Covid-19 Crisis Highlights Problems With Over Regulation
Most people who get a paycheck, who don’t own a small business simply do not understand the tremendous hardship that businesses have with over regulation. However, Americans are now getting a taste of what they’ve been missing and are now learning just how bad overreaching regulation can be. Most of us understand that when a restaurant is limited to a certain number of seats let’s say 25% capacity, that they won’t make as much money, and may not turn a profit. Therefore, they will have to lay off employees or go out of business.
Still, how many times have we asked ourselves which regulations we already had in place before the Covid-19 crisis which were stifling, smothering, and quelling the profits of our small business community? There are an endless number of regulations that each and every small business in America has to deal with. Then there are class-action lawsuits, employment lawsuits, and contract lawsuits. Many of these lawsuits are enabled because of regulations on the books, regulations that perhaps the small business person didn’t even know about.
Since the Covid-19 crisis began, we’ve noticed businesses such as Gyms, hair salons, and restaurants literally going through hell just to stay open, trying to satisfy their local County health commissioner’s new regulations. Businesses have had to do take-out orders only, require every employee wear a mask, and put up Plexiglas so employees do not breathe in tiny airborne water droplets which may have the Covid-19 virus on them coming from patrons.
Have you ever wondered how much that costs small businesses just to comply with those types of regulations, these on top of all the other regulations that were in place before the Covid-19 crisis? Just to provide take out only service for restaurants they have to put up signage, alert all their customers, advertise their new format, buy more to go containers, and train other employees as to the new way to do business. All that costs money, at a time when their sales are less than 50%. How are they supposed to make money? We know most are not.
And still, do you have any ideas how many regulations are already on the books. A typical small business might have 20 different licenses, fees, permits, or certifications on their wall. Each one cost money, took time to file, and is generally renewable annually, those are added costs. Imagine if there were not 20 different licenses, fees, permits, or certifications? What if there were only 5 or 10? The businesses would make a lot more money and then if and when a Covid-like crisis comes along next time they could satisfy those new regulations without going out of business.
We need to get government both local and federal, out-of-the-way of small business. The small businesses are not the problem spreading Covid-19, they didn’t start the problem, they are victims like all of us. Over regulation is like a virus to business, in essence it causes the same problem for potential profits.
Have you asked yourself during this Covid Pandemic “why” we are putting all the burden on the businesses? If we continually treat our small businesses this way, in the future we won’t have any more. Larger corporations have more political power and clout. They are also able to use the government to make regulations preventing their smaller competitors from competing.
If we destroy our small businesses now, we will be sorry later. Over 75% of all Americans are employed in a small business, with that many unemployed Americans no one will do well, including the large corporations. Can you imagine what the hit on our economy will be? Can you imagine the cost of all those unemployment benefits? We will literally bankrupt our country. And that’s pretty much what we are doing now with the Covid-19 crisis.
What we need to do is re-look at everything now while we have the chance. We can make sweeping changes that will protect our small business community and keep our economy vibrant for years to come. I hope this Covid-19 crisis challenge has woken everyone up, so they can see how the hand of government and over regulation are destroying our freedom, liberty, choices, economy, and future. Please consider all this and think on it.
