Business & Politics: The 27-Cent Rule

American business managers and executives offer skills and perspectives often missing in the federal government.  However, many are discouraged from serving because they are forewarned they will face a dishonest political establishment and unprincipled media intent on destroying their reputation.

Respected, successful business women and men nominated for cabinet positions are subjected to venal nitpicking, loathsome character assassinations and the demonization of their former employers. That is their reward for having the audacity to volunteer to serve in Washington.

Democratic Party senators are the most notorious practitioners of the politics of personal destruction. Armed with unsubstantiated dossiers, they bully any business leader put forward as a cabinet nominee. Exhibit A is the hectoring of Steven Mnuchin, the nominee for Treasury secretary.

From the opening of the ongoing Senate hearings, it was clear Democrats had two problems with Mnuchin. First, he is a multi-millionaire.  Democrats loath wealthy business leaders, unless they are donors to their party.  Affluent Democrats are compassionate, while rich Republicans are greedy.

Secondly, Mnuchin had the misfortune of having careers in banking and hedge funds.  Ever since the financial collapse, Democrats have smeared anyone connected with Wall Street.  Yet the party collects millions in political donations from these Manhattan aristocrats.  Talk about hypocrisy.

During the hearings last week, Democrats pounced on what they considered an egregious example of the Treasury nominee's predatory business practices.  The charge involved a company called OneWest, which was a sub-prime mortgage lender once operated by Mnuchin.

Democrats attacked Mnuchin over the foreclosure on a Lakeland, Florida, homeowner who made a 27-cent payment error.  The incident was even more inflammatory because the homeowner was a 90-year old woman with a reverse mortgage.

Obviously, Democrats had tipped off the media in advance of the hearing.  Reporting on the alleged foreclosure was dripping with indignation.  "Bank Owned By Trump's Top Treasury Pick Foreclosed On A 90-year-Old Over 27-Cents," screamed headlines on The Huffington Post.  

The charge was repeated in numerous media, including CBS, CNN, the New York Daily News, Vanity Fair, Yahoo News and many others. Mnuchin's former firm was branded the 'foreclosure machine.' The nominee was chided for being 'ethically challenged', 'shady' and 'the ultimate Wall Street insider.'

The mud-slinging soiled Mnuchin's once pristine business image, while ruining his reputation and irreparably damaging his character.  

However, facts have now surfaced, exposing the Democrats' intentional use of false information to cripple the nominee's chances for confirmation. It turns out Mnuchin had nothing to do with the foreclosure on the elderly homeowner.  He had sold his stake in OneWest at the time of the incident.

An investigation shows that OneWest did file for foreclosure in November, 2014, but dropped the matter once it discovered the homeowner had bungled the paperwork.  Lost in all the fake news about the incident was the fact that OneWest had worked behind the scenes to help the homeowner.

In 2011, the mortgage firm found the homeowner was deficient in coverage for hazard insurance. OneWest advanced the woman a $1,883.30 line of credit to maintain coverage and satisfy the loan covenant. The elderly homeowner eventually paid off the loan, but only after four years.

After the clarification, there were no apologies from the media or Democrats, even after Mnuchin told Senators his bank had extended over 100,000 loan modifications to borrowers who had fallen behind on their payments.  They were not interested in the truth.  They wanted a scalp.

The experience of the Treasury nominee is a cautionary tale for any business leader who might be mulling a cabinet position.  You must be willing to sacrifice your good name on the altar of crass political partisanship.  That explains why many well-intentioned women and men demur.

The American people are the losers in this shoddy political gamesmanship.  Their government is robbed of the leadership and managerial skills business people have to offer.  In Washington, the insiders prefer academicians, cronies and political hacks who will do their bidding.