The following article will appear in the LOKERCPA.com August newsletter, Common Cents. To receive the free monthly newsletter by email, go to www.lokercpa.com and register where indicated on the home page.
The New Economy
Is this the new normal? Is this economy what we can expect from now on? I suspect that this may be the new reality that we small businesses have to adapt to. What engine is going to power our “recovery” from the current state of affairs?
It won’t be our once mighty manufacturing base churning out products to sell to the world. The last two administrations in Washington stood by as our manufacturing jobs were given away. “Free Trade” has a whole new meaning now.
It won’t be the government. Neither party understands the needs of Main Street. Sure, we get some lip service from the Republicans but they are as incapable as the Democrats in recognizing that American jobs are the fuel that drives our economy. We need massive help from the government in the form of tax breaks for using American labor. Companies who move production jobs or compel their suppliers to move production jobs to low wage areas of the world where child labor, pollution, and direct government subsidies create artificially low labor costs, must not be allowed access to our markets without a tax structure that levels the playing field. Let’s talk about Fair Trade for a change.
It won’t be Wall Street. Publicly traded companies have no loyalty; no soul. Their only allegiance is to their stockholders’ immediate gratification. For example, we, the taxpayers, bailed out G.M. who now plans to repay us by shifting substantial production of new models to China. Why do we invest in these Companies? Why do we invest in foreign markets to assist foreign companies when Main Street so desperately needs investment capital? I suspect that Wall Street has ceased to be the financial funding source for American capitalism and has become something more sinister that does not benefit either capitalism or our country.
Forget the big banks. Alan Greenspan summed it up when he said his greatest error was believing that unregulated banks would act in their own best interest. The banks instead have proven that greed drives these bloated unmanageable behemoths who have been allowed to accumulate far too much influence in competing financial sectors. We learned this lesson once in 1929 but the politicians have no memory, only the need for campaign contributions.
So it’s up to us, Main Street, to carry the load. How do we do that?
We must invest in ourselves, our companies, our employees. When we fund our retirement plans, why not consider investing a portion in cash in our local banks who will loan the money back into our community? We need to form alliances with each other and pledge to use local sources for goods and services. We spread the word to our customers and our employees to support local businesses and local jobs. We communicate our beliefs to our elected representatives. We vote against all non-responsive incumbents in the state legislature and in congress. We work with the political party of our choice to get business people to run for public office.
We are Main Street. We are the purest remaining form of American capitalism. We are the only group in this country with the ability and the will to maintain and improve our communities. We have a lot of work to do. CWL
