	Bob Hostetler > Writing

Thank You, Big Business

by Bob Hostetler

Big seems to be a dirty word these days. If political discourse (or what passes for it) continues the way it's been going recently, we will soon no longer need such once-useful words as "corrupt," "mean," "nasty," and "ew, like, totally gross."

Cases in point: Big Business. Big Oil. Big Tobacco.

"Business" may be bad, "oil" may be icky, "tobacco" is smelly and deadly…but Big Business, Big Oil, and Big Tobacco-those things are really, really, really bad. If you don't believe me, just listen to the politicians, pundits, and news anchors.

But I'm not buying it. In fact, I'd like to say thanks to some of those entities, and to one other class of people that are regularly and unfairly maligned:

Thank you, Big Business. Every time I hear Tom Brokaw (or one of his colleagues) use "Big Business" as an epithet, I feel the urge to slap the marbles out of his mouth and say, "Tom, who signs your paycheck? Isn't NBC owned by General Electric? If Big Business is so bad, take a principled stand and resign…or refuse the tainted money from the coffers of the Big Business/Media Giant you happen to work for." Call me selfish, but I would much rather have a company that employs several thousand people move into town than a network news anchor. Any day.

So thank you, big business, for manufacturing and marketing the goods and services that make my life easier. Thank you, big business, for televisions and microwaves, ATMS and airplanes, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Thank you for the fruits of your research and development. Thank you for the millions of people you employ, the jobs you create, the prosperity you foster. Thank you for the high taxes you often pay. Thank you for doing far more for the economy than any politician, pundit, or Hollywood activist.

While I'm at it, I should say thank you, Big Oil-ah, yes, the demon oil companies that want to destroy the very world they inhabit-for discovering, refining, and marketing a product that heats homes, fuels cruise ships and cargo ships, and gets me to and from the grocery store. Though some people accuse you of fixing prices and gouging customers, I'm keenly aware of the fact that a gallon of gas costs less today (adjusted for inflation) than way back at the end of President Carter's term. And, while I know your business is at least as subject to corruption and abuse as, say, Big Government, I'm glad that your efforts not only provide this consumer with cheap transportation but also-literally-fuel our interstate and international economy.

Thank you also to another much-maligned group: "the rich." A day cannot go by, it seems, without someone complaining about tax cuts that benefit "the rich," policies that favor "the rich," and even "welfare for the rich." Rich people are bad, really bad. Because they're so…well, rich.

But I would like to thank "the rich"-whoever you are. Because, you see, the 50 percent of American workers who make $22,000 per year or less pay under 5 percent of the taxes; that means that more than 95% of our public roads, facilities, services, and benefits (including, by the way, millionaire senators' hefty salaries and benefits packages) come from the other half: "the rich." And, while you often hear people reviling the "top one percent" or "top two percent" (or whatever percentage works best to make their point), it's mostly "the rich" who employ "the rest of us." Besides, it seems worse than hypocritical for politicians, media voices, and entertainment types to rail against "the rich" and then brush off their Savile Row suits, climb into their limos, light up their cigars, and congratulate themselves on their principles.

So I want to say thank you to "the rich." I know some of you worked very hard to become one of that much-reviled class. Some of you actually endured hardship to earn your wealth. Some of you have had to pay tax rates that looked more like highway robbery than civic duty. And, while not all of you are generous (or even honest), if it weren't for you, we wouldn't enjoy the jobs (even whole industries!), the taxpayer-funded public works, the parks and libraries, the philanthropic foundations, the endowments and scholarships, and so much more that you make possible.

So, while you definitely have your faults (as do we all), I thank you nonetheless-Big Business, Big Oil, and "the rich"-for making America far, far better than we would be without you.

This article appeared in the November 1, 2002 edition of the Hamilton Journal-News.

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