Free Enterprise

As a business person for almost 50 years, I truly believe in the free enterprise system promoted by our forefathers. The idea that, left unfettered, business will respond in a positive way through capitalism and competition to bring out the best for our country and its citizens, is a sound principle.

Unfortunately, history has taught us that this theory doesn't always work. At the turn of the 20th century President Theodore Roosevelt (R) promoted anti trust legislation to loosen the strangle holds large companies and cartels held that were restraining free trade and in fact creating monopolies. It appears to me that our country finds itself dangerously close to that same situation today. Too few large companies and related competitors have manipulated the market place, stymied competition, and dictated the price of goods and services.

There are those in Congress that believe regulations are always bad, what’s good for bankers is good for America, and that tax cuts are a universal elixir. Yes “trickle down" economics is again on the move through the actions of many in Congress. To this I ask the following question. How can these same people demand savage cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and defend special tax breaks favoring hedge fund managers and owners of corporate jets?

The implication here is that any thing that leaves more money in the hands of corporations will create more jobs. By way of example the last time the congress created a tax holiday to encourage companies to bring back overseas profits there is no evidence that any stimulation to the economy occurred. This also gave these companies an incentive to move more jobs overseas since they know their chances are good they will get tax breaks to bring profits back under future tax amnesties.

There is a push to repeat this disastrous performance. To suggest that the lack of corporate cash is holding back our country's recovery is ludicrous. It is widely known that corporations are sitting on large sums of cash that they aren't investing in their own businesses. The evidence shows that the real reason businesses are sitting on cash is because of the lack of consumer demand. What our economy needs is promotion of job creation by our government and mortgage-debt relief for stressed consumers. What it really doesn't need is handing corporations billions of dollars when they have no intention of hiring anyone; except maybe more lobbyists.