Could We Please Have Some Business Competence in Washington?

I know this chart is old, but it's relevant. It shows how little business experience is present in the Obama administration's Cabinet appointees. There's not a lot there. And it explains quite a bit.

Obama's brief stint in the "working world" consisted of work in the law firm of Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2004 while at the same time teaching Constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. He also worked on his first book during this time.

Absent from his resume is any meaningful work in a productive small business. No payroll to meet, no employees to hire, no competition from foreign concerns, no EPA or OSHA inspections to endure. Very little in the way of business acumen. In other words, there's not much to recommend to a prospective employer who isn't in the field of law or academia. The same can be said for the majority of Obama's Cabinet picks.

In a country whose "business is business", this is a recipe for disaster.

Make this announcement in a boardroom and note the reaction: "We're being sued." Will bottles of champagne be opened and party hats donned? Hardly. The prospect of litigation against a company is not welcome. In fact, law and business are directly opposed, with the law having the upper hand. Lawyers can end a business, but no business can defeat lawyers. In a sane world, and knowing that the results of litigation are always negative for a company, the legal system should be used with great discretion and only as a last resort.

As our conomic crisis deepens, it's becoming clear that we don't have the right kind of knowledge base in Washington. President Obama has made it very clear he considers American business to be evil. He looks upon the natural cycles of boom and bust as a reason to abolish capitalism, or to twist it into something unrecognizable. With enough meddling and overregulation, he is accomplishing his goal as the number of unemployed "unexpectedly" swell every month.

It's not unexpected for those of us who have worked for a living, Mr. President. You're doing what we who were aware of your background feared you'd do: populate your regime with radicals who have no real-world experience, only airy academic theories, unproven in reality.

How many more negative economic reports need to be released before you come to your senses and surround yourself with those who know business and what it takes to succeed?