Employers Talk Government at 9.12 Meeting

This is a condensed Q&A between LowCountry 9.12 guest moderator Richard Todd and area employers CEO Lou Caputo, owner Jack Tupper, owner Chris Bauer and real estate agent and builder George Tupper during Tuesday's meeting.

Not all panelists answered each question, and some questions were posed by the audience.

LowCountry 9.12 is a conservative group that meets monthly at and invites guest speakers. The panelists invited to speak were not necessarily members of the organization.

Q: What could government do or not do to help your business?

Caputo: "I don't know an industry thats more highly regulated than health care. but the incentives of all the players that are involved in health care are difference and are misaligned … The incentives (for doctors, insurance agencies, consumers and more) are misaligned. You've got competing forces around limited resources … There needs to be an alignment of incentives." 

Bauer: "The government is making it somewhat harder for us … They're desire to force corn usage for fuel has affected my cost of goods for three or four years running now. Twenty-five pounds of grits for about seven years cost me $13, it's about $28 dollars now."  

George Tupper: "We don't know where it's going next … The only way (recovery is) going to happen is some kind of stability … I do see a real light that things are beginning to move. But as soon as that happens we have a Wall Street shake up." 

Jack Tupper: "One thing they could have done was instead of using all that bail-out money and put it at the top to let it trickle down, they should put it in the bottom and let it trickle back up. That's the way it flows. If you put it in the bottom, it will flow up. People would be buying stuff, paying off loans, getting their cars fixed, getting medical attention building houses, going out to eat. The money went the wrong direction. It doesn't flow down. It just stays at the top … The government calls and says look we'll give you a $3500 tax credit if you create a job for someone who's been unemployed for six months. OK, I've got a $40,000 employee and I'm only getting $3,500 back. It doesn't make economic sense for me to create a position for somebody to try to create a job." 

Q: What's the one thing to grow business again?

Bauer: "Consumer confidence. It's at a low point. I count on folks walking in that door dropping $5, $10, $15 aside. I used to complain about construction workers coming in. I used to go 'Oh they're coming in and dragging their mud in the restaurant.' Now I pray for them to come back in …  I don't care about banks lending me money. I don't want your money, just come and eat."

Q: What happens to your business if you raise the taxes on the rich?

Caputo: "Physicians who typically fall in that high income bracket, if they cut taxes you might see physician making larger investments in their staff … If they raise taxes, you might see them looking at getting 10 pounds of sugar in a 5-pound bag."

Q: Is fair tax bad for restaurants?

Bauer: "I get affected more by the local government (with local sales taxes) than the national government … What affects me is consumer habits. we all have changed our habits over the last several years. They're creating this habit of being thrift, which is OK ... it's going to be a while before it comes back."

Q: How does inter-governmental debates and threat of shutdowns affect your business?

Jack Tupper: "When people see it in the media every day, it controls how they spend their money … That is in their mindset."

Q: What about a government mandate to hire the longterm unemployed?

Jack Tupper: "Everybody who is a good technician, who knows what they are doing, has got a job … There are some out there that I don't want to work on my lawn mower."

Bauer: "I get over-qualified people right now. It's scary. Banking, nursing, they come in … I know they're going to bolt when something comes up. Do we hire the unemployed? Thirty years ago when I was taught how to interview at Denny's … I learned you scan the application and you look for job jumpers ... you look for gaps in employment. You don't interview them … If the government forced hiring of the unemployed, I'd be screwed." 

George Tupper: "Unfortunately there are some Americans who don't want to work."

Caputo: "The last three years have been very different for health care. For the first time 30 years, there has not been a health care worker shortage … It allows us to be very selective and to hire the best."