Bureaucracy is killing business. Specifically killing small business. The delay in properly funding the various fiscal policy small business stimulus programs simply shows that our leaders in Washington either don’t understand the current struggles of Main street America or they simply don’t care about small business. At this point, it is difficult to decide which possibility is more likely. Both parties appear to be using 50% of our nation’s GDP as a pawn in their political game.
Republican & Democrat Bureaucracy is Killing Business.
Republicans Fund Pet Projects
Republicans appear content to use Omnibill legislation to fund pet projects and earmark money for special interest programs while also helping (or claiming to help) small businesses receive some form of economic aid. Bureaucracy is killing business.
Democrats Want to Continue to Negotiate
Meanwhile Democrats find little to no injustice in failing to recognize the tremendously urgent need of this money for average, everyday Americans. Delaying funding so that Washington can continue its endless negotiations is pure lunacy. Bureaucracy is killing business. It would be a form of hilarity, if the crisis wasn’t so urgent.
Attorney General William Barr’s Perspective.
One person who seems to understand the crisis, and perhaps even question the legality of an extended shelter-in-place order is Attorney General William Barr. AG Bill Barr was recently interviewed on Fox News, with portions of the interview printed by the Washington Post. The article is aptly titled by author Matt Zapotosky, “Barr calls current restrictions ‘draconian,’ and suggests they should be revisited next month.” Within the article Barr made two important points. He is quoted saying,
“I think we have to allow people to adapt more than we have, and not just tell people to go home and hide under their bed, but allow them to use other ways — social distancing and other means — to protect themselves.”
This statement alludes to a statement made in an earlier post titled, “Economic Stimulus a Pipe Dream” where I made reference to the idea are we concerned with the death of Americans or the death of America? This discusses the idea of formulating a plan that considers both the effects of properly monitoring the health crisis portion of the Coronavirus, but also ensuring a plan to maintain the livelihood and sustainability of small mom & pop firms, without letting bureaucracy kill business. Both of these thoughts are heavy and require deliberate and careful consideration when determining the best course of action, however AG Barr also marks this idea when he says,
“We will have a weaker health-care system if we go into a deep depression, so just measured in lives, the cure cannot be worse than the disease.”
Poverty & Economic Depression Kills People.
This point proves very important as it doesn’t take an expert to understand the potential pitfalls and problems with a nation suffering from an economic recession or depression. This is why we need to be very watchful of bureaucracy killing business. It is likely poverty kills more people annually than the Coronavirus ever will. Outside of poverty directly it is equally important to weigh the indirect and unintended consequences of poverty as well. These include ideas such as loss of quality of life.
Recovery from such severe economic cycles is very slow and eliminates future economic potential for almost an entire generation. There have been studies conducted that demonstrate a correlation between entering the workforce during a period of recession (or depression…hopefully it doesn’t come to that) and a lifetime loss of earning potential. Outside of earning capabilities we would be wise to consider the implication on education. If a growing segment of the population is unable to provide basic needs for their children the chances that these young people will realize, or have the opportunity to experience their full intelligence is greatly diminished.
Small Business Support can Help Avoid Economic Contraction.
The list of negative effects of economic contraction, past the point of anticipated, market driven corrections could go on and on. However, the tie back to small business success within the United States is far more important. Unless we are prepared to drastically revamp our current capitalist republic, we need to examine how we, as a country, are supporting small business.
To be clear: This is not the fault of small business owners or entrepreneurs. Within the bounds of our nation’s design, such a halt to commerce is never supposed to happen. It is flat out Anti-American. While realizing the importance of protecting individual health, we also need to fully comprehend the pressing, urgent nature of developing a small business stimulus plan that actually works.
State & Local Governments Need to Get More Involved. Bureaucracy is killing Business.
If state and local governments need to become more involved in this process I implore these leaders to start now. We need to stop bureaucracy killing business. If the extreme ends of the spectrum included privatizing everything or publicizing everything, we already know one model surely does not work. If we need to forgo property taxes, we should take that action and take it now.
Do not follow Washington’s lead. There is no time to negotiate or hem and haw. Fortune favors the bold, and now is the time to be bold. Our economy, nor our country can afford the grave loss of small firms that is on the horizon. Don’t allow bureaucracy to kill business. It will be the average American who suffers most.