American spirit will bring recovery

I attended the SASIE Awards sponsored by the Arizona Small Business Association this week. As I talked to many small business people at the event it was very encouraging to see where our hope will come from. I am convinced that the trillion dollar stimulus plan will do little to affect the economic downturn. When Roosevelt implemented the New Deal the results were mixed at best. In fact as jobs were created by programs like the CCC and the WPA more jobs were lost in the private sector. Business leaders were not inspired by the government involvement, yet the working man was hopeful that the government would save his family. Most historians agree that what really turned the economy around was WW II. Through the lend lease act with Britain our factories began turning out products for the war effort. Then after December 7th 1941 we reached full employment. This of course was a result of nearly 12 million men and women in uniform.  

I believe that this stimulus plan will have the same effect that the New Deal had. A lot of hope, but little movement. Small business and entrepreneurship is the foundation of our economy. If we revive it will be because of small business leadership. Folks are realizing they can’t depend on the corporation that they work for and they will soon realize that government is not the answer. It is the American spirit of free enterprise that will win the day. I believe we will see a proliferation of small businesses springing up in people’s garages and spare bedrooms. New ideas will pave the way for innovative products and creative enterprise. When we stop looking for help from the government we will ask God to inspire us and through that humility will come honor. When the recovery occurs politicians will take credit for it, but the truth will be that the American spirit fueled by our faith in God and what used to be called, the protestant work ethic will cause the rise.

Fat and slack work ethic

I was talking with an older gentleman last week. This man started in radio in 1958, managing a small station. He ended up buying several stations in major markets and is one of the few broadcasters that are not in trouble, mainly because he has no debt and lots of assets. As we talked about the economic problems he shared a story with me, prefacing the story by saying that he believes we have gotten fat and slack in terms of our work ethic. “When I started out managing the station in 1958 I looked for salespeople everywhere. One of my favorite places was the bus station. I would watch people come off the bus and size them up. When I found one I would take them down to the thrift store and get them a couple of suits. When people are hungry they will work”. We aren’t willing to work that hard today, but the time may come when we will be willing to do whatever it takes.

When my friend got his start in radio it was during the 1950’s. This was an unusual time. We had finished the war to end all wars a decade before. We went through a recession after the war as 12 million men were suddenly unemployed. The fifties was a time of great growth and prosperity, but what made that happen? It helped that we were essentially the last man standing after the war. Most of the rebuilding fell upon us. But, we also had a work force that had been strengthened by trials. This was the generation that lived through the depression, fought the war and then experienced a recession when they came back from the war. They were tempered, hard working, disciplined and willing to do whatever it took to take care of their family. They weren’t thinking about the “toys” that they were going to buy, exotic vacations, 401 K’s or botox treatments. They were working to put a roof over their head and food in their family’s bellies. But, things got better and we soon began to experience unprecedented prosperity.

In less than 2 decades after the war it was all about “keeping up with the Jones’”. The “Greatest Generation” raised their kids to be the “Me Generation”. What went wrong? It is far more difficult to live with prosperity, than being poor. Prosperity makes us soft; when you are humbled God can work with you. You are willing to do whatever you have to and work your way up. Perhaps we need this dose of economic downturn to change the attitude and direction of our culture. Instead of Wii we will learn how to work.