Anyone who knows me will not be surprised by my dislike of the Trumpster. Its difficult to explain or quantify my dislike because, like millions of other people, I have never met the man but I just don't like the way he carries himself. His approach to the world is that he himself is wonderful and the best man for the job, whatever that job may be. Yes, he is wealthy but there is the lingering suspicion that his wealth is more a function of his being a snake-oil salesman than it is a function of his being a stellar business person. (See Trump University.)
In terms of business acumen or success, Trump simply doesn't measure up to people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett or the many others who have built brands or empires. (Do a google search for 'successful businessmen in the world' for an extensive list.)
Trump seems far more at home when he is being bullying or boorish and his principle business tool seems to be his willingness to repeat 'the big lie' over and over again until people either can't hear anything else or die trying.
But setting aside the crass obsession with the size of his vote or crowd or hands or penis, the recent disclosure that he intends to overhaul (read 'get rid of') the Dodd-Frank legislation is the action that really scares me. (See here and here and in a lot of other places.)
For those of you unfamiliar with Dodd-Frank, in very simple terms, they were regulations brought in by the Obama administration after the financial crisis of 2007/8 in order to stabilise the financial markets and make sure that the financial institutions couldn't behave irresponsibly.
So, like Thatcher and reagan before him, Trump likes deregulation because, in his view, it encourages competition and entrepreneurship. He doesn't care about risk-taking because thats the juice and that's what floats his boat. Forget about the fact that, in terms of the financial markets, the risk-taking can be done with your money, and mine, and forget about the fact that deregulation means a lack of accountability. Say hello to casino banking.
And don't think that what Trump does won't affect you, it will. If London wants to maintain its position as a major financial centre, the government here is going to have to compete with Trump's vision of a deregulated market so we are going to be in a race to the bottom. We will have to match Trump's stupidity with stupidity of our own and you can bet your pension that there will be another crisis, just like the last one. And, just like the last one, it will be you and me who will pay for it whilst Trump and his chums walk away, or stagger away, with everyone else's savings (if they have any).
Welcome to the poorhouse.