Posted by
Michael Kleen on Saturday, July 26, 2008 4:40:15 PM
“The less government interferes with private pursuits the better for the general prosperity.”
—Martin Van Buren
The problem that I see with many “reform” movements in the United States today is that they are, for lack of a better phrase, all talk and no action. Their members are content to simply complain about a situation and then sit around and wait for someone to come and save them, usually politicians.
Let me say this clearly and directly: if you are waiting for someone else to do the work for you then you will be waiting for quite some time. In order to achieve any meaningful results, we must do the work ourselves.
Multinational corporations have run roughshod over Middle America; ruining town after town, building sprawl and paving over forests, fields, and farmland while you have been glued to the TV watching American Idol.
I am not asking you to hold signs, commit to boycotts, or write letters – none of which work any-more – but I am asking you to put your time and money where your mouth is. If you want to see more local businesses stay open, spend your money at them. Start a local business. Yes, you – the retired man or woman with plenty of cash on hand and nothing to spend it on. Why not use that money to open a business and live the American dream?
The solution to our economic problems is not more government interference and regulation; it is less interference and more enforcement. Local and state governments spend your tax money to subsidize their corporate friends, while turning a blind eye to corporate improprieties. Meanwhile, they ignore the struggling, independently owned American business.
If the playing field were leveled, national retailers such as Wal-Mart, which rely on government funds to subsidize their growth, low prices, and low wages, would be unable to compete with local businesses. When a Wal-Mart wants to build a new parking lot, the city often pays the bill. How many times has the city offered to pay for a new lot for your business? These improvements – new lots, new roads in some cases – all cost money, money that the city hardly ever recoups. That was money that came out of your pocket.
Wal-Mart can afford to operate at a profit loss at locations all across America – you can’t.
So get off the couch and do something.
Overall, these columns are geared toward convincing you to take more responsibility for your own life and the life of the community around you. Political parties and interest groups, though they have their place, only serve to divide us. We cannot afford to be divided over these issues. The future depends on it.
Have a stiff upper lip. Tighten your belt and get to work. Only the time-tested spirit of hard work and self-denial will save our communities from disaster.