Monday, November 28, 2011

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."

35 comments:

Joel Farnham said...

"...that I can't cash any where since there is no money left in the bank. Obama took it all."

I think that was left out. What do you think, LawHawk?

Tennessee Jed said...

Hawk - great article. You know, it sucks to be the party out of power and take any pleasure at all in seeing the economy suffer. BUT . . . . the reality is we ( and Mr. Looman) understand the reality of what has to change to expedite recovery. Sadly, a lot of people just read headlines or hear soundbites, so every little uptick in the economy will be trumpeted as the economic equivalent of "Peace is at Hand."

B.O. has to go. It is as simple as that, and the more obvious headlines that cannot be spun need to help him out the door, even if it is otherwise unhappy news for America.

tryanmax said...

I was hearing Arthur Brooks of AEI on the radio this morning and he was on this very same topic. He spelled out what he feels are the four primary sources of uncertainty: Dodd-Frank, Obamacare, EPA, NLRB. He implied that there are, of course, many other causes for reserve, but I am inclined to agree that those acts and agencies comprise the Mt. Rushmore of economic malaise.

He also spoke to the need for dealing with cronyism, as the two problems go hand in hand. Buddy organizations get exempted from the rules that stifle everyone else. His warning to the GOP was not to become the party of loopholes as they are seeming reluctant about closing any. He brought this last point together with a conversation about OWS, which allows me to LINK to his latest article, which I think is worth considering.

StanH said...

Mr. Looman has become quite the celebrity in these parts, and now the country, for having the courage to speak the truth. We must fix the mistake of ’08, before there will be any real recovery. Now comes 2012, may the healing begin!

Anonymous said...

Joel: I'm with you, brother.

Anonymous said...

Tennessee: Right on. The amount of free election boosting and publicity Obama will get from the MSM, such as declaring "prosperity is at hand--economy rebounds," is incalculable. Thank the Good Lord for the internet.

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: Thanks for the link and the info. There is whole mountain of money sitting out there unused because nobody wants to place a bet on a sure loser. They need certainty in and Obama out before they can take calculated risks which will get the economy going again.

Anonymous said...

Stan: The best stories lately seem to be coming out of your neck of the woods. In California, it's more like "kick me again, Oh Great One."

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: As for Dodd-Frank, we got rid of Dodd, and with Frank's announced exit maybe we can be rid of Dodd, Frank and Dodd-Frank. LOL

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

WTG Mr. Looman!
I just hope the MSM doesn't savage Mr. Looman like they did Joe the plumber.
And I wouldn't be surprised if ObaMao sent his IRS goons after him.

It really does take courage to speak out about this administration's tried, tested and failed again policies.
Far more courage than those OWS protestors imagine they have!

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

LawHawk:

I reckon Frank decided he can no longer do any more damage as a congress critter.
He'll probably get a nice lobbying job for Freddiemac or Fanniemay.

Or become an analyst for PBS or one of the networks.
Of course, I use that term analyst with as much sarcasm as I can muster because we all know Frank can't analyze himself out of a wet paper bag, lol.

This is good news though.

AndrewPrice said...

I'm glad he's saying this openly because millions of other businesses are just doing this without saying anything. It's time that business got more vocal about the problems Obama is causing them because the public needs to hear that there are consequences to voting for fools.

Anonymous said...

USSBen: I have no doubt that the Obamists, officially or unofficially, are already planning to shut Looman down. "Thou shalt not take the name of The One in vain."

Anonymous said...

Ben: For a poor kid with a lisp, Frank can retire very comfortably. But I can't imagine he will. He is an officious intermeddler who can no more leave his chosen left-wing course of socialist destruction than he could stop breathing. Maybe Obama will create a new agency and make Frank the bank czar.

Anonymous said...

Andrew: Amen! Going along to get along is just not a viable option. It's time for more business owners to start speaking up, loudly and publicly. One man (Looman) has already gotten the nation's attention. Imagine what could happen if thousands of them did the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Looman is already getting moral support from some prominent business owners. "Jobs creation" is just an empty mantra. Jobs are created by businesses. Successful businesses hire as a matter of course.

Among those stating that fact along with Looman, and pointing out why so many are not hiring, is Steve Wynn: "What the President and his antagonistic supporters seemingly fail to understand is that the more belligerent they become with business owners, the less productive those businesses become. This administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime…my customers… are frightened of this administration… Everybody complains about how much money is on the side in America…those of us who have business opportunities and the capital to do it are going to sit in fear of the President. And a lot of people don’t want to say that. They’ll say, God, don’t be attacking Obama. Well, this is Obama’s deal and it’s Obama that’s responsible for this fear in America…”

Individualist said...

Lawhawk

The Department of Energy, the EPA and the Us Attorney Generals are going to barge into Us Cranes in Ga and take all their inventory because they failed to buy the right kind of chinese plastic for the seat cushions in 3.... 2.... 1....

Anonymous said...

Indi: Ya know, I actually find that totally believable. Of course any crane company that has not complained will be left alone, even if they have exactly the same Chinese plastic seat cushions. The One giveth, and The One taketh away. Blessed be the name of The One.

tryanmax said...

Dodd and Frank may be out, but I'm afraid Reagan knew what he was talking about when he said that a government program is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.

Still, with legislation's father and mother both out of the picture, their might be some momentum to get rid of the bastard bill.

Thachapi Tom said...

Hawk
I received an e-mail about the latest from the White House.
The artist who has for years painted Christmas Tree ornaments for the White House trees received the request this year that is different from years past.
This years letter stated that they would not be called Christmas trees. They will be called Holiday trees.
And please do not send any ornaments painted with a religious theme.
She wrote back that she did Christmas tree ornaments and would not be sending any ornaments that left out Christ.
These people are on a path to destroy America as surely as I breath.
No one can be comfortable any more.
We are sitting in the snake pit and all we can do is stay still and hope.

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: With a Republican president and a Republican Congress (neither of which is a sure thing), I believe we can get rid of both Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley. On the other hand, Reagan was a great expositor of reality.

Anonymous said...

Tehachapi Tom: To be perfectly frank, that sounds like the stories we've heard for three Christmases now. Such as the Mao and Satanic ornaments we heard about a couple of years ago. It sounds like something the Obamas would do if they thought they could get away with it, but I have my serious doubts that such a letter would ever have seen the light of day--or even be written. But I could be wrong. Still, the previous stories were debunked.

Joel Farnham said...

The real sad thing about the story Tom related is that too many people wouldn't put it past Obama and crew and that the story NEEDS to be debunked. Also, it has happened across the nation that people have been "encouraged" to secularize Christmas. I have at least seen three "Holiday" school schedules and I live at a god-fearing area of the country.

Anonymous said...

Joel: Absolutely correct. We should have a president who would be sufficiently honest and transparent that such a story would be simply laughed off. But nobody trusts this man. So almost anything is believable, particularly given some of his more outrageous words and acts which are well-documented.

I think there has been a serious backlash against the secularization of Christmas (the religious event, not the shopping season).

When I was growing up, "happy holidays" was a sentiment expressed regularly and by almost everyone as a companion to Merry Christmas. Now I'm always suspicious of it since it became the replacement for Merry Christmas. I would never require that an employee say Merry Christmas, but I would fight tooth-and-nail any policy which says the employee can't say it.

Individualist said...

Lawhawk

You need to reevaluate your Thought Editing Regulating Doubethink Device (TERD device) which as you know was instantly mandatory as part of the Obamacare law. Actually you don't know that since the device prevents you from knowing but it is in the software that was installed in the memory of the chip.

If the device were working you would be well informed (indoctrinated) that Jesus was indeed a liberal and as a liberal he wanted you to give all your money to Caesar (the government) and never mention his name in public or discuss his teachings with anyone.

Both of these truths have been retold by the talking heads that determine correct thought and in m any cases repeated both by the same individuals so naturally there is no disconnect.

2 + 2 = 5

War is Peace
Ignorance is strength
Freedom is slavery

David Axelrod er.. Bi Brother is watching you

tryanmax said...

I'm just curious..."Bi Brother" was intentional, right? I mean, I didn't know he is bi, not that there is anything wrong with that.

patti said...

Mr. Looman is a hero among us for speaking the direct truth. what a shame for businesses that they have to endure barry's asshatiness.

Individualist said...

Big Brother Bi Brother

LOL its all the same....

tryanmax said...

patti, isn't "asshat" the best word ever?

Anonymous said...

Indi: Jesus only a liberal? I though we were supposed to believe he was a hardcore socialist. But I did some careful research, and found out that you're right about giving all your money to the government. "Caesar" is the Latin word for "Obama."

Anonymous said...

Patti: He's a bit of a hero here in the Central Valley of California as well. At least two locally-owned gas stations have "Nobama" signs up, and well as one restaurant.

Anonymous said...

Indi and tryanmax: I like Bi Brother. In fact, it's a perfect description of the prissy Obama rather than Axelrod.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and ditto on "asshat."

patti said...

tryanmax: yes, asshat is right up there with best words ever. there's no error of "is that a good thing or a bad thing" confusion.

Anonymous said...

Patti and tryanmax: A good tale is worth repeating. Here is the link to Iowahawk's "Heere Bigynneth the Tale of the Asse-Hatte" link.

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