People who run small businesses are usually right wing. It's often pretty much their defining quality because the right tells them that it's on their side. It's not, of course.... it's on the side of big business, (usually finance), but they're usually too dumb to figure it out. In other news it appears evidence is mounting(sic), that bears shit in the woods.
Who doesn’t know a small businessman? Despite your generalizations they are the backbone of the US economy and they are generally very smart. You ever owned a small business?
I don't contend this. Never have. I'm also not convinced that we needed to inject over a trillion dollars into the financial institutions which brought about this mess. And I don't think we'll ever get the complete story.
At least we agree it was a mistake to bail out the auto makers. That said, not propping up the financial institutions would have been a catastrophe. Were mistakes made? Sure, but I believe we were one the brink of an abyss.
Unless I misread the post, it was the "come out a competetive car company" part that was considered the least believable part.
I think this mode of thought is also along the lines of "Not doing the stimulus package would have been a catastrophe". We will never know because we didn't exactly have an experimental control. The financial system was in a serious predicament, but we propped up institutions, not the lending system. That was seriously misguided.
Bullshit. The right wing is in the pockets of big business no less than the left wing. Witness the rise of the most phenomenal corporate state we have ever seen, under a democratic president and democratic congress. The left is the most formidable enemy of small business today, nearly everything they support benefits incumbents over startups and small businesses, including but not limited to licensing, regulation, and corporate taxes.
LOL Er.... yeah! Run small which then became large businesses, (which then dealt with small businesses, hundreds of them at a time, in fact), for the past 36 years ... and yourself???
That must be why the so-called 'corporatist state' has been bailing out business left and right which were driven into bankruptcy by the right wing. Small business does better under left wing governments over an extended period because they put money into the pockets of ordinary people and they spend it with small businesses.
You don't quite understand what a corporate state is, do you? Bailing out large corporations IS corporatism. It doesn't get any more corporatist than that. Small businesses would absolutely love for a failing businesses to fail, and if those failing businesses are large competitors, even better. Propping up large corporations is the absolute epitome of attacking small business. The bailout shows that this government thinks certain names of companies in particular industries are more important than the existence of those industries. Really? Is that the best you can do? Seriously? Small businesses have to get licensed to operate. Who licenses those companies? Committees of people who operate large companies that compete. Licensing kills small business. Small businesses have to comply with heavy regulations on their operations. Who decides how to regulate? Politicians, who are glad to give a handout to their corporate reelection donors. Who can handle the regulations the best? Large corporations who have the cash to be able to adapt to regulation. And even though it works out to be excess cost for them, they get rid of competition by having the regulation, so it is a net positive. Small business understands this. Have you ever noticed that regulation is often defended because the "industry backs that regulation"...and they do it by saying "Even company X supports this regulation" (insert largest corporation in the industry). Yeah, small business understands why Company X supports that regulation. Large corporations in mature industries also benefit from corporate taxes, by slowing down formidable competition. Large corporations can be threatened by fast moving small competitors...but those small competitors are paying full tax rates, while large corporations get the benefits of having expensive lawyers and accountants who can easily get through the political layer of business. Small business understands this. Small business doesn't prosper because left wing governments help poor people. That is complete bullshit. Small business prospers when the playing field is level and fair, and the left wing does not provide that.
So we're back to redefining things again, are we? My experience is that business does better under labour governments in Britain than Conservative ones. YMMV Er.... no! I think what you mean is that business in America have to get licenses to operate. Let's just think about that for a while. In America, supposedly the land of free enterprise, you've needed a license to run a business under both democratic and republican administrations whereas in socialist Britain you've never needed a license to run a business. My companies corporation tax went DOWN when the labour party came to power in 1997. When Margaret Thatcher was in power in the 1980's we had interest rates at about 15% supposedly as a means to 'squeeze the inflation out of the system', this, despite the fact that inflation actually ROSE for the first 5 years of her leadership. Also, maybe you can ask some fellow Americans about the massive recession of the early 1980's that saw negative growth about the same as we're seeing only now with a worldwide recession. On second thoughts don't bother... they probably won't know what you're talking about. That was a British only thing implemented under Thatcher's conservative leadership. Some rates of direct tax have risen under left-wing leadership in the UK, (and in the USA as well), but that's irrelevant to how business as such is doing. As I say, business usually does better, over a period, under left wing governments in both Britain and the USA. That's been my experience over many years. Funnily enough my main complaint about Blair and Brown is that they were never true socialists and were too in awe of the money-men in the city of London... and look where it's got us!!! However, this is nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that many small business people think that taxes are the only issue because that's the thing they get an invoice for. The fact that their business wouldn't be doing as well under the sort of half-baked, ill-considered leadership the right often carries out, doesn't seem to occur to them. That's why these particular businesses, (the Chrysler dealerships), have likely spent years bleating about a few bucks spent on left-wing taxes, (even though some of it inevitably ends up in the pocket of customers which allows them to spend money in their stores), but WON'T complain about Bush's leadership which has driven the economy, and thus them, into bankruptcy. As far as I'm concerned what goes around, comes around.
My hero? LOL! That's one big brush you paint with. I was against using TARP funds to bail out the auto makers from the get go.
I have no experience with British government, but small business most definitely suffers under left wing government here. Thats pretty nice. So nobody needs a license to cut your hair or give you medicine? Raising interest rates is an effective way of fighting inflation. It wasn't a British only thing. We had a huge recession in the early 80s, and it was brought on by Carter and Nixon. Its cute though that you think Thatcher caused your recession. Its also cute that you think small businesses ever supported George Bush's spending policies or any part of his leadership for that matter. George Bush is just as much a corporatist as any other Left leader we have had recently.
Er... WHAT??? LOL No, you don't need a license to cut people's hair in Britain. Doctor's are trained in Britain, (like most places I think you'll find), and have to pass exams, obviously, but there is no general requirement to have a 'license' to be in business in Britain other than in specific industries that warrant it. Let me guess... you didn't make it as far as reading the part where I said it went UP!!! Yet again with those pesky facts, eh! In any case we dreamed of having the sort of growth you had at the start of the 1980's under Thatcher. Probably a mistake to try and tell me about business in Britain in the 1980's Danny. Trust me... we did a lot WORSE than anyone else, especially our closest competitors in Europe that effected us more directly than the USA. I'm not talking about low rates of growth. I'm talking about negative growth of some 4.6%. Nobody else had that in Europe. So those Chrysler dealerships were sending money to Bush's party because of his beautiful blue eyes, eh? I mean, isn't that what 'Republican contributor' means??? Sending them money? Them pesky facts again, eh!!!