message across to the country so that the people support and understand your mission. This way we’re not divided, and special interest groups cannot buy the outcomes they want and rip us apart.
It all comes down to leadership. I don’t think many people would disagree that I tell it like it is. When you see the coverage of me on television, in newspapers, and on social media, you’d have to agree that I get more attention for my opinions than all the other Republican candidates put together. Hopefully, that’s respect and not pure entertainment—but it may be a little of both.
I manage to blast through the ridiculous liberal bias of the media and speak right to the hearts of the people—or at least I try. Even New York magazine, hardly a conservative outlet, has given me credit on its cover for shaking up the status quo.
Again, we’re talking leadership.
When it comes to creating jobs and straightening out our economy, I am the only expert who isn’t talking in “theory.” I talk common sense and practical realism learned from the school of hard knocks. I’ve been there, done that, suffered through adversity, gone into debt, fought back, and come out on top, and much biggger and stronger than ever before. During the Recession of 1990 many of my friends went bankrupt, and never recovered. I never went bankrupt. I survived, and learned so much about how to deal with bad times. Our country is going through a bad time—I get it, and I know how to solve it.
I’m a fighter. Knock me down, and I come back even stronger. I love it!
I’ve spent my entire life not just making money but, more importantly, learning how to manage my resources and share them with the thousands who have worked for me. To hear our left-wing critics tell it, we need socialism to make this country move forward, and we need a president who can make up the rules as he goes along. If he can’t get Congress to do something, he needs to rule by executive order.
I say that’s complete nonsense.
The free market works—it just needs leadership, not dictatorship. Our government needs to employ a strong adherence to the Constitution and maintain social programs that inspire and reward achievement and that are constantly accountable for their spending and outcomes. I’m very concerned about the 46.5 million people living in poverty, and the great majority of middle-class Americans who can barely afford their homes (or have lost them). I am very concerned for the people who can’t pay for the education of their children. In short, I am concerned for the people who can’t buy into the American dream because the financial programs of this country are so tilted in favor of the rich.