Operation Economic Failure

One thing Trump has been very good at, is using other people's money to do his "deals" - all in real estate, often leading to bankruptcy. He is now using his tax payer's money to wage his wars on everyone and everything - and he is pushing the country to bankruptcy. Current estimates range for $890 million to 1 Billion per day is spent on waging the war with Iran.

And that number is just the current outflow for a war. Then there is the operation of the government. On that account the US has increased it's deficit spending by 6.2% a year over the past 15 years.  According to Eric Fossing Nielsen, and economist formerly from the World Bank and Goldman Sacks, " As things now stand, a “whopping” 18 per cent of all U.S. federal tax revenue needs to be allocated to the payment of interest on the public debt alone. Without policy action, the interest-to-revenue ratio will increase to 23 to 25 per cent during the next 10 years - and it is likely the US dollar will lose a quarter of its existing value. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-thanks-to-trump-the-love-affair-between-investors-and-the-us-may-be/

From the standpoint of managing a government "like a business" it is clear Trump is managing like he has managed in the past - using other people's money.

Thomas Friedman made the argument in a recent New Your Times article that applying a real estate mentality (which aims for a mutually beneficial "deal") to situations of war or aggression is a liability, as it fails to understand that one side is often seeking total, zero-sum victory. That Trump does not think in mutually beneficial deals exacerbates the problem in the current environment. His penchant for upending every norm in the management of the nation's affairs at any cost, is recipe for military, diplomatic and economic disaster.

As noted in the New York Times, and to clarify the differences in approach:

• Real Estate Leverage: Focuses on using other people's money (mortgages/debt) to increase purchasing power and potential returns. It is about financial capacity.
• Diplomatic Leverage: Focuses on power dynamics, where a state forces another to change course through:
  • Military Force: Threatening or applying physical force on the battlefield.
  • Economic Isolation: Inflicting pain through sanctions, tariffs, or financial restrictions.
  • Psychological/Internal Pressure: Turning the opponent's population against its leadership. 

In the current war, Iran, so far has gained the diplomatic leverage and Trump is at a loss to deal with it, so much so that he and his closest minions cannot articulate a clear strategy or plan to "winning" or ending the war.

As is his custom, when he finds himself in a bind, through his own actions, he blames others for his predicament. He disparages his allies, punishing them with tariffs, inflicting economic pain and calling them cowards when they displease him, uttering falsehoods about their support in the past. Then he is incredulous that they are reluctant to come to his aid in prosecuting a war they did not create.

Trump's ignorance of history and the current technology of war now has embroiled his country in a modern day guerilla war with an admittedly abominable but crafty regime. 

The magnitude of this blunder, brought on by a real estate mentality will prove to be one of history's biggest military and economic mistakes with reverberations throughout the globe for years to come.