It’s tough out there for an American business owner.
The economy is in recession and jobs are disappearing. Onerous state and federal policies further cut into the bottom line. Washington is out of touch.
That was the message from David Keene, a spokesman for conservative business principles, to Flathead business owners last week.
But rather than detach from government, Keene suggested people engage even further in the political process, reminding them they still hold the ultimate power in the system.
“Nothing focuses the mind of a politician like the risk of electoral disaster,” he said.
Since 1984, Keene has been the chairman of the American Conservative Union, a national conservative business organization. He’s also been involved with programs at Vanderbilt University and Duke University, as well as a member of the board of directors at the National Rifle Association.
The Flathead Business and Industry Association brought Keene to Kalispell last week to speak at their annual meeting. FBIA lobbies public officials at the local, state and federal level on behalf of business and industry in Northwest Montana.
Before Keene’s presentation, Don Dulle, FBIA’s board president, said of the 28 political candidates the group has recently supported, only two haven’t been elected. “We’ve got a pretty successful track record there,” he said.
A political action committee, or PAC, that started last year has also been very successful in raising funds, he said.
“FBIA is dedicated to protecting our local economy from overly burdensome public policy,” Dulle said in a press release previewing the event. “In today’s economy we cannot afford to lose any potential jobs and need to encourage business growth rather than hinder it.”
It’s the type of involvement Keene ultimately encouraged in his speech, which touched on how policies in Washington can affect business owners in Montana.
“Politicians may get out of touch with their voters, but they’re also always scared,” Keene said, encouraging people to keep in constant contact with their public officials – even those they disagree with.
“Make them know what you believe and why you believe it,” he said. “Make your argument.”
Keene likened the current economic environment and federal policies to the “Jimmy Carter days of runaway spending and stagflation.” Rather than rely on the market, Keene said Washington politicians have assumed a “we-know-best attitude,” and are accruing debt “at a rate that makes (President George) Bush look more like Calvin Coolidge than Lyndon Johnson.”
The costs of that debt, as well as increased costs from potential future legislation like the cap-and-trade program, will hit home soon, Keene said. “That money will be raised on the back of consumers,” he warned.
Montana business owners also face unique challenges on the state level, Keene said, citing a 2007 study by the Anderson Economic Group, a research and consulting firm out of Michigan.
The study, which used data from 2005, ranked “tax burdens” for all 50 states and the District of Columbia by comparing the taxes each state’s businesses paid to how much income they generated. The taxes included in the study were property taxes, motor fuel sales tax, public utilities tax, selective sales tax, corporate income tax, license taxes, unemployment compensation and individual income tax.
Montana had the highest tax burden, according to the report, with business taxes equal to 44.24 percent of business profits. In comparison, the average across all states was 24.2 percent.
Ultimately, Keene painted current economic turmoil as a “battle between two mindsets:” those who want to make independent decisions for their business and family, and those who want to make those decisions for them.
“This proves something we all should of known,” Keene said, “That is that free countries and free societies need to be fought for every day.”