High taxes hurt jobs and the little guy

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell.
—Frank Borman, astronaut and former CEO of Eastern Airlines.

By now you’ve probably heard that Copeland’s Sports Store at Meadowood Mall is going out of business. As part of its liquidation sale—which is expected to last through the holiday season—you can pick its carcass at 20-40 percent off (www.copelandsports.com).The retailer has been in bankruptcy since August, and salvation vis-à-vis a reorganization plan apparently was not in the cards. All 31 stores throughout Nevada, Utah, Oregon and the People’s Republic of California are going bye-bye forever.

Unless you happen to be an employee (or related to one), I’m sure you don’t much care that the company is going under. If you’ve frequented this particular piece of real estate, you know that your never-humble host is among those who don’t care—other than in a general sense of self-preservation.

I believe in natural selection. That is, those who adapt will survive, and those who don’t get naturally selected out of the gene pool (a concept I could apply to liberals and their friends in the Democratic Party if they were required to successfully run a convenience store for more than three days under the inane regulations they propose businesses operate under).

The leaders in said political party all talk out both sides of their mouths. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi married into her money. As did Sen. John Kerry. Twice. And when he wasn’t busy serving as a lap dog for wealthy women, Kerry spent most of his life on the public dole. As did our own Sen. Harry “Pinky” Reid. Although to Reid’s credit, he at least managed to make himself a multi-millionaire—a neat trick considering what public servants earn. We’re supposed to believe they all (a) give a damn about the little guys or (b) have a clue what creates jobs specifically or drives the economy generally.

Two of the Democrats’ strategies are “Prohibit the Congressional pay raise until the nation’s minimum wage is raised” and “End tax giveaways that reward companies for moving American jobs overseas.” (http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda)

Liberals love to decry what a terrible loss of personal liberties the PATRIOT Act was, and yet, the same nut jobs seem to have no problem whatsoever in telling me—a private employer—how much I must pay an employee with zero job skills. Or how much leave time I must offer. Or whether an employee or customer can smoke on my private property. (Seems slightly hypocritical to me, but then, if it’s not your particular ox getting gored, I guess that makes it OK.)

Part of the adapt-or-perish mindset most business owners have, whether multi-state or multi-national, is arbitrage—how and where do you set up shop to minimize taxes and regulations that kill your profit potential.

Trust me here, companies don’t go overseas willingly. About all that does is trade a liberal bureaucracy for a Third World one. There is something markedly wrong with this country when it’s cheaper for a technology company to foot the phone bill for a million of its customers to call tech support in India rather than keep tech support services here.

What is most curious is that Reid and Company would seek to punish companies for trying to stay profitable rather than recognizing that Democrat strategies are what drives them offshore in the first place.

Or in Copeland’s case, out of business. Which perhaps brings us back to Borman’s assertion.