Archive View (September 2005)

Chairman, Trump UniversityI read recently that the class of 2005 had the highest scores ever on the math portion of the SAT test--up two points from last year. That's great, I guess. But I still think we're a long way off from really preparing our high school kids for college, much less for the working world beyond college.I know that school systems have a lot of educational ground to cover in those four critical years, but I think they're leaving something out if they're not offering a good introduction to business course in high school. Plenty of schools offer basic accounting more...

Chairman, Trump UniversityIf you watched the recent Emmy Awards show, no doubt you did a double-take when you saw me hit the stage wearing overalls and carrying a pitchfork. When the producers of the show called and mentioned "Green Acres" and "overalls" in the same sentence, I thought they were kidding. It wasn't until the third or fourth phone call that I realized they were serious. I grudgingly agreed to do something with Green Acres because I loved the show and I loved the song, but there was no way I was going to dress up in overalls.Obviously, I gave in more...

Chairman, Trump UniversityThere is absolutely no question that we should rebuild New Orleans in the wake of Katrina--even bigger and better than it was before. Although it's difficult to imagine that the once vibrant city will be thriving again, we know cities are resilient. They survive the worst horrors, rebounding from earthquakes, floods and fires as well as wars and worse. Look at how New York City has returned after 9/11.Right now people are concentrating on the emergency phase. Yet, soon the emphasis will have to be on recovery and rebuilding. The circumstances here are extraordinary. The usual rules hardly apply more...

Chairman, Trump UniversityIn my world, almost everything revolves around big business. I deal with big corporations and big lenders and big builders--big entities all around. But I have incredible respect for small business owners. There are millions of them in the United States, and they are a powerful force, driving our economy.Yet, small business owners are also at a disadvantage because they often don't have many resources available to them. Unlike larger business entities with the funding to offer company-wide seminars or to subsidize continuing education, small business owners don't have the usual mainstream places to turn when they need advice more...

Chairman, Trump UniversityNow that Labor Day has come and gone, it's officially back-to-school season. Just in time for a new year of classes, the educational testing and research organization ACT released a report that says only about half of the most recent crop of high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college. Even fewer are prepared to face college-level science and math classes. That's sobering news.In a related story, a consortium of some of the world's leading businesses launched a national campaign hoping to better prepare students in science and math. They hope to convince policymakers more...

Chairman, Trump UniversityWith housing prices continuing to rise into the far reaches of the stratosphere, there's a lot of talk about a housing bubble on the brink of bursting. Scared at the possibility, industry watchers have been preaching impending doom, warning house shoppers to be wary of the real estate market.As long as interest rates stay low and the dollar stays weak--which is an unfortunate situation, but it happens to be good for real estate--then there will be no burst in the current housing bubble. If interest rates go up precipitously and the dollar gets stronger, then there will be some more...