The Land of Opportunity?

By:  Douglas Schwartz

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing the co-founder of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, speak.  There was one thing that Mr. Marcus said that I have been unable to get out of my head.  He said that if he were trying to create Home Depot today, he would simply not be able to do so.  He went on to add that in the 1970's, Washington was your friend.  They used to help and encourage free markets, business and entrepreneurship. Today, making money and becoming wealthy is demonized.  Washington is increasingly becoming your foe.

All of the outrageous legislation and regulations are hindering the ability for Americans to start and grow businesses, which obviously has a negative impact on job creation.  For example, let's talk about the Dodd-Frank Act which greatly increases regulation in the financial services industry.  It was passed in July of 2010 yet bureaucrats are still adding regulations to that bill to this day.  As of April 1 of this year, only 52% of the rules mandated by the legislation were completed. Yes, you read that correctly.  All this red tape is making it more difficult to start a business in the so called land of opportunity than other countries. For example, it takes six months to start a bank in England.  It takes three years to start a bank here in America.  It is easier for someone to come out of poverty in China (Jack Ma) and create a thriving business, than it is to here in the USA.   What's wrong with that picture?  I can think of at least one thing.

The problem stems from our citizens, most of us are simply not informed.  As a country, most people vote for the party their parents align with, for selfish reasons, or maybe even for whoever has the best one-liners.  This is another subject Mr. Marcus is outspoken on.  He says it's time for voters to get their emotions under control and look at the facts.  Frankly, most people care about themselves more than their country.  But in their defense, it is hard for people to truly understand the bigger picture.  In terms of economic policy and global economics, just last month, the International Monetary Fund basically admitted that they are out of ideas on how to get the global growth engine running.  More specifically, IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard was quoted in a WSJ article earlier this month saying, "There are two forces at work weighing down prospects: the legacy of high debt and falling growth potential in the future."  All this big government fiscal policy is not working. We have had an accommodative monetary policy (near zero interest rates and quantitative easing) for far too long that has masked the true problems and allowed crushing fiscal policy to take root.

We simply cannot afford to stay on this current trajectory.  Our national debt is out of control.  Mr. Marcus has stated that if we stay on this path of government spending, we'll be in no better shape than Greece, Spain and France, but with no one to bail us out.  We will not see all the consequences of our current government's actions for decades to come.   It is easy for politicians to make promises that feel good, or for them to borrow money now and spend the borrowed dime to push their agenda.  But make no mistake.  We will pay for these crimes one day.  Our leaders are stealing from the next generation.  $17,898,691,021,355.14 and counting in national debt is a big problem.  This number doesn't even come close to including the government's unfunded obligations to Social Security and Medicare.

We have a very important election coming up. Before you go to the polls on November 4th, take the time to educate yourself on the candidates and how each of them stands on important issues.  It is time that we the people take a stand and let our politicians know that this out of control spending and blame game has got to stop.  I want to live in a country where our government encourages entrepreneurs like Bernie Marcus, not hinders them.