I have a question. Why is it, with the number one issue on everyone's mind being the economy, our lawmakers continue to focus on health care and climate change? The latter being such a non-issue to American households, as to be laughable. If I ask, (or if you ask), the next person you come in contact with, to list the things they would like their legislators to discuss, I'll bet climate change, (notice they no longer refer to it as GLOBAL WARMING), won't even be on the list.
In fact, in an effort to put it on peoples list of things to talk about, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a finding, that green house gases, (the stuff we exhale when we breathe), pose enough of a risk as to require even MORE REGULATION than has already been created.
I have a theory as to why the economy is little more than a footnote in the discussion. I believe this is because the effect that both Nationalized Health Care and Environmental Protection legislation have on our economy present one VERY INCONVENIENT TRUTH! This being that both are keeping businesses from doing anything that can improve our economy, in a tangible way.
You would think that, if in fact, our lawmakers were truely concerned about the condition of the average american's wallet, they would stop working so hard to empty it. They would be saying the same things so many of us are saying, (even those of us fortunate enough to be working). Things like, "Let's hold off on that for now", "We really can't afford it".
Everything about both the issues that seem to be dominating the thoughts of our lawmakers centers around taking more from us, both in the way of CASH and OPPORTUNITY.
I would argue that the primary reason for so many U.S. manufacturing jobs moving overseas, is to escape the ever-increasing environmental regulation. Cheaper labor is one reason, I know. And it IS the largest expense most businesses face. But the cost of labor is one that can, for the most part, be controlled, and compensated for through product cost, (I'll be talking more on this in the future). But with lawmakers, and the EPA, creating environmental standards by fiat, (not the car maker), no manufacturer in their right mind would build a new plant, anywhere NEAR the United States.
I will use as an example, an industry that I actually know something about...
As you know, if you've read my earliest posts, (which I encourage, as a way of learning about me as a person), I am a truck driver. Not just a truck driver, a car hauler. Not just a car hauler, an owner/operator. What being an owner/operator means, is that I actually know how different things affect my bottom line. I know, for instance, that I can haul two identicle loads, for the same rate, and infuence how much each load actually pays ME, by how I drive, where I buy my fuel, how I put the units on the truck, etc...
Over the past ten or so years, Congress and the EPA have imposed ever stringent regulation on exhaust gases and the sulfer content of deisel fuel. You'll not hear me say, or read in my writings, that there isn't a need for SOME emission standard. There surely is. We have an obligation to the next generation, to leave things in as good, or better condition as we recieved from the generation before us. (This applies to the debt we are strapping them with, as well). But there is a point of deminishing return that is being overlooked.
As these standards have been made increasingly difficult to achieve, both fuel economy and engine longevity have declined. There are several negative affects from this. Here are 2.
1. I burn more fossil fuel to do the same amount of work. This affects supply, which raises the cost of your heating oil, (it's the same stuff, more or less), and the cost of my fuel. I build that cost in to the delivery charge.
2. My engine wears out faster, so I have to build that cost in to the delivery charge to the dealer as well, who in turn, passes it on to YOU, when you buy a car off the lot.
EVERY COST, incurred in business is passed on to you, the consumer. It has to be. Otherwise, I and every other business would be... well...OUT OF BUSINESS.
LABOR... LIGHTS... EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE... TAXES, TAXES, and more TAXES... REGULATORY FEES... YOU PAY THEM ALL!!! So the less these things cost, the lower the price of the product. Not to mention, the fewer ADDITIONAL EXPENSES, the more cash available to employees.
That being said... Wouldn't it make sense, for Congress to say something like, "Let's get out of the way, and let business fix the economy".?
AFTER ALL... Economy is what BUSINESS does. Business is what the economy is. I'll not say that every business is trustworthy and good. But it's easier to deal with a bad company, than a bad federal government. And a whole lot cheaper!
I'll get back to ya...
I will use as an example, an industry that I actually know something about...
As you know, if you've read my earliest posts, (which I encourage, as a way of learning about me as a person), I am a truck driver. Not just a truck driver, a car hauler. Not just a car hauler, an owner/operator. What being an owner/operator means, is that I actually know how different things affect my bottom line. I know, for instance, that I can haul two identicle loads, for the same rate, and infuence how much each load actually pays ME, by how I drive, where I buy my fuel, how I put the units on the truck, etc...
Over the past ten or so years, Congress and the EPA have imposed ever stringent regulation on exhaust gases and the sulfer content of deisel fuel. You'll not hear me say, or read in my writings, that there isn't a need for SOME emission standard. There surely is. We have an obligation to the next generation, to leave things in as good, or better condition as we recieved from the generation before us. (This applies to the debt we are strapping them with, as well). But there is a point of deminishing return that is being overlooked.
As these standards have been made increasingly difficult to achieve, both fuel economy and engine longevity have declined. There are several negative affects from this. Here are 2.
1. I burn more fossil fuel to do the same amount of work. This affects supply, which raises the cost of your heating oil, (it's the same stuff, more or less), and the cost of my fuel. I build that cost in to the delivery charge.
2. My engine wears out faster, so I have to build that cost in to the delivery charge to the dealer as well, who in turn, passes it on to YOU, when you buy a car off the lot.
EVERY COST, incurred in business is passed on to you, the consumer. It has to be. Otherwise, I and every other business would be... well...OUT OF BUSINESS.
LABOR... LIGHTS... EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE... TAXES, TAXES, and more TAXES... REGULATORY FEES... YOU PAY THEM ALL!!! So the less these things cost, the lower the price of the product. Not to mention, the fewer ADDITIONAL EXPENSES, the more cash available to employees.
That being said... Wouldn't it make sense, for Congress to say something like, "Let's get out of the way, and let business fix the economy".?
AFTER ALL... Economy is what BUSINESS does. Business is what the economy is. I'll not say that every business is trustworthy and good. But it's easier to deal with a bad company, than a bad federal government. And a whole lot cheaper!
I'll get back to ya...
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