Regulation

As a small businessman, I deal with government regulation every day.  Some of it is good.  Much of it is annoying.  Some of it is very bad.  The problem is that government rarely applies the self examination and testing required of businesses.  As a result, there is no way to correct mistakes of the government.  Ultimately, it is completely self serving.

 

I have witnessed one government agency in my home Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Yes, it is not a state, but a commonwealth.  Bet you can’t name the other three!) that has done an excellent job of managing its affairs.  That agency is the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  Want a story of an agency that has successfully carried out its mandate?  Study what the PGC has done with Pennsylvania’s wildlife.

 

In short, prior to the PGC’s creation, wildlife was suffering from over hunting and fishing.  Habitat was vanishing.  And this was in the late 1800s!!!  PGC was tasked with managing and protecting wildlife, managing wildlife habitat, and informing and educating the public on wildlife and safe hunting practices.   In the last 116 years, PGC has enabled whitetail deer herds to flourish.  The same has been true of many other species.  They are responsible for restocking of trout to prevent overfishing and to allow many anglers to enjoy a relaxing past time.  Based on their own field research on the number of animals, hunting and fishing limits are adjusted.

 

The result has been sustainable harvests of those species that can be hunted and habitat maintenance for not only the sport species but all of the non-sport species.  Along with volunteers, they work to maintain clean streams, vibrant woodlands, and healthy populations of wildlife of all types.  All of this work on behalf of wildlife is funded (over $66 MILLION) by hunting and fishing licenses and sale of timber, hay, coal, oil, and other resources.  Is the PGC perfect? No.  But they are probably the best government agency I have had to deal with.

 

You can find very few government agencies with the long history of success of the PGC!

Businessman’s Prayer

Dear Precious Heavenly Father,

You are the Creator of the world I inhabit. You started all of history’s events in motion, knowing that one day, you would create me. You designed me with all of the traits and talents that make me who I am. You alone know the path You have laid out before me. You have been and continue to be the Perfect Provider of everything I need. You are my Friend, Protector, and Avenger because You have chosen me to be Your child.

I confess that I am not worthy of the role you have chosen for me. I live my life in my own strength, depending on the small portion of wisdom you have given me to make decisions that affect not only myself, but my family, partners, employees, and customers. Because of my pride, fueled by the successes You have given me, I continue to depend on myself and fail to seek Your perfect will in each plan and decision. I spend too much time talking at You and too little time listening to You. I am entirely too willing to be less than truthful at times in order to cover a mistake or to get a sale. Because I fail to always seek and to place You first, I am less than You have called me to be.

I am grateful that You drew me to faith in You. I am confident that You will always keep me in the palm of Your hand. I thank You for the successes that I have enjoyed, the customers that You have provided, and the people whose paths I have crossed. I thank You for Your provision in good times and bad. You have never repaid my failings with withholding of Your blessings. I thank You for the men who have mentored me as I struggled to learn the business world. I pray that I will always thank You for the path You chose for me.

As I follow Your course, I ask for the grace to accept Your direction and chastening, for the patience to learn humility, for the willingness to submit to You, and for the desire to learn of You. I pray that You would continue to lead me along the course I am running, provide for my needs, and protect my family and friends. Help me to treat employees and partners with Your Love at all times, regardless of my mood. Most of all, help me to set an example that draws others to see You.

Through Your Son Jesus Christ, Who gives me the right to call on Your Name.

Memorial Day

Two holidays have always made me sentimental: Memorial Day and Veterans Day. I am sentimental because these two days celebrate those who served, something I never had to do. In some sense, not having served is one of the few regrets in life I have. The following is a list of friends and family who have served. Honor them with me.

FRY FRIENDS AND FAMILY HONOR ROLL

Those At Rest

John Fry Civil War 3rd PA Cavalry Gettysburg
John Frownfelter WW I Army
Elmer Fry Army
William Davies WW I Army Staff Driver
Wayne Kisner WW II Sea Bee Pacific Theater, Guadalcanal
John L. Robertson WW II Army
Robert Fry Korea Army ‘50-’52
William Gunther WW II Navy Destroyer Pacific Theater
Jack Jones
Nick Nickleson
Ray Heddings Korea Navy
David Horne Korea Marines
Ray Horne Korea Marines
Richard Fry Air Force
Bart Joy Navy
Robert Williamson Vietnam Army

Those Still With Us

Sam Nulton Korea Army ‘51-‘53
Ruth Horne Korea Marines
Nick D’Amico Army Greenland
William Berger Viet Nam Navy Inland Supply
Marty Gunther Viet Nam Naval Aircraft Carrier Forrestal
Randy Heddings Army Korea
Robert Zelem Viet Nam Marines
Sue Kisner Marines
William Robertson Navy
Greg Hernandez Army
Stephen Nulton Army Korea                                                                                                                                                    Luke Martin Afghanistan Army
Thank you for honoring these men and women. There are more who should be listed here and there may be some errors for those listed. If you have additions or corrections, please let me know.

The troubled world can offer no award
To you who sleep beneath the chiseled stone.
You died because we handed you the sword,
And we are free because you sleep alone.

The tides of history well may change the cause,
And time may blunt the sharpness of the debt,
For sacrifice, a nation under laws
Is gathered here today, lest we forget.

–Robert A. Hall

 

I won’t forget!

Entitlement Reform

Here is a thought:  Can the dual desires to have a safety net for the poor and to have fiscal responsibility co-exist?

The answer:  YES!!

The question:  How is that possible?

My solution is actually pretty simple.  First let the states handle it.  Pay for it with block grants.  Then set up the system to reward productive behavior.  For example, if you work, you keep all of your entitlement benefits with earnings up to the poverty level  So, if the poverty level is $20,000, you can earn up to $20,000 without a reduction in your benefits.  If you exceed that level by up to 25%, you loose benefits equal to 25% of the amount earned over the poverty line.   If you exceed the poverty level by 50%, you loose 50% of the benefits.  Repeat again for 75%.

Next set a maximum lifetime benefit.  You can receive full benefits for a maximum of 15 years.  If you work and earn enough to have had reduced benefits, the reduced benefit extends the maximum term.  For example, if you had reduced benefits for 10 years of 50%, your maximum term would extend by 5 years to 20.

Next design the program to encourage families to stay together.  The two previous parts of the plan have removed the penalty for earnings in the household.  To further encourage families to stay together, have a maximum benefit term bonus if the household is a two parent household.

Finally, provide a new benefit for child care if a parent works and/or is in school.  This benefit would be in the form of a voucher to be used at a daycare program approved by the local authority.  For a beneficiary who is in school full or part time only, the benefit is limited in term and to the time in school.  In the event that the student does not complete the program, they must repay the amount received, interest free with a benefit reduction of 5% per year until repaid.

Now, people have an incentive to work.  There is no penalty for looking for a job, or getting an education, or for having a family.  The people in the program  may start out with a menial job, but they would have opportunities to advance.  Even if they stay in the menial job, they are earning something, which does wonders for self esteem.  They become tax paying citizens.  They also have more disposable income, which helps the economy.

A question for the President

Why, when you invited business leaders to a summit, did you not invite small business owners?  They represent 65+% of all jobs.  They are the ones who need to be heard.  They are the ones who will turn around the economy.

But then, I am not surprised.  They aren’t unionized, are independent people, and are hard to control.

There is yet hope….

I find the world situation depressing because we have lost our faith in God.  Evil seems so strong.  The power of America in particular to influence the world for the better, because of our common Christian faith seems on the wane.  The sins that we were taught to avoid are held up as something to revere.

And then, I ran across a rendition of “I heard the Bells” performed by Casting Crowns.  The second verse rings true to me, especially today.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Fortunately, that wasn’t the end!!

Then rang the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Check out the You Tube video:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt–150Y6Hf8ds/casting_crowns_i_heard_the_bells_on_christmas_day/

 

The Black Community today…..

Let me get this straight, according to the liberal elites, conservatives such as myself and others are the cause of the misery in the black community today.  Interesting.  Let’s look at some statistics (setting aside for the moment institutionalized and/or legalized racism issues, I’ll come back to that):

Prior to Liberalism’s “Help” for minorities (aka Lyndon Bain Johnson’s civil rights acts)

The Black community had a vibrant family and social life.
The Black community had myriad small businesses.
The Black community had similar crime levels to any other community.
Black on Black violence was unheard of.
The Black community had unwed mother rates similar to the country as a whole.
The Black community had crime rates similar to that of the country as a whole.
The Black community had drug and alcohol abuse rates similar to the country as a whole.

Today:

All of those positives are under extreme pressure and moving in the negative direction.

Sounds like liberalism helped the Black community a great deal.

Back to the institutionalized racism issues.  Prior to LBJ’s legislative agenda, segregation and racism (de jure or de facto) were the norm in many places.  This was indeed categorically wrong and needed to be righted through legislation.  Had true conservative values been applied, ALL communities would have been granted equal opportunity under the law.  Instead, the foundations of the problems that the Black community of today faces were laid.  Liberals said, in effect, that some people weren’t capable of living in the larger society without special help from the government.  They weren’t smart enough, hard working enough, or whatever enough to succeed.  So they needed government handouts.

Prior to the start of the handouts, the poverty that existed in the Black community was largely due to the limitations to success that racism and segregation imposed.  Take away those limitations, and my contention is that the small businesses would have become larger businesses.  These larger businesses would have been the source of greatly increased opportunity for other Blacks.  The greater opportunity would have spread beyond the Black community as the resulting economic power grew.  The result would have been the elimination of most of the poverty.

Instead, as those who grew up before LBJ died, the new generation knew only the government programs.  The problems grew as a direct result.  It all comes back to the Peace Corps old slogan:  “If you give a man a fish, he eats for today.  If you teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”  The government is dedicated to giving out fish because that gives them power.

If you doubt my theories on this subject, you need only look to all of the other immigrant communities.  They’ve succeeded because they’ve avoided the government handouts.  And that includes Blacks who have emigrated from other countries who didn’t have the mindset that they could only survive by a dependence on the government.

A Father’s day note from my daughter

Sent to me by my oldest daughter on Father’s day.

 

It is easy to think of many great people in my life; for eighteen years, I’ve been surrounded by loving family members, caring neighbors, and dedicated teachers. But, the person whose has had the most impact on me is unquestionably my father. He’s always been a man who puts his beliefs into practice, and he has raised me to do so as well.
For as long as I can remember, my father has been the owner of A. Service Company, Inc, a small business which installs and maintains industrial machinery. He started A. Service Co. after several years of working for Solid State Equipment Corporation. Though working for Solid State was far more lucrative than being a small business owner, my father wanted to spend more time at home than his position there allowed, and he had always dreamed of owning his own company. The road was fraught with challenges – long hours and customers that didn’t pay their bills on time or not at all – but full of blessings as well: several employees started their own companies with the skills they learned from my father and I’ve learned from working with him as well. (When I volunteered in Virginia repairing houses of impoverished families, the things I’d learned truly were invaluable – I found myself not only able to do the work that needed to be done, but able to teach others). I’m also closer to my father than I ever could have been if he had remained at Solid State and continued flying all over the globe on business trips. In between the lessons on gear boxes and technical terminology, he’s shared advice and stories from his own life with me.. My father made the decision to pursue things more important than money – his family and his dreams – and ultimately has been all the happier for it.
In addition to being a small business owner, I always think of my father as being a wonderful neighbor and friend to people in our community. When it snows, my father can always be found circling the block with a snowblower, making sure everyone can safely get around. If someone’s car breaks down or heater starts clanking, my father can be counted on to show up with a tool bag and a word of friendly advice. On the rare occasion he can’t make a repair, he always knows someone who can. He’s an active church member as well, always ready to lend a hand whether it be constructing  the set for a drama or running sound during special events. As his daughter, I’ve often been recruited to help with his various volunteer projects. I can remember brief episodes of annoyance when these projects cut into my personal time, but more and more I’ve come to understand the joy of helping those in need. Without my father, I’d never have learned that lesson.
The final thing I think of when I think of my father is his imperfection. My father and I share the same faults – impatience and a certain measure of pride. But what I love about my father’s imperfections is that they don’t run his life. He is the first person who’ll admit he has his flaws and quick to apologize when he is wrong. He’s learned to ask for help when he needs it, rather than taking the world upon his shoulders. Every day I learn from his example how to conduct myself in spite of the less admirable human tendencies I have. I’ve learned more from watching him than I have learned from the spoken words of dozens of other admirable people. My father has always been a man of action. He has raised me to follow in his foots steps – to pursue my dreams and to be there for the ones I love. I hope I never fail to do just that.

If you don’t learn from history….

you are doomed to keep making the same mistakes….

A couple of quick notes on the economy as posted on tartanmarine.blogspot.com:

1) I own a small business (current employment: 4) that I could expand in the next year. However, I am facing higher costs at every level from the current administration, health care, taxes, regulation, and administrative costs. Why should I take the risk of hiring and training new people when these same costs may drive some of my customers out of business or to lower cost alternatives, thus taking away sales.  Even if I don’t lose sales, I lose profit margin.  Thus, why should I take the risk?

2) Where in the new proposal by the president are real tax breaks for small business? Most of us don’t have an R & D department, aren’t considering big purchases, can’t get a loan from the SBA because our assets have lost value, and don’t have time for the paperwork for some of the other “credits”. We’re too busy trying to survive.

3) Why doesn’t anyone seem to get the concept of the “rich” moving their assets, spending habits, and incomes to avoid tax exposure? John Kerry, the richest US Senator, keeps his boat in Rhode Island to avoid paying taxes (those taxes are less than 0.06% of his net worth) in his home state of Massachusetts. The “rich” will hunker down, move assets, delay spending/change spending habits, move income, and otherwise avoid taxes because it will now be cost effective to do so. This does not improve the economy or tax revenues. The fact that increasing tax rates only drives tax revenue down has been proven repeatedly in world history, not just in the US. Yet, we keep making the same mistake.

We need to wake up! The solution is cut SPENDING and TAXES!

The Question

Philosophers are good at coming up with questions.  They may have no idea of the answers, but their questions are telling.  I’m no great philosopher, but I have observed that there is one fundamental question that every human being has to answer.  I would argue that this question is THE fundamental question.  Generally, by the time someone has reached adulthood, they have answered that question.  Everything they see, do, think, and feel will be impacted by the answer to this question.

That question is:  “Could God exist?”

The term God in this application refers to the ultimate deity or power.  This is not an allowance for some super intelligent alien race that is just more learned than we are.  This can not refer to some historical or legendary person.  This does not refer to “mother nature” or “father time”.  This is a term directed to an ultimate creator God.

If you are an agnostic or committed to a religion that holds to a supreme creator, you have answered this question in the affirmative.  Having done so, your view of the world is far more likely to have a world view that includes absolutes:  justice, mercy, the value of human life.  You are more likely to see the universe as a created thing.  Your view of scientific data will tend to support your view that there is a supreme being, as will your life choices.

If you believe that that supreme creator can not exist, you have answered this question in the negative.  Having done so, you likely have a world view based on the supremacy of man and his thinking.  You are more likely to have a relativistic approach to life.  Because there is no supreme deity, you are less likely to embrace absolutes.  You view all of science as proving that no supreme deity exists.  You will seek out scientific evidence that proves to you that God can not exist.