Power to the People!

Submitted by ASO member: Bradley Blakeman

The greatness of America rests not in our government, it rests in our people. We should not be growing government in trying times; we should be unleashing the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our businessmen and women, our scientists, our students, and our inventors.

Growing government, to some how make up for the lost productivity of the private sector makes no sense. At this time, government should be cutting costs and reducing spending. Our lawmakers should be cutting taxes and providing incentives to the marketplace for investment and ingenuity.

Businesses that have been mismanaged should fail. Businesses that need to reorganize under bankruptcy laws, should do so. Government bailouts are not the answer. Our laws are for everyone, the corporation and the individual, the big, the tall and the small.

Our government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers by providing taxpayer funds to finance greedy, corrupt or incompetent businesses and practices.

People and corporations must be held accountable for their behavior, including but not limited to their business decisions. There must be more than a sense of responsibility it must be real and it must be accounted for.

There must be consequences. For those who have violated the public trust, they should be brought to justice and for those who have acted incompetently, they should be removed.

The marketplace is resilient. We will come back stronger economically, if Wall Street and Main Street operate on the same rules and principles.

Now is the time for sacrifice, but out of sacrifice we will be a stronger nation. We have all lost something of value in this past year, but there is nothing more valuable than our collective spirit and that is still in tact and unwavering.

The American People can solve any problem and over come any diversity. My message to my government is simple, "Let my People go"! Get out of our way and lighten our load and we will come back stronger than ever.