Change needed for businesses to thrive

I have been lucky enough to hold the same job for 27 years. Well, luck has been part of it showing up every day and being productive have also played a part. I sell and service equipment to large and small companies, and without any doubt the past few years have been the toughest as corporate America is basically on hold.

It started, in my opinion, when politicians, always pandering for votes, decided that homeownership was everyone's right, and things have cascaded downward ever since. Almost two years ago the country, with a lot of help from an over-the-top cooperative media, elected a new administration that has taken a bad situation and made it much worse. They can talk all they want about inheritance or what may have happened if there had not been the stimulus, but from the point of view of someone who deals with corporate America every day the biggest problem is the uncertainty.

We are in late October and no individual or business knows what their tax rate will be in 2011. It is said that corporate America is hoarding over $2 trillion that would normally be used for expansion. I have lost track of how many times I have heard “we are on hold right now” from potential customers. Competent business people do not spend money on equipment or new hires when they don't know future costs.

I firmly believe that if the midterm elections send a clear message that the Obama/Pelosi reign is one and done, the economy will pick up as consumer as corporate confidence increases. Then the president and his like-minded friends can huddle and discuss how ignorant and biased mainstream America is while the rest of us are busy implementing tried-and-true methods that reward accomplishment and productivity.

Marc Thomsen

Elk Grove Village