The title of this piece is a metaphorical construct covering the sort of alliances/relationships we are starting to see take place in this country and why they won’t work.
The Four Legged Stool
The four legged stool derives its support from, no surprise here, four areas: government, big business, media/entertainment, and special interest groups. One leg will not hold the stool up, two won’t unless whoever is using it can do a pretty good balancing act, three provides stability and a great weight bearing surface, and four? Well, the more the merrier.
Government. Whether at the national or state level, we have seen it encroach into more of our personal lives than we are comfortable with. Through burdensome regulation, confiscation of private property for the so called “public good”, questionable practices and policies that are at odds with the Constitution, and increasing taxes to cover its operating expenses, we are reminded that big brother is everywhere.
Big Business. We are reminded by the left that it is the evil doers in big business and their Republican foils who have caused much of the pain and suffering in this country. Some of that may be true, but big business does not care which side its bread is buttered on. A case in point would be United Health Care. According to one watchdog group, The Center for Responsive Politics, since the 2008 election cycle, United Health Care has given 61 percent of its political contributions to Democrats, which mirrors the current political makeup of both the Senate and House (60% and 59% respectively).
Media/Entertainment. What can I say? These folks just don’t get it. They do not like anything that smacks of conservatism or anyone with an R after their name. They are willing to go out on a limb and distort the truth, in some cases fabricating it altogether if that helps their side out. If you disagree with what they believe in (regardless of party affiliation), if you can be considered a threat to what they hold near and dear to their hearts (that includes the politicos and causes they support), they have no problem coming after you. The CEO of Whole Foods comes to mind as a good example. The only label that can be hung on these people that actually fits is one borrowed from Orwell’s novel 1984, “The Ministry of Truth”.
Special Interests. This is the tail that wags the dog. You have labor unions, academia, community action and environmental groups, and numerous other organizations. They helped catapult the first African American into the White House. They delivered a supermajority in both the House and Senate to the Democrats and are now looking for payback. They are driving the domestic issues you see in the headlines on a daily basis. They are providing the foot soldiers to ensure that policy initiatives get the widest dissemination possible. They are also using those same foot soldiers to help quash any dissent on the aforementioned policies. Conservative commentators who lumped them into the same category as the Brown Shirts from Nazi Germany may not have been that far off.
The gateway to prosperity
This gate is supported by hinges attached to two massive pillars. These pillars could be made of granite, marble, reinforced concrete, or who knows what. The key idea is that without the pillars, the gate would not have any means of support. The pillars, as it turns out are the two most important things that keep our economy afloat: small business and the American people.
Small Business. This title in and of itself is an oxymoron. Despite having less than 500 employees, these organizations are responsible for more than 80 percent of the nation’s job creation. With that kind of muscle driving our economy, one would think that the government would be sensitive to the plight of small business. Not so, CIT one of the financial institutions responsible for lending to small businesses has been in financial straits for several months. They have been rejected for bailout money from the Federal Government and have had to get a temporary cash infusion from their bondholders. If they go under, it would not bode well for small business. With no one to help out small businesses financially, a lot of them will go under or have to scale back their operations, which will make for bad times for a lot of American workers and their families.
Your fellow Americans. These are the people who live on your street, in the same apartment complex, or subdivision. They are the ones you work with, who thank you for stopping by the drive through at your favorite fast food haunt. They are the ones whose hard earned coin, when they are playing the role of consumer, is responsible for 70 percent of this country’s economy. Without their spending, the economy goes nowhere, which is why economists and business show talking heads make mention of consumer confidence in assessing the state/health of the economy.
The Fork in the Tale
I belong to a union, but I sometimes fail to see the purpose they serve. On the local level our councils seem to be doing an alright job, but on a national level, a lot of us feel that our money has been going to waste. The union has become more of a political tour de force than a force for good. Allowing unions to run roughshod over any business they choose is a bad idea. Card-Check, or what supplants it will not do much for American workers since smaller companies that cannot remain competitive due to having to adhere to collective bargaining agreements will either fold up, or pack up and go overseas. That will definitely help big business, but not the unions or workers.
The environmental lobby seeks to redefine the way we use energy by supporting bills like Cap and Trade. The only problem with this is that our industries that rely on energy consumption and the production of greenhouse gases in the process of providing goods or services to their customers will suffer mightily. Again, those that are not able to compete due to burdensome regulations will go away (either fold up or pack up). Once more, who will suffer? Workers and their families.
Healthcare reform is the hot-button issue of the summer. Most Americans want some sort of meaningful reform which includes lowering costs (medical liability and tort reform come to mind), being able to keep their current plans if they’re happy with them, and finding creative ways to get even the uninsured under some sort of coverage. Then there are those who feel the only meaningful reform is to have a government run plan, one that either competes with private insurers or replaces them altogether. Hint, any government plan that aims to compete will have our deep pockets to help it run everyone else out of the business. The government will become one of those predatory entities you see regulatory agencies going after in the private sector. With one source for all of America’s health care needs, will there be enough to go around? Not likely as evidenced by what’s going on in Great Britain and Canada. Who stands to lose on this deal? Just about everyone. Private insurers will be forced out of business and all of those choices and efficiencies we were promised will have evaporated like water on a hot skillet.
End of the Line
So, here is the question I put to you, dear reader of this rambling missive. After having seen what the future holds for small business and the American consumer, would a four legged stool be able to do the same job as a pair of massive support pillars?
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