Month: July 2011

What We Say We Celebrate on The Fourth of July

It is called Independence Day and we celebrate the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.  The leaders of the day formed the foundation of the United States on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.  Our constitution detailed the intent of the scope and responsibility of government and the separation of church and state.  This foundation is cause for massive celebration.

In 2011 what are we celebrating and who are we applauding?  Our country is being chocked by the size of the government and debt at the Federal and in many cases the state and local level. Can this country cease to exist? Of course it can. History is peppered with evidence of great nations that expired.  We have a choice as to how we move forward and it is time to rise up and say the formulas we are using including the leadership in place is clearly not working.  Of course we can maintain the same delusional view that all will be fine and someone will figure it out.  They haven’t so far except for people like  Wayne Allyn Root, Ron Paul and others with similar understanding and experience.  The problem is people who do understand, who are leaders, who can reestablish the solid foundation of this country cannot get elected right now. Why is that? Look in the mirror.

How many more years do we have to celebrate Independence Day?  Actually I believe what was once Independence is now only recalled in the archives of history.  The government is nearly in our face at every turn and wants more.  Obama wants to be in control of our lives and those in Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike for the most part want to let him.

Let’s not forget what this country stands for and why people came to America in the first place

What Is The Reality of the Fourth of July Celebration?

Most people in the US view the 4th of July 2011 as an opportunity to take a long weekend as the 4th falls on a Monday.  For the next four years the holiday will be extended in the minds of most. “There is no sense starting anything significant now as the holiday is right around the corner”.   The notable exceptions are owners of  for profit businesses that grant their staff the holiday and then lose sleep with the related loss of revenue. Yes even one day can make a serious difference in cash flow. Many of these same owners are looking at the performance to date and working on strategic adjustments in order to have some measure of success in 2011. The 4th of July in many cases is not any different in terms of work done than any other day. Contrast that with the majority of government employees who are off and likely not thinking about how to do a better job in the second half of the year. Most governments employees are not thinking about saving money or whether their job is even needed.  Most are thinking ” I am so happy I have this regular paycheck and benefits.”  And we accept this culture in government even though we are footing the bill for it’s cost.

Overtaxing and Not Extending Credit to Small Business Stops The Growth Engine

Business profits are increasingly hard to earn because generally the banks are not lending for expansion or for any business reason and the cost of doing business continues to increase because of  increased taxes, regulatory requirements and healthcare. This is a topic for an entire book.  For now,  understand privately held small businesses are the lifeblood of this economy and our government is restricting their progress.

Most government employees have the day off. Most small business owners shutter at the loss of revenue with any holiday. The cost of government at the federal, state and local level increases the already outrageous level of debt purposely built by elected officials.  The federal deficit was a campaign issue elevated by every candidate running against George Busch including Obama. Obama capitalized on his power of persuasion to be elected president even though he had no demonstrated experience to step into that leadership position.  He proceeded to appoint other text smart people as his support team and now look at the accelerating mess: higher unemployment, accelerating national , state and local  debt, and a rapidly expanding set of rules and regulations that add even more burden to companies that are the lifeblood of our economy. Privately held business that are the source of the majority of job creation in our country are penalized with ever increasing taxes, costs of reporting compliance, a virtual shutdown on the ability to obtain expansion capital in the form of bank loans and more.

The Key Barriers To Job Creation and Economic Growth

Big government, entitlements  and extreme regulations …there is nothing productive about that formula and it flies in the face of the intent of the US Constitution.

A government that thinks it can solve economic issues is dangerous as evidence by the results of the recent past.  The fact is that most in government have no experience running a profitable business and have a lifetime of being on public payrolls and benefit programs. Did you know that there was no time to read the $800 billion stimulus package that was pushed through by Obama and passed by the Congress.  There are many more examples of the absurdity of how we allow our governments to operate.

What Is Action Plan To Fix This Mess?

First step is don’t believe everything you hear or read including this article. Do your own research. I suggest registering with the CATO Institute. I highly recommend Wayne Allyn Root’s book   “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold and Tax Cuts” You may not agree with all the ideas for solving today’s massive issues. However, it will be hard to ignore the facts of the national debt,  true unemployment, loss of economic base resulting from the decline in real estate values and the impact of an ever increasingly intrusive government.

Solutions start with clear awareness of the current situation and a clear definition of the intended goal.  Most Americans are comatose on the significance of the issue we have in this country and world. Most spend more time analyzing a sports game or murder trial than on our country’s strength or lack thereof.  The first step is to wake up and become aware.  The second step is to start paying close attention to those leaders who have the value system espoused by our founding fathers and the experience on making the tough decisions that are need to get government out of the way of economic vibrancy. The related action is to get those people elected and through the rest of the bums out…and there are Democrats and Republicans alike who should be thrown out.  When taking out the trash, don’t forget the piles at the state and local level.

Be on the sidelines and watching the play or being in the game.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consulting, Business Coach

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About: Steve Pohlit CPA,MBA has been the CFO and COO of  major domestic and international companies.  Steve has extensive business ownership experience having purchased and started off line and on line businesses.  Steve offers his  business building experience to companies and entrepreneurs with business coaching and business consulting.  His  focus is on building business  profits and net asset value at above average rates.   All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.