One of life’s lessons that still resonates with me to this day is a simple reality that my parents relentlessly drove home: Decisions have consequences. It applies so often to situations that we face as parents, business owners, American citizens and voters. Just ask many of the folks who voted for Brexit, only to later lament the realities that accompanied their vote to leave the EU.
The upcoming presidential election is the first I can remember in which so many voters will cast a vote against a candidate rather than affirming their support for a candidate. Political decisions are driven by our core beliefs, fears and needs, among other things. In many ways, politics mirror monetary markets. Both crave stability, hate uncertainty and tend to overcorrect. Some would argue that political overcorrection may help to explain the unpredictable rise of one of the presidential candidates on the ballot this November.
I’m not going to tell you whom to vote for, but I am going to identify some of the issues that should influence the decisions you make this November. After serving as NACSPAC and the NACS Legislative Committee chairman for several years, I have witnessed the importance of industry advocacy and the consequences of decisions made by fellow voters and elected officials.
A House in Disarray
Let’s be honest—our federal government has proven to be fiscally irresponsible for far too long. Our next president should focus on getting our government’s fiscal house in order, rather than trying to tell us how we have to run our businesses. Too many of our
elected officials have gone out of their way to support legislation that essentially pits employee against employer. It is difficult if not impossible for businesses to truly prosper without having employees and employers on the same page.
When you consider the tax burden already placed on small and medium-size businesses, you have to question the wisdom and real-world experience of candidates supporting even higher taxes. They stifle growth, limit hiring and ultimately penalize success.
Any candidate who has owned or operated a business knows this, and anyone looking to start or grow a business has to weigh the personal risk of failure vs. the taxable consequences of “success.” When a business in our industry fails, there are typically dire financial consequences for owners. When convenience businesses succeed, it seems that our government and the credit-card companies are right there to share in the success.
Candidates pushing for unrealistic federal minimum wages should take a refresher course on free markets, capitalism and the gross regional disparity that exists in the cost of living across this country. We need a common-sense approach that considers things such as regional differences in the cost of living. Should our federal government even be meddling in this area?
Why You Should Participate
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) ship may have sailed, but I’m going to have a tough time supporting any candidate who continues pushing it without first demonstrating that ACA has lived up to all that it promised.
That’s not going to happen, because the promise and the reality of ACA are miles apart. ACA has significantly increased the cost of insurance and forced many companies that once provided an employee insurance benefit to instead pay a penalty and require employees to navigate their way through the ACA health-care gauntlet on their own. Everyone loses when this happens.
Some would argue that our industry is more vulnerable to the plethora of legislation that comes from numerous agencies than it is to the whims of a president. All candidates seem to acknowledge that small and medium-size businesses are the backbone of our economy, but are they willing to rein in senseless anti-business legislation that comes from these agencies unchecked?
Finally, there is the effect a president can have through appointment of federal appellate and Supreme Court judges. The composition of our courts makes it possible for the policies and political will of a president to far outlive the tenure of a term.
You may not be excited about our choices for president, but you have to decide whether to exercise your right to participate in the election process or whether you are willing to let others make the choice for you. Many have paid the ultimate price so that we may enjoy the benefits of a democratic political system. Please participate, because decisions we make this fall will have consequences for our families, businesses and our country.
Peter Tedeschi is chief strategic officer for The Midwest Retail Group. Reach him at pdtedeschi@icloud.com.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.