There are some kinds of small business help we can do without.
I’m sick and tired of so-called advocates for small business running a “this country sucks” lie up the flagpole in hopes of becoming relevant themselves. Today I had a guy from the National Chamber of Commerce stop in to “set an appointment.” After a little digging, he told me, “I’m here to talk to you about saving our economy.”
I told him he would have to deal with the fact that our company has grown exponentially thanks to a growing economy, and the growing small businesses we serve.
“We think the economy is doing just fine.”
His face darkened as he explained to me that I didn’t understand what was going on out there.
I couldn’t resist poking him. I explained that we are in service to more than a thousand small businesses and in contact with 2500 more, and they too are growing.
He then tossed out an ambiguous percentage pertaining to job growth, and I countered with, “That’s a neat number but it’s not based in fact. You just made it up.”
Undeterred, he switched gears and went straight to, “We are doing important work towards tort reform.”
I rebutted with the fact that I am for citizens deciding things by jury, not idiots intervening with laws which predetermine the outcome of a trial by jury.
We went back and forth a few more times, and when I explained that he was in the front office of a company which helps employers avoid lawsuits, and that tort reform is government overreach, he seemed to slip a gasket and want to actually fight. Before today, I’m not sure when the last time he was told to leave a building was.
It felt mighty good to take a stand for small businesses.
I did feel a little remorse at not being able to be a little nicer in the face of his arrogance. Kindness kills people like him who dedicate their lives to negative agendas and no real solutions other than complaining. I don’t think I used a single curse word – but because he was a little drunk on his own message, unable to comprehend what was being said to him, I thought for a moment he was going to need to be “bounced,” college-days style, in order to get him to leave. Instead, all of the sudden he realized he’d been cut off and stumbled out the door.
Hopefully the next business decided not to serve him.