A recurring theme on The Neal Asbury Show is that my guests point to the obvious lack of business prowess among our leaders in Washington.  Can we really expect leaders who have never had to make payroll or pay for healthcare benefits to pass laws about these very policies?  Should we expect leaders who have never been involved in the manufacturing or export of products and services to appreciate the value of Free Trade Agreements?  Most importantly, if you have never been accountable for managing the P&L of a company operating within a responsible budget that allows an organization to remain economically viable, how can one understand the dangers of the suffocating deficits that are now so commonplace in our government?

A recent guest on my show posed this: “Is there a Board of Directors at any company that would allow a president to project deficits for the next 10 years? Of course not.  They would show him the door.”

Yet, we have put our faith in leaders who are out of touch with the realities of our economy.  Millions of Americans are out of work, and yet we are trusting leaders who have never run a company to create a jobs bill.   With no insight into the requirement of sound Human Resources policies, they are calling for entrepreneurs and business owners to hire job candidates currently unemployed instead of trying to match the candidate to the skills required for the job. These are just the latest examples of the social welfare state we are evolving into instead of the robust, sustainable wealth generating free enterprise marketplace that has served us so well for so long.

It is time to run this country like a business.   Decisions must be made based on sound financial principles instead of the rapid accumulation of debt that can never be paid back.  If the “company” wants to spend money and there is no money in the coffers, the purchase is deferred or cuts are made elsewhere to free up capital.

When companies seek growth, they find new markets.  When America is run like a business, it will invest in our most innovative entrepreneurs to create jobs and generate revenue in those areas where wealth and opportunities are most abundant.

Is this merely a pipe dream?  Not if you are following the new crop of political candidates poised to run for office.

In California, Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Ebay, is running for office as a Republican gubernatorial candidate.   Also in California, former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina, is vying for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat as a Republican.

While there is no guarantee that CEO success translates into political success (i.e.  Democratic Governor Jon Corzine, a former Goldman-Sachs executive, was recently tossed out of office in New Jersey), we need to elect more leaders in the Senate and House who have a business background.

On The Neal Asbury Show we have had many business-oriented political guests such as: Congressman Kevin Brady, a Deputy Whip for the GOP representing the 8th District of Texas and a successful entrepreneur; Congressman John C. Fleming M.D. (R-LA), a family physician from Minden, LA, who runs a healthcare company with 500 employees;   Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) who ran the largest independent residential real estate brokerage company in the Southeast; and Dr. Eric Wargotz, Republican U.S. Senatorial Candidate for Maryland, who is both a physician and businessman.

As an entrepreneur and an American, I think it is time this country ran like it was intended by our founding fathers.  A place where anyone can pursue the American dream without government interference.  And that means, having people in our government who have a sense of business and fair play.  When leaders in Washington start to act and think like us, this “company” will start renewing its legacy as the greatest country on Earth.