Sunday, August 22, 2010

Citizens who peaceably assemble daily at their places of employment...

"Congress shall make no law... ...abridging... ...the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

-First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States



From America's largest corporations down to Main Street's smallest businesses, from manufacturing to farming and professional services, one charateristic is shared by all: the citizens peaceably assemble to execute the business of America.

It has always seemed a bit odd to me that a corporate tax even exists. The notion that businesses pay taxes, specifically written to exact revenue from them--the vehicles through which America's citizenry earns income from which it pays taxes--has always seemed to me to be double-dipping.

To paraphrase one of my favorite presidents--Calvin Coolidge-- to tax more than is absolutely necessary is tantamount to theft. By taxing businesses, government is not only stealing from the business entity, but every dollar that goes to the Treasury is one dollar that cannot be invested in new research, new infrastructure and new employees. The more taxes that are secured the more Americans there are who are not assembling peaceably in America's places of commerce. Corporate taxes are collected at the expense of employees, would-be employees and the hard-working class of Americans.

You see, there are simple math equations that govern the economy. How many of us remember the supply and demand graphs from Economics 101? There is always a specific point at which we reach equilibrium and that point determines fair market price of the good in question. This applies to labor and compensation just the same. Mathematically, there is a place where those who seek employment and those who seek employees meet and that point defines fair market wages for the service rendered.

Anyone who remembers the graph of which I speak should also remember what artificial floors and ceilings do. For those who do not recollect, floors and ceilings such as minimum wage and quotas (artificial floors) or pay caps and operational regulations (artificial ceilings) create gaps. These gaps result in fixed, permanent unemployment numbers and fixed, permanent under production.

One might argue, and many do, that the taxes exacted from businesses are necessary. And they would be correct. But if more folks were peaceably assembling in locations where they could make their own money, there would be much less dependency on the government to provide the services that depend on taxation.

I find it curious that politicians (and certain segments of society) view businesses as the enemy. Congress parades CEOs around in and out of hearings and investigations, demonizing and scrutinizing them all the way. Each time our elected and appointed officials even suspect a company has committed some type of transgression, they form committees to investigate the situation, then the committee draws up bills and eventually a new law is passed to prohibit the unsavory act from happening again. But you can always count on Congress to take it a step or two too far.

Once Congress has spoken, the decision that led to the decision that resulted in the first mis-step each become illegal. Each governmental move ties up more and more company resources and man power that would otherwise be used on producing a product or making a process more efficient. This sets progress into decline (or as many of today's elites would say: a negative growth phase). By extension, new hires that would be in line to start working get pushed back. The consequence to this setback is that recovery in the jobs market is delayed and production declines. This leads to less revenue which leads to pay cuts or layoffs, if sustained for a prolonged period of time.

As I see it, government's obsession with meddling in the private sector not only causes ongoing economic damage to this country, but it also does so in violation of the First Amendment.

If one is unemployed, he or she cannot assemble peaceably, as previously defined, a job is required for that. and although I would not say a job is a right to be guaranteed by the government, the government certainly lacks the authority to continue to inhibit job creation. Additionally, one must ask the question: To whom can the American people turn for redress of their grievances when their very own government is the entity that is abusing their freedoms?
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Not the most attractive bumper sticker (if there is such a thing as an attractive bumper sticker), but...

It seems that our elected and appointed officials today are soft, quasi-academics who believe signing a feel-good accord that accomplishes nothing is a sign of moving forward. Document diplomacy is a joke, such as UN condemnations of Iran, formal requests for apologies from North Korea for instigating violence in the peninsula, or verbal rebukes of Israel based on false charges inspired by clever PR campaigns of terrorist groups. None of these resolutions resolve anything. They produce nothing, but more hot air from our politicians.

Congress is trying right now to pass another stimulus/bailout worth a current $26B. There is still a ridiculously large amount of unseen cash from the last whopper they passed. The leadership is peddling this as the only way to save the jobs of teachers and police/firefighters. We all, by now, should be able to see right through this. They use this same group of necessary workers as excuses for every budget increase they ever propose. Instead of cutting the crucial services, why do politicians never stand up and offer a list of the "luxury" services to cut. A freeze is not a cut! A simple 1.4% pay raise for federal employees (who already make almost double what their private sector counterparts make, when considering pay + benefits) is not a cut.

We need strong, honest leadership in America. If this administration is purposely making our deficit skyrocketing, it would be nice to hear them say it. If they are not trying to destroy this country, it would help us all if they would lower the partisan blinders and talk to actual experts instead of political appointee hacks who have never had any real-world experience.

These policies are far more damaging than the over-spending that took place in the previous administration. And how can our leaders believe we are so dumb as to believe that "inheriting" $400B debt and making it $1.7T could possibly be the fault of the last administration? The condescending arrogance is sickening!

Our politicians must acquire the courage necessary to fix these problems or they need to be replaced with those who have it. Stop wasteful spending. Shrink the budget. Cut taxes to increase the tax base, increase consumer spending and thereby increase government revenue!
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August recess, Calvin Coolidge style

About 85 years ago, just as Congress frantically sought to pass some last minute legislation before heading back to their home districts for their August break, Calvin Coolidge vetoed a desk-load of would-be laws. When asked his reasoning, President Coolidge answered: "We already have enough laws."

What a refreshing approach! At a time when documents detailing the regulation of lettuce growing in the United States more than quintuple the length of the Founding Documents of this republic, a little more Coolidge and a little less government invasiveness would be nice.
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