Declaration Of Nondepence

If ever there were such a thing as a perfect bumper-sticker, it's this one: "New Company Policy--We Are Not Hiring Until Obama Is Gone." It sums up in a simple phrase both the plight and the pluck of the small business owner. West Georgia businessman Bill Looman has posted the notice on his place of business as well as on the trucks that deliver the named goods for U. S. Cranes, LLC.

Mr. Looman clearly has no love for Barack Hussein Obama, but he is also very clear that his ire is aimed at the economic mess that the Economist-in-Chief has created in his three short years in office rather than being aimed at Obama personally. Looman has been posting his policy on Facebook for some time, but a recent picture of the notice went viral on the internet. He has since received thousands of Facebook postings and e-mails regarding the signs. According to Looman, the comments are running 20-1 in favor of his position.

Mr. Looman is clearly able to think in terms of practical business necessity rather than political slogans. He is making the point that he is unable to hire rather than refusing to hire by choice. And he blames Obama and his socialist minions. In interviews, Looman has used the same word that economists and Wall Street pundits have been using regularly since the market crash. That word is "uncertainty." Looman says his successful business could be more successful if he could free up capital to purchase equipment and hire new employees.

But for now, given the already burdensome taxation and regulation on his business, he cannot expand so long as there is the expectation of additional taxes and regulation--an Obama certainty. He says that the cost of doing business has risen considerably in three years, and now he will be facing new fuel price increases, payroll taxes, and health care costs. Which would be bad enough if there were any way to calculate with certainty what those additional costs would be. For now, he is holding on to his current employees and his current capital rather than investing in the expansion of his business in order to have sufficient working capital when the next round of unknowable Obama costs strikes. Looman himself says that he can only hazard an educated guess as to how much he will actually need, but he knows he doesn't dare spend his reserve on expansion and/or hiring.

He summarizes his business thoughts by saying: "Can't afford it [hiring new employees]. I've got people I want to hire right now, but I just can't afford it. And I don't foresee that I'll be able to afford it unless some things change in DC." Looman is merely stating very publicly and very defiantly what millions of small and medium-size businesses know to be true. In the near future, if Obama remains in office, it is likely that we will see something worse than not hiring. We will be seeing massive small business layoffs and even failures.

In the event that Obama should be re-elected, those who vote for him will have a notice of their own to post: "I voted for Obama, and all I got was this lousy unemployment check."