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5/21/08 I want to offer a contrary opinion to the doom and gloom analysis that we are hearing from much of the main stream media on the current state of our economy. You see I don’t think it’s so bad. While some aspects of our economy, like the housing market are suffering (in no small part due to recent government interference in lending), others are prospering. The business climate is naturally cyclical - like the seasons. The Sun and Moon and our cyclical proximity to them are responsible for some very extreme fluctuations in our weather and climate. If one part of the world is hot, another part will be cold. It’s beyond anyone’s control. The world’s economic climate is very similar in that it is also beyond any government’s control, at least in any positive way (despite many politicians’ claims). My business is computer sales and service and it has never been better. And this is despite the fact that two big box stores selling the same brand name merchandise have opened just down the road. The competition they offer keeps me on my toes and that benefits all our customers. Now, I don’t know if other technology related businesses are witnessing a similar surge or if it’s just the management decisions that I’ve made that have given me an edge but what I can say with certitude is that our government hasn’t been helping. As citizens of a free market capitalist society, each of us has more ability to control our individual prosperity than government does – unless of course you are one of the many unfortunate ones who have let government take that responsibility from you. The hinge-pin of our economy used to be our heavy manufacturing sector but decades of bad laws along with punitive taxation policy and political interference have put many good businesses out of business, sent others overseas and left many others struggling to stay afloat. “As GM goes – so goes the nation”; a saying that held true when our manufacturing sector was the strongest in the world, may no longer be relevant but I think we can accurately proscribe that mantel to the tech industry today. We might suggest that: “As Microsoft goes – so goes the nation” or some might suggest substituting Dell or Intel as the new hinge-pin that a large sector of the economy revolves around. The technology sector has been spared a lot of the government interference that has damaged other industries. Just think for a minute what would happen if government taxed the information superhighway to the extent that it taxes gasoline. What if megabytes per second were regulated to the same extent that miles per gallon are? Witness the food crisis just around the corner that has become the unintended consequence of government dictating how much corn has to be used to create ethanol instead of food. Next time a politician professes an idea to improve the economy, we should all say: Thanks, but we can do better without your help.
DRC
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