The government, over and over, has been shown to be an inefficient business model. Those in power have little concept of budgets and economy. As soon as we send someone to Washington DC, it seems they forget that all that money they get to play with IS NOT THEIRS. It is money they have extracted from you and me, from businesses we work for or run—however large or small. They extract money the government claims from taxes, fees, restrictions, etc.
There seems to be little concern about paying high wages and promoting waste rather than the economy they encourage for the rest of us. Whatever they get their fingers into tends to restrict rather than encourage businesses. When government gets involved they create winners and losers partly by formulating often complicated criteria, boxes companies have to fit into. This puts government in control rather than the marketplace—you and me.
Once the government begins to restrict, their tax and fees become another way for them to glean money from the pockets of those they are supposed to be representing. Fees and taxes almost always go up, not down. Whatever the government gets its mitts into ends up stifling creativity and innovation. The worst thing we can do is let the government take over any private enterprise.
Yet they do just that through a whole host of taxes on the business, on equipment and supplies and how health care is provided, how much and when. The government entities from local to federal get their piece of the pie and wonder why citizens are unhappy. These taxes and fees often add up to an enormous chunk of expenses. Regulations are often overly complicated, causing business owners to use (and pay) lawyers and/or tax experts. This too adds to the expense line while decreasing profits.
My daughter is a Mental Health Practitioner licensed in both Nebraska and Iowa. When she started out, I could not believe the continuing costs she had to maintain her licenses. Costs were ridiculously high and those in the system didn’t seem to care how long they held onto an application before approving it. Didn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason for the high costs or the time factor.
In Nebraska, we can thank Governor Ricketts for seeking to lower the stress of having to get a license for every enterprise. Some business-minded individuals will no longer have to jump through such hoops and, while some professions need to be monitored, many do not require such government oversight, which is little more than holding a hand out for fees required to do business. There really is little enough accountability and many small, especially, single person professions don’t need Big Brother looking over their shoulders.
I am thankful President Trump, as a business person, recognizes the problem and has continued to cut regulations that strangle businesses.
Fewer taxes and fees, means more money in the pockets of business owners, citizens like you and me. It means more money to take care of families, more money for businesses to hire workers, more money in the economy. More money not paid to government means the government actually wins when they do collect income taxes because more are working and more individuals and businesses make a profit. Fewer regulations, taxes and fees is a win-win for everyone. Consider this when you check out candidates for your vote.
By Carolyn R Scheidies
Published by Kearney Hub 6/18/2018