Honesty

        Norm Brodsky had an article titled “The Temptation to Lie” in the November 2017 issue of INC.  In the article, Brodsky gave an example of a client who had valued inventory in his business at full retail and listed nonexistent prepaid expenses on his balance sheet.  He did this to show an inflated value for his company in an effort to secure banks loans. 

     Brodsky told the client not to show the balance sheet to the bank because it could be considered fraud.  Fraud, an extreme form of dishonesty, can send an individual to jail.

      We hear about large corporations playing games with financial books for a variety of reasons.  Top management may play with the books to inflate profits and generate bonuses for themselves.  These people should go to jail, but they seldom do.

      In my book, Business Fits, I point out that no one in business should ever lie to a customer.  This should be the first rule of sales, service, and customer relations. 

      Honesty is a moral issue for me.  It is the way I was raised.  My Dad was a tenant farmer and never had a lot of money, but his word was very important to him.  Dad farmed the place I was raised on for sixteen years.  He farmed the land with nothing but a handshake after the first or second year.

       Being honest in both our personal and work lives is very important, so why do we give politicians a pass to lie?  Most people think it is okay for politicians to lie when they are campaigning.  Many politicians say totally different things to different groups or in different states and make no attempt to keep any of those promises once they get elected. 

      Other politicians seem to feel they are above the law and have no obligation to conduct themselves in a moral manner.  I am disgusted to learn that Congress has a slush fund to compensate and silence individuals that have been sexually mistreated by Congressmen.  A gag order for the victims is part of the settlement and the settlement is paid with taxpayer money.  This is wrong on so many levels!

      The worst thing that happens to most Senators or Representatives is that they are subjected to an ethics investigation.  The most extreme penalty following most ethics investigations is a letter of reprimand.  It is shameful how the swamp protects its own.

       This kind of conduct must stop.  We have to clean up the Washington DC swamp.  Thank God we now have a President who attempts to keep his campaign promises and is committed to draining the swamp.   

     God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

                    http://BusinessFits.com    

Vote the Party Line

        Our two political parties have become so polarized that they hurt the American people.  The only things they seem to have in common is to obstruct the other party, grow the size of the federal government, and increase the power of the Washington DC swamp. 

        People talk about working “across the isle.”  The parties are even seated on opposite sides in the House and Senate like opponents.  They should be seated alternately, so every Democrat has a Republican on both sides and every Republican has a Democrat on both sides.  Maybe if they were forced to talk to each other they would work for the good of the country instead of only for their self interests.

        The Republicans control the white house and both branches of Congress, and they have not been able to repeal Obama Care or pass tax reform.  Conservatives are frustrated that Republicans have not voted the party line and passed both.  I too am frustrated, but I respect the discussion of dissenting Republicans who may actually be trying to represent the state that elected them.  This debate is good. 

        What makes me mad is the Democrats totally voting the party line to spite the President and the Republicans.  I don’t believe a single Democrat has voted for tax reform.  This is crazy considering they call themselves the party of the people. 

        The proposed tax reform bills are not perfect and don’t benefit every individual, but in general they all will reduce taxes for working Americans and will stimulate the economy and producing jobs.  I would prefer the Fair Tax, but I understand it is too radical a step and too hard to explain at this time.

        The fact that not one Democrat has supported tax reform clearly shows that they are more interested in promoting the party and the political elite than they are in helping the forgotten Americans.  I hope the Democratic Party wakes up, because President Trump is doing what he promised and working Americans will see the results in spite of the Democratic Party and the Washington DC swamp. 

        The American people have had enough, and that is the number one reason Donald Trump was elected President.  He seldom is politically correct and he doesn’t care if he offends people.  He tells it like it is and tries to do what he promised.  He is truly the most transparent President we have had in decades.

        It will be very interesting to see how far this populous movement goes.  It could go a long way, because the progressive movement has been going the wrong direction for over a century.   

        God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

                    http://BusinessFits.com    

Negotiation

        Negotiating a deal is an art.  This is true in both the public and private sector.  Good negotiation requires risk and reward.  A good negotiator must also know when to walk away.  

        In the early 70’s we had a pop machine in Lee Motors.  This machine dispensed a bottle of pop for 10¢.  This was a service for our customers and our employees.  We did not make any money from pop sales and probably lost money. 

        School children would come in for a 10¢ pop and then sneak out with the bottle.  They would then take the empty bottle across the street to the grocery store where they could get 5¢ for the empty.  We let them think they were getting away with something. 

        We owned the pop machine and stocked it ourselves, but we had a bottler deliver the pop once a week.  At the time I was addicted to Sun Drop pop.  Sun Drop has a high caffeine and sugar content so was probably not the healthiest drink.  Their slogan was “Refreshing as a cup of coffee.”

        When I bought the dealership, there was no Sun Drop in the machine.  This was totally unacceptable for me.  I asked the bottler to supply it.  I can’t remember if the bottler was Coke or Pepsi, but whichever it was they told me they could not supply Sun Drop because it was in direct competition with one of their other products.  I politely said “Fine, I understand.  Take all of your products out.”  It was fun to see how quickly the bottle decided they could supply Sun Drop. 

        In business, you must be willing to walk if you want the best deal.  The same is true in politics and especially in international relations.  President Trump wrote a book called The Art of the Deal.  He knows how to negotiate. 

        President Trump is willing to walk on trade deals with foreign countries if the deal is not good for the United States.  With rogue countries it is even more important.  Good negotiation is not possible if military action is taken off the table.  Rogue countries like Iran and North Korea are a threat to world peace.  Thank God we now have a President capable and willing to address these problems which have been ignored for years. 

        God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

                    http://BusinessFits.com    

See Something - Say Somrthing

          There  was  another terrorist  attack in New York.   Eight  people died.   Is  this  the  new normal?   If we don't  take appropriate  action these terrorists attacks will continue and become more frequent.

       This time, the weapon was a flatbed pickup rented from Home Depot, a tactic recommended by ISIS.  There are  idiots still blaming guns in spite of the fact that the terrorist was only armed with a paint gun and a pellet gun.  A cry for gun control is an attempt by the left to do away with the second amendment and has nothing to do with protecting us from terrorists.

        I am tired of all the politicians trying to get air time to promote themselves after one of these attacks.  They spout all these nice platitudes about how we are not going to let these terrorists disrupt our lives. 

        The most annoying are the idiots who say we just need to listen to the terrorists, try to understand them, and love them.  This is a war.  They want to kill us.

        One of our greatest potential defenses is See Something – Say Something.   This would be true, but is has zero chance of being successful.  We have become too politically correct to protect ourselves. 

        When someone suspects a potential terrorist, they are afraid to say something because they will be called an Islamophobic, and they fear being shunned and ridiculed.  It could mean the end of their career.  Someone knew about the danger of every terrorist attack in this country before it was committed, but was afraid to say something.

        Even other Muslims will not say anything for the same reason of being shunned or ridiculed.  They also could face potential physical retribution for outing a radical Islam.   There are also Muslims who support the violent Jihad. 

        We have to wake up and recognize that we are in a religious war.  We must put an end to the dangerous political correctness. 

        Words have meaning.  Banning words that might hurt someone’s feelings does not change human nature.  It only widens racial, religious, and sexual divisions.  This is like ignoring history.  We need to start learning from history and not trying to change it.

·       We are at war. 

·       We need to stop the extreme political correctness. 

·       We have to secure our boarders.

·       We must properly vet immigrants. 

·       We must support our military and police, and give them the tools and freedom to do their job. 

·       We must say something if we see something. 

        God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

                    http://BusinessFits.com