MONEY GARDENS

You know the more I think about 'tax the rich' or 'spread the wealth' plans they really annoy me. I have recently begun a small vegetable garden, and even eaten some of the tomatoes I have begun getting. And the other day while tending that garden it hit me, that a business is like a garden on a much longer term and larger scale.


In a garden you get out in spring and work your tail off tilling, fertilizing, planting, weeding, and so on. This is much like a business, in the beginning you work 60 – 80 hours a week or more marketing, funding, selling, manufacturing, hiring, filing taxes, and the myriad of other jobs you have to do to get a start up off the ground.


Then your plants start to come in, and you get to relax. There's still not much fruit, but you can see your work starting to pay off, and occasionally you can step out for a day or so to enjoy life. The plants are starting to do their work, and require just a little input and maintenance from you to keep producing and hopefully growing. In business this means you can step away from your plant or store for a week or so and take the wife on a vacation. But that week is all you can afford, and usually only then once every couple of years or so. But your hours are probably down to say 50 – 60 a week, and you can actually put your children to bed some evenings. If the phone doesn't ring with some calamity.


Finally comes the harvest. The garden has grown all it's going to, and you have start picking and eating the food. THIS is why you did all that work back in spring. You get to eat your own food, grown with you own hands, in your own soil. It's not only useful, it's hugely satisfying on a deeply emotional even for some spiritual level. In business this is where you are established, and you have a good staff that handles most of you day to day stuff for you. You can sort of begin to retire here knowing that you money garden is starting to ripen. But WAIT! Now steps in the government and says you are the winner of life's lottery, and your fru... I mean money has to be spread around to those that did not plant anything and are less 'lucky'.


Now they weren't around when you were breaking your back hoeing the rows, planting the seeds, or lugging water and fertilizer all over the place, but now they want your food? We wouldn't dream of taking a gardeners food like that, and yet we have no problem taking a man's money when he spends a life time growing a business or investing wisely. How is that morally right I ask you.


So next time you hear 'tax the rich' think of your garden, and how mad you would be if the government just came in took your harvest and handed it out to those that watched TV all spring and summer while you were in the yard working, and tell them not just, “No,” but, “Hell no! No fucking way!!!!”


Because that business is that owner's garden, and he deserves every bite of food he gets. And like most gardeners I know I'd bet that he'll be trying to give away the excess rather than let it go to waste. Either by reinvesting in other businesses or through charity. So it will get spread in the owner's way as it should.

HERE WE GO AGAIN, KILLING SMALL BUSINESSES

I was just thinking about this new health care bill provision that makes it mandatory for EVERYONE in business to file an I-9 for every vendor from whom they purchase more than $600.00 of stuff from in a year. And, it is a bad idea. But, for more than one reason. All I have heard anyone talk about is how it will put an undue administration stress on small businesses and drive them out of business because they can't afford to do all the paperwork and stay compliant with this law.


Well, as far as that goes it is 100% true. But, If they've discussed the entry burden raised I haven't heard about it. This provision will strengthen large businesses immeasurably by raising a HUGE entry burden to businesses. Here's how it works. Many of you know I'm in the appliance repair business, and I have already decided to simply go to using one national chain for my gas. That way I won't have to file multiple I-9s over gas. Just a couple to national suppliers. Guess who gets that money, the mom and pop stations I'm dumping? Um, NO! Walmart, there's one close to my house, and the gas is consistently cheap. So how then how is some mom and pop to get into business? They're not. Why? Because the mainstay of any business is repeat customers, and while the mom and pop may be able to attract some retail customers who fill up once a week, they will not be able to attract the business customers who buy gas everyday as I do.


So, in addition to raising an administrative burden and expense on the small business the federal government has raised an entry burden to new small businesses. This will of course have the effect of slowing employment, and tax revenue growth. And we wonder why the recession drags on?