It doesn’t pay to be a capitalist anymore. A recent article about beekeepers receiving WNC AgOptions grants from the Cooperative Extension is just one example of people getting into business they can’t afford. What’s more, government offers stupid assistance with things lilke making business plans. Guess what? The economy was faring much better before businesses felt compelled to have mission and vision statements, hire facilitators for corporate retreats to do SWAT analyses, learn how to work together as a team, and list some gooey buzzwords, following which participants say, “This is exciting!”
While a subset of businesses are accepting tax money to stay afloat, another, not necessarily mutually exclusive, subset feels compelled to do the Ben & Jerry thing and jack prices up to contribute to a charity that customers are too stupid to identify for themselves. The economy is such that about half the people with whom I associate earn no income. I’ve often remarked that those who wish to work need to get a third job to support those who don’t wish to.