Closed for Business

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 136

“Closed for business…”

Driving across America is not what it once was. The tiny hamlets with bustling shops are, for the most part, gone. Larger towns, once packed with active storefronts, now stand gaunt…. stores closed, sidewalks overgrown with weeds, once-proud filling stations empty with some advertising gasoline for a pittance of the current cost.

Moreover, the climate is not relegated to the small business sector. The outskirts of the great manufacturing centers of the 1940s and 1950s are idle. Rusty hulks of huge buildings cast their shadows over empty parking lots. Decrepit wire fences bear testament to once-busy enterprises where thousands labored to turn out goods proudly stamped “Made in America.”

These scenes replicate state after state. A number of years ago I wrote a column in which I claimed that the most endangered species among us is the small businessperson. I still stand by that claim.

Our media claim that the unemployment figures are around 9%. However, there is more to the story. Folks are dropped off the reported lists of unemployed after completing 52 weeks of the current 99-week unemployment period. Moreover, if you add to that number those who have dropped out of the job search, the end result is likely more than 20%.

You won’t hear that on the mainstream news channels. That’s more than sad. It’s irresponsible. When they can tout the fact that a toad is more important than Central California farmers, they could go to the trouble of figuring out just how many people are out of work. Right?

For the first time in my life I fear for the way of life that America exemplified throughout its history. We are at a crossroads. Unless, and until, voters heed the sage old saying “There is no free lunch,” we will slide down that famous slippery slope to economic oblivion.

Workers built this country. Early on, government limited the relief for the out of work and charitable organizations and churches cared for the poor. Rules allowed business to work but and benefit from progress and innovation. I’d wager that, fifty years ago, few merchants had to worry about having a broom every so many square feet. OSHA probably has rules that do make sense, but so many of them are just bunk!

Get government out of the picture! Allow business to thrive. Open up our energy reserves. Encourage America to become more energy independent. Enforce our borders and mandate all immigrants learn to speak and write the English language. Lower the corporate tax rate so our companies will not move overseas.

Late last year, AON announced a move from Chicago to London, saving the company $100 million in taxes. Well, if the tax rate were lower, entities such as AON would pay less but they would still be here TO PAY. America would benefit in the long run.

Many merchants operate on high volume at low prices. We need a flat tax minus the plethora of loopholes. All who earn also pay. All of them! Even those at the low end of the pay scale should pay some taxes. That way, they feel as if they participate in the system. It is common sense that it is more important to earn something than to have it handed to you. Personal achievement makes you a better person.

It doesn’t take rocket science. The list isn’t long, but it is meaty.
First, instill the pride of country in our youngsters… the value of freedom… a healthy respect for authority…. Second, utilize all levels and genres of education to stress that business is best that operates with the highest ethics, that honesty IS the best policy. Third, don’t expect government to solve all your problems, but rely on government to do those things you cannot do for yourself: national security, stable currency, military defense.

I wonder… how much money American business, as a whole, would save if it didn’t have to monitor for corporate sabotage, employee theft, and downright lying? There are ten rules for life, but they step across the line into the realm of religion — a step too far for the politically correct crowd.

One truth holds. Government is best that governs least. We have lost that.

If we don’t regain it, we will lose far more. It is a ghastly thought, but it will take nothing less than an economic catastrophe to awaken Americans to the impact of a growing and unrestrained government. Think about it.

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