Does everything the government does have to be outside our control? I'm speaking as a business owner here, entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur. Government is growing faster than the economy, and that's not good. Federal, State, and local government spending this year is projected to be at 45% of U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product). I believe it's dangerous for business in America. Why?
Let's compare the function of entrepreneurs to that of government: Entrepreneurs add value and reward achievement, meanwhile government subtracts value and punishes achievement. Think about it.
Entrepreneurs take a raw product or service, enhance its value by combining it with other resources and adding features and benefits. The result is a product or service that has more value than its original form. Consequently, entrepreneurs can sell the enhanced product at a profit. They are then rewarded with income and growth. It's how the economy grows.
On the other hand, government gets paid before it actually creates anything. Resources are collected from businesses and citizens first. Then, a portion of those resources are discarded in the creation of bureaucracy. Finally a service is created. But the value of that service is less than the value of the resources used to create the service.
To feed a growth rate that is faster than the country's economic growth, the government must increase the percentage of resources it subtracts from the economy each year. It does so by punishing the achievers with higher tax rates. The more you achieve and grow, the higher your tax rate.
Government cannot continue to grow at a faster rate than the economy. It's simply not sustainable. Eventually entrepreneurs will not be able to create more value than the government subtracts. But what can you do about it?
I interact with entrepreneurs and small business owners almost every day. What surprises me most is their resolution that they can do nothing about government growth. Entrepreneurs feel it's something outside our control. As if, somehow, our government is an independent entity, answerable to no one.
My friends George Krueger and Mary-Lynn Foster first gave us a wake up call last October. In their Bigg Success podcast episode, We the People are Taking Back Our Country, they said "It starts and ends with us. We need to take personal responsibility" But we haven't...yet.
So, how can entrepreneurs regain influence? We must answer the call to action that George and Mary-Lynn sounded last October. Call and request meetings with your government officials. Run for office. Organize and voice opposition against excessive government growth. Get involved. We cannot sit on the sidelines. I know you are busy running a business. But this is important. In fact, essential. This current trend of government growth threatens our entrepreneurial system.
I did not write this post to rail against government or any political party. Some government is necessary. Just not 45% of the economy. This is a wake-up call to entrepreneurs. We cannot continue to just run our business and let politicians dictate our economy.
The question is, what are you going to do about it? How can you get involved? Comment here.
What can you do?
"...when you have businesspeople with payrolls calling up their legislators — that’s what makes a difference,”
- Jim Roche, president of New Hampshire Business Industry Association
Read the full story: Business Groups Dodge a Much Worse Fate in State Budget
For updates on new articles: Receive The Marketing Spot by Email or
Get The Marketing Spot in a blog reader
