No business would be successful if it wasn't for the infrastructure of the government supporting them. It is the government who enforces the laws and builds the infrastructure that makes it possible for business to succeed. At least this is the point that President Obama was trying to make when he made his unfortunate "You didn't build that" comment. But was it really government who did that?
The infrastructure part, was it really government? Every new road was not, in fact, built by the government. In most cases, it is a company like Peter Kewitt or JB Parsons that actually builds the roads. Roads are built by contractors. The government only finances the road. Usually, it is a combination of federal and state gas taxes that finances a road.
Many people need a little capital to get a business going, so they get a government-guaranteed loan from the Small Business Administration. However, they do not go directly to the SBA to get the loan. It is usually administered through a bank. Many banks are also small businesses, although some are very large.
What about other government services? None of those would be possible with the sacrifice of individuals. The police for that enforces the law. Those that prosecute criminals. Those that issue business licenses. There are many that are on the government payroll, and in good economic times, most of those people would make more money in the private sector.
Therefore, who builds a small business other than the proprietor? Mostly, it is other businesses. The governments role is there, but it is very small. The government's job is to provide the infrastructure and the environment that a small business can flourish in, but the hard work is mostly done by other businesses and by individual. It is those people who Obama did not give credit to in his, "you didn't build that" speech. If you helped build that, I salute you.
Posts
