Stop Wasting Time and Resources
For the past week and a half, I’ve been on the road with the family for a working vacation. Leaving New York and Washington, D.C. behind, we’ve been driving to a few cities in America’s heartland.
At one stop along the way, I had the chance to pick up a weekly newspaper, which included a less-than-flattering story about a local business group.
Unfortunately, as I’ve discovered over the years, this tale is not unique. Indeed, it is a too common story of a business association losing sight of its purpose or mission, and rather than truly representing the interests of businesses, it develops an infatuation with becoming part of a big government establishment.
This particular group highlighted in the news story liked to talk matters to death. And when they finally came up with an initiative, it was the same old tired effort to somehow generate jobs in select industries by … well … talking about it. It also became proficient at dreaming up projects for government to waste taxpayer dollars on, and specifically endorsing tax increases to fund such dubious ventures. I’ve seen the same thing in countless other cities and states, whether it be a new sports stadium, a convention center, or some massive transportation infrastructure boondoggle.
In the end, this not only amounts to wasting time, but also wasting the resources of the businesses that are members of such associations. The enormous salaries being paid to the individuals who head up business groups that do nothing constructive for business and the economy – sometimes even working explicitly against commerce and growth – never cease to amaze me.
While there are many excellent state and local business groups across the nation, they are vastly outnumbered by the non-productive ones.
The pro-entrepreneur, pro-business agenda is not all that difficult to fathom. Cut taxes and keep them low. Deregulate where needed, and keep government’s regulatory burdens as light as possible. Fight ever-expanding, wasteful government. Understand that entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and consumers generate economic growth, not politicians and government bureaucrats. Oh yes, make sure that government fills the potholes, plows the snow, keeps the streets clean, and fights crime. This is the environment in which business and the economy can flourish.
However, fighting for this agenda will not make the people who run business groups all that popular with state or local politicians. In particular, elected officials don’t really like principled voices who use their resources to limit government so that the economy can flourish. So, it was no surprise that in the news story I read, lower taxes and less regulation were not mentioned as being issues of concern for this particular business group. And believe me, the city I was in at the time needed some serious tax and regulatory relief.
But guess what, nobody ever said that fighting for a pro-business public policy agenda would make, earn or guarantee popularity. However, for those working for groups that are supposed to represent the voice of business, it’s not supposed to be about getting invited to the right parties or golf outings. It’s supposed to be about representing the interests of the businesses that create jobs and keep our economy chugging along.
Pushing to reduce taxes, cut regulations, rein in the size of government, and keep politicians focused on the limited, core duties of government is hard work, but if the voice of business falters, then who will lead the fight?
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Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business Survival Committee.
