I’m standing at a door. Outside, the wind howls at 90 miles per hour. I step out and I’m falling. As the airplane flies away, I plummet towards the earth, 13,000 feet below. In the back of my mind, I know that if I failed in any of my preparations, I could die.
I had carefully packed my parachute. The reserve parachute was packed by a certified specialist. I had practiced countless times. Before I jumped, I carefully checked to make sure we were over the landing area. I wore a helmet, in case I had a collision with any of my friends who jumped with me. If I lost consciousness a device would automatically open my reserve parachute.
Back in the day, I made over 3800 skydives. I’d say that’s pretty good evidence that I’m an optimist. But it’s more than just optimism. I carefully studied the risks and took care to reduce or eliminate those risks. Skydiving is a sport that’s governed by the laws of physics. Gravity is a constant. Parachute openings are consistent within an acceptable range. The physics of freefall are known, allowing me to control myself in freefall and get away from others to safely deploy my parachute. A sport that many consider to be “extreme” is really about controlling acceptable known risks.
Let me tell you what IS extreme: owning a small business. I’ve owned my own businesses for over 20 years. There once was a time that you could take a good idea, develop it, market it and make a living as a business owner. Yes, there was risk involved, and there have always been business failures because there is always risk.
I was young and naive when I started my first business. I built my facility, bought equipment, hired staff, got the word out and opened for business. Then I had to make payroll. I remember the shock of payroll deductions in my first paycheck as a teenager. As a business owner I experienced a whole new level of shock when I wrote a monthly check to cover payroll taxes for all my employees. But that became a knowable expense, so it was no longer a risk. The biggest unknown was the economy. But as the business cycle fluctuated within acceptable limits, I could control for that risk by saving money during the good times to carry my business through the bad times.
Today the biggest risk to business comes from our own government. It expands at an alarming rate and consumes an ever greater share of the economy. The proliferation of taxes, rules and regulations can leave a company wondering what’s next. There’s simply no way to plan when the rules change so quickly. You can’t plan for the unknown.
100 lawmakers in Colorado
In Congress, 535 lawmakers mandate untold numbers of bureaucracies in which unelected and unaccountable officials promulgate rules with little consideration of the effects on businesses and individuals.
Local governments exercise their broad powers in senseless ways, like prohibiting barber poles, entering rental properties under court order for unnecessary inspections, and mandating additional trash services.
The list of infringements on personal property and individual rights is endless and growing. Can you imagine investing your money, time and hard work to turn that great idea into a business under these conditions? Like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, it’s difficult to imagine how you would survive.
Still, I’m an optimist. To paraphrase Milton Friedman, there are three reasons to be optimistic. First is the “extraordinary ability and ingenuity of the American people in finding ways to get around laws.” The desire to improve one’s lot in life will continue despite the force of government. Second, government is inefficient. Were it otherwise, we would already be serfs. Government simply is too wasteful to rein in a population that seeks to remain free. Third, the waste is so obvious and the infringements on freedom so great that people are demanding a return to limits on government. When liberty and property are respected and protected, Americans will return to business.
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