Politicians: a breed apart playing by flawed rules

They seem to ignore the time-tested values and methods business uses

Now that the federal and FSIN elections are out of the way and a provincial election is around the corner, it’s time to take a look at what makes politicians tick.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that the rich are not like you and me. The same thing applies to politicians. Whether a person is a chief, band councillor, the prime minister or a cabinet minister, they all play the game by a set of rules that would cause havoc and failure elsewhere.

Thinking about this has led me to reflect on four glaring errors of politicos, regardless of their venue.

First, the rule in show business is that you always leave them wanting more. You finish your act and walk off the stage with the sound of applause ringing in your ears. If the audience is appreciative the entertainer might do an encore, but still leave with it wanting more. Elvis has left the building.

But politicians never leave us wanting more. Rarely do they quit at the top of their game. They either get thrown out of office or read the signs and abandon ship before the next election. Second, if you surround yourself with good people, good things happen.

Back when I was a board member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, the driving force behind the organization was Murray Kofler, founder and owner of Shoppers Drug Mart, which then had more than 400 stores. He told us that if we got good people on the board, good things would happen. He was able to land Edward Bronfman, Peter C. Newman and future PM Paul Martin. The organization grew, and today is an important part of aboriginal business development.

The same maxim holds for business. You surround yourself with good people with fine talents and the business will prosper.

Politicians, however, hate to have others show them up, and surround themselves with sycophants, Yes Men and opportunistic camp followers.

During the last election, Stephen Harper was surrounded by such people and he didn’t get the proper feedback. His staff was filling his head with adulation while caucus members stood by silently or praised his talents. Nobody had the backbone to point out that the emperor had no clothes.

Politicians and political bodies employ people based on friendship and political favours. A person can be fired for purely personal reasons.

Third, decision making should be based on available facts. In business decision making is crucial because a wrong decision can cost to the point of placing the company in bankruptcy.

Fact-based decision making sounds sensible, but most political decisions are based on political pressure, blind ideology, ego, grudges and just plain stubbornness. Ideology was behind the trashing of the long form census. Harper didn’t want facts getting in the way of his right wing agenda. The facts would have shown that tough on crime policies were counterproductive; budget cuts hurt the poor disproportionately; and that most economists believed the GST cut was a mistake.

That brings me to the fourth serious mistake politicians make.

They don’t set money aside for a rainy day. It’s been about a decade since the federal government broke even or had a surplus. In business such consecutive losses would mean it would become nothing but a distant, bad memory.

But politicians can leave a mess for the next government without batting an eye. They also can spend borrowed money that will be paid back by people who aren’t even born yet. Inflation is the politician’s friend. The national debt can shrink along with the value of the money, and they still come out looking good. Rarely does a government plan to invest surpluses.

Governments don’t go bankrupt. They just get deeper in debt, and the politicians soldier on.

These practices are universal. It doesn’t matter where the politicians come from or who they are, they are a breed of their own.