Back in 1978, there was a report published by the ninety-fifth congress of the United States of America entitled, THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA. (Report No. 95-1810).  In Chapter 3 was the following quote:  “This country’s small business people are believers in the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and strong participants in the spirit of independence on which this Nation was founded and with which it must continue to prosper. Our small business leaders are those who can and do create new methods of solving problems. Their high regard in local and national communities is not so much a result of their business role as much as their willingness to break new ground, maintain the virtues of freedom and independence and “do their own thing.”

The report stated “The essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free competition.  Only through full and free competition can free markets, free entry into business, and opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiation and individual judgment be assured.”  Among the specific recommendations from the report was that tax legislation should be passed which further graduates the corporate tax rates and specifically targets small business as receiving “preferential capital gains treatment.”

The report also noted that “small business is one sector of our economy capable of resolving the unemployment problem and providing benefits rather than additional tax burdens to the consumer.”  Highlighted throughout the report was the relationship between free enterprise and personal responsibility.  We as small businessmen and women take responsibility for our own behavior: our success depends upon it.  Our willingness to break new ground and try new things has traditionally been the “American way, the American Spirit.”

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© 2013 Steven M. Stroum