The Donald Trump phenomenon brings to mind many unpopular entrepreneurs.

Maybe you like The Donald. Maybe you don’t like him but you like his proposals. Or, maybe you don’t like either. No matter. You have to admit that he rubs a lot of people the wrong way. And that is my point. To many folks, Trump is rude, brash, and coarse. 

Welcome to Entrepreneur Land.

Do you know some genuine entrepreneurs? Maybe yours are different from those I know. Among mine are a bunch of pains-in-the-arses.

I love them — well, some of them. But with all of them, I love what they do. However, collectively they would not win popularity contests.

Why not? Because many entrepreneurs are brash, full of themselves, and in your face bold. They make others look and feel like quislings. Because they take risks when others tremble. They charge off on white steeds, while others wet their pants. 

Entrepreneurs are stubborn. Their motto should be “I’m right. I’m right. I’m right.” They see rules as targets for breaking. And they damned well don’t care what others think of them.

Doesn’t that remind you of The Donald?

Also reminds me of Ted Turner — Mister in-your-face brashness itself. 

Reminds me of Richard Branson — the guy who stamps his “Virgin” brand on everything from spacecraft to condoms.

Reminds me of Steve Jobs of Apple. And, Michael Dell of Dell Computers. Even Michael Bloomberg. Any number of inventors and innovators also fit this category.

Henry Ford was brilliant. He was the Bill Gates/Steve Jobs, etc., of his era. He was a crank. He was rude, nasty, impatient, and stubborn. That was on his good days. On his worst days, he proclaimed he knew how to run the entire world better than anybody alive.

There is a prime reason why entrepreneurs often annoy the rest of us. They think differently than we do. If there is a hall of fame for them, those six words should be chiseled above the entry: “They think differently than we do.”

When we walk a street, we admire the buildings, the trees. We sniff the roses. They tromp on the forbidden grass. And crane their necks to see what is around corners. They are addicted to figuring out a future we don’t conceive. We paddle our kayaks merrily down the stream. They whirl theirs about and battle against the current.

We obey rules and customs. We wear the right clothing and use the correct knives and forks. We obey social graces and protocol and seek the proper education. They plonk their elbows onto the table of life, pick their teeth, and wipe their mouth on their sleeve. They just don’t care what others think of their behavior. 

Many entrepreneurs drop out of universities. They tend to be “C” students, rarely “A.” Many shun higher education altogether. They are bored, or figure they know more than their professors.

Consider Michael Bloomberg. Consider how utterly massive is the empire he created. He must have thought a thousand thoughts nobody else did.

One of my entrepreneur friends created a fortune of probably $400 million — from scratch. His conversations reveal one of his secrets. He never utters a cliché. 

Never resorts to any of the hundred stock remarks most of us use. My guess is he does not speak like we do because he does not think like we do.

Like a lot of my entrepreneurial friends, he looks at what I do and sees things I don’t. I swear he sees colors that don’t exist in my spectrum.

He is actually a likeable guy. Sweet to be around. Good company. As for many of the other entrepreneurs, especially the most famous? Dining with them would be great. If I was in New York and they were in Los Angeles. 

From Tom … as in Morgan.           

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows. Contact him at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com

New York state has more than 892,000 veterans as residents, according to federal-government figures from 2014. Our state is home to the second largest veteran population in the nation. 

From older-generation veterans to those who are returning home today, veterans have a number of needs. The biggest issue often faced by our returning veterans is the complex transition from life as enlisted military personnel to life as a civilian. This could include issues related to seeking employment, housing, and physical and mental health. 

Our job as legislators is to help develop ways the state can assist the men and women, old and young, who have sacrificed so much to protect our freedoms and to keep us safe from harm. We’ve worked incredibly hard to pass measures that will help our veterans.

One bill recently signed into law allows local municipalities the option of adopting a new or increased level for the alternative veterans’ real property-tax exemption. This bill came in response to the growing need of some veterans whose exemption could not keep pace with growing real-estate property costs.

Unfortunately, other bills that could help veterans are awaiting the governor’s signature. One measure would allow veterans already receiving the veterans’ real property-tax exemption to receive a pro-rated portion of the exemption should they sell and buy a home in the county where they currently reside. The legislature also passed a bill that would expand the eligibility criteria for admission to a NYS Veterans Home to include service during conflicts over the past 20 years to better serve aging veterans. Additionally, we passed legislation that charges the Department of Veterans Affairs with annually reporting on veteran-owned and disabled-veteran-owned small businesses. 

Lastly, I wanted to talk about the Veteran Buyback Bill (A.8174-A). Currently, the state has a program that allows veterans of certain conflict periods, who served in specific countries, or who received certain medal distinctions, to purchase up to three years of their service to count toward their New York State public-service retirement. Bill 8174-A, which passed with near unanimous bipartisan support, would have opened the program up to those who served in recent Middle East conflicts, Bosnia, Israel, and many other overseas missions and duties.

The governor, however, vetoed the bill, claiming there wasn’t a mechanism in place to pay for the program. He made this complaint last year as well, so the legislature fixed that issue in the 2015 version of the bill. This program is not a handout, as the governor is insinuating; each participating veteran purchases these credits. This program is one of the ways we can thank many veterans who are currently unfairly excluded from the program.

In response to the governor’s decision, some of my legislative colleagues and I are launching an effort to encourage the legislature to override the governor’s veto. We have set up a petition at http://bit.ly/OverrideCuomo. I encourage you to sign the petition in support of our many wonderful veterans.          

Marc W. Butler (R,C,I–Newport) is a New York State Assemblyman for the 118th District, which encompasses parts of Oneida, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties, as well as all of Hamilton and Fulton counties. Contact him at butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us