Today's Economic Reality

May 20, 2010

Seventy percent of American business commerce is small companies, those businesses that employ less than 50 people. Today I met one such 11 year small business owner. As I approached the convenience store in Saint Anthony to fill our vehicle up with gas, I first noticed an "out of gas" sign on the pump islands. Then the real shock as I looked to the store itself. A U-Haul van was parked, ramp extended, while some youth were using dollies to empty store shelves and fill the panel truck with merchandise. We entered the store and learned the sad reality that government is oblivious at every level, city, county, state and federal of our economic downturn.

The business owner had his life time investment called by a local bank. Over the years escalating property taxes and regulations, increased annual government business fees, depreciating property values, increased big business competition, lender changes in contract agreements, and traffic flow changes from the 35W bridge collapse all contributed to his business
closing today. And not just this store, but the owner also had another convenience store just a couple blocks away.

Our economy continues to crumble under pressure from increased government confiscation of private commerce. Government continues to expand and steal the wealth of our community to maintain status quo. Still hungry for more, government at every level expands trillions of dollars of additional government debt each year. This government debt will drown Americans' ability to live in a free state.

Government increasingly confiscates private liberty, trampling the constitutional protections of the citizen from government. The time is now on November 2, 2010, for the citizens of 50-A to replace the government status quo in St. Paul.