I’m a small business owner. Actually, I own two. A friend of mine told me once that he wanted to start a business because he “didn’t want to spend his entire life working for the man.” Like many, he wanted to be his own boss. Control his own destiny. Reap the rewards he sowed instead of creating wealth for someone else’s gain.
There is only one problem with all this…
When you are your own boss, you suddenly become painfully aware of just how much of the wealth you are creating is going to the government in the form of taxes. On average, I work 12 to 16 hour days and have from day one of officially becoming an entrepreneur. Yet, thanks to our government’s commitment to tax and spend, more than a third of my time is spent working to pay for bigger and bigger government.
People have been conditioned to think of taxes as simply the government collecting a portion of the money you earn. We are taught that money is the root of all evil. So, parting with it for the greater good must be a good thing.
But, that conditioning is wrong. The government is not taxing our money. The government is taxing our time. Whereas, money is of little true value. Time is priceless. Everyone has only a finite amount of time.
If I work 12 hour days, five days a week, and pay thirty percent in taxes, then one full month of my life each and every year is spent working for the government. That’s one month that I don’t get to use to strengthen my family, improve my community or better the world. Every year the government takes one month of my life. Every year, they take one month of yours.
Is the world better off because of it? I don’t think so.
Both of the Democratic nominees for President believe that the answer to all of America’s problems lies in bigger government. Senator Barack Obama has been packaged as the nominee of “change.” But, I would argue that nothing will change if Senator Obama is elected President – at least nothing for the better. Instead, of working one month a year for the government, we can all expect to add another week or more of additional time stolen from our lives to pay for his programs.
Both of the Democratic candidates believe that more government programs and more regulations are the answer to solving every social and economic hurdle that arises. By comparison, Senator John McCain believes, and is promoting, a pro-growth agenda that is focused on small businesses and entrepreneurs, less taxation and more free trade.
Take a listen to what RNC Victory Chairman Carly Fiorina had to say about Senator McCain’s economic agenda:
https://www.divshare.com/flash/video2?myId=4199554-487
As long as government continues to grow, we are all working for the man… and The Man is Uncle Sam.