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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