Bearing The Brunt Of The Burden

Government exists to secure the rights and to protect the liberties that are innate to the spirit of mankind. In so doing, it fosters the human propensity for healthy competition and enterprise. Business exists to secure the profits and to foster the growth that is innate to the spirit of capitalism. In so doing, it enables society to flourish by creating wealth and affluence. Government and business are vital components of a burgeoning society that must coexist by necessity. Government requires a source of revenue in order to maintain a stable infrastructure of communication, transportation and defense. Business and commerce provide the impetus for wealth that a thriving nation requires. A portion of this wealth is transferred to government in the form of taxation and levies. In return, the government provides a platform for commerce by ensuring peace and stability. Business and government, when fairly balanced, lead to national prosperity.

Experience has shown, however, that when government taxes reach inequitable levels, society suffers proportionately. Companies and corporations, no longer capable of creating profits, are compelled to downsize their workforce, to pass on their costs to the public, or to move their operations elsewhere. America’s current tax-rate for new corporate investment is 35% - nearly double that of the world’s average. This excessive burden merely serves to drive American investors into more competitive markets or to refrain from investing altogether.

Incumbent Democrats from New York, California and Ohio have recently adopted a protectionist bent, attacking opponents from the private sector for participating in global trade. New York Congressman Timothy Bishop has relentlessly assailed his Republican challenger, businessman Randy Altschuler, for “outsourcing” jobs overseas. Ironically, Mr. Bishop, whose record in Congress is replete with examples of excessive taxation and reckless spending, is now crying foul at the entrepreneurs who have suffered the consequences of his policies.

In the words of Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.” Business exists to turn profits. Government exists to secure rights. A harmonious balance between these forces is the key to American exceptionalism. However, in times such as these when the size and the scope of the federal government has exceeded its natural purpose, liberty and commerce must suffer. It is the American people who will ultimately bear the brunt of the public burden through rising taxes, increasing debt and capriciously regulated trade. This is the price of big-government.