Posted on 07/07/2018 3:05:23 PM PDT by RightGeek
I went for a haircut today. Money is no object when it comes to my appearance – only the absolute finest will do. So I went to Sport Clips in the strip mall next to Target, with a $3 coupon in hand. Like many other fashion-conscious men, I frequent this establishment and don’t think I’ve ever had my hair cut by the same person twice. Like many other seemingly mundane things, this interests me. Well, most of the things that interest me actually are mundane, I suppose. But I’m fascinated by these young ladies. Who are they? Where do they come from? Where do they go? So I’ve applied for a federal grant to study attractive, rural, 30-year-old women who cut hair at gimmicky chain barber shops.
Well, actually, no – I just talk to them. And I learn a lot.
Kaitlyn (not her real name) just moved here from Georgia. Her husband is an auto mechanic. “He can fix anything with four wheels! Well, except my car – it runs like crap!” She went on at some length about how good he was at fixing things. His plan was to start his own shop once they moved here. They moved into a double-wide trailer that had a nice pole barn out back, which he planned to outfit with electric and a high-end air compressor, maybe even a grease pit, and start his own business.
He spent almost a year working on permits, licenses, inspections, and so on. He spoke to people from the county, city, state, feds, and the EPA. He talked to attorneys, accountants, and consultants to help wade through all the red tape. After about a year, he realized that the start-up costs were more than he was willing to gamble on the eventual success of a business that did not yet exist, so he got a job with the city, maintaining their trucks and mowing equipment. It doesn’t pay very well, but it has good benefits. It’s not a bad job, she says. Nothing to complain about. Everything is ok.
Kaitlyn did a great job on my hair, was very pleasant and personable, and is clearly very intelligent. She said that a few miles from their house, a barber recently retired. She considered buying his shop. She’s always dreamed of owning her own business. She said that’s the whole reason she went to cosmetology school. I said that sounded great – the shop is already set up, it has a large group of established customers, and she could expand from there.
She said that she spent several months looking into it, but she would need permits, licenses, inspections, and so on. I pointed out that it has been a barber’s shop for years, so the inspections, permits, and so on would already be done. She said that it would be a new business, and she would have to pay for all that to be done over again. She spoke with attorneys, accountants, and consultants to help wade through all the red tape – some of the same individuals that her husband had just consulted. She soon realized that the start-up costs were more than she was willing to gamble, so she got a job with a chain. The pay is not very good, and the benefits are lousy. One reason her husband took a government job was for the health insurance for their family. But she doesn’t mind working for Sport Clips – it’s a decent job, she says. Nothing to complain about. Everything is ok.
So how does this story end?
Well, in my view, it’s already ended. This young couple from a modest background has all the potential in the world. They’re both ambitious, intelligent, and very good at a valuable skill. They’re devoted to their family, their dreams, and each other. They dream of better things and are willing to gamble, willing to work hard today for a better tomorrow, and willing to take on the additional responsibilities that come with owning a business. They’re savvy enough with modern government to hire attorneys and consultants to help with the red tape.
And even they can’t open a new business, to do something they already know how to do.
And 30 years from now, nothing will have happened.
My Uncle Fred (Frederic Bastiat) described this as the seen versus the unseen. Progressives win elections because the benefits they provide are immediate and obvious. They give people free money with taxpayer dollars, or build highways with taxpayer dollars, or start new general assistance programs with taxpayer dollars. They’re working for you, and anyone with eyes can see it. The benefits provided by progressives are seen.
But the damage they cause is mostly unseen. In 30 years, Kaitlyn and her husband could have retired to a very nice community on the Gulf Coast and played golf for the rest of their lives. But they won’t. She’ll still be cutting hair for $12 an hour plus tips, and he’ll still be fixing lawn mowers for the city. Just like they are now.
They didn’t lose a fortune, because they never had the opportunity to earn one. Nothing happened. There they sit. And there they’ll stay.
Progressives may think they’re utopians who dream of a better tomorrow. But, in reality, they are the robotic defenders of the status quo. Everything stays the same because nothing happens. And when things don’t happen, those things don’t make the evening news. They didn’t happen at all, so there’s nothing to complain about. Everything is basically ok. And that’s the way it will stay.
Until it doesn’t.
Change is scary. You never know what might happen. It might be good. It might be bad. You roll the dice like this young couple tried to do. Twice.
Or you don’t. Like progressives do, every day.
I wonder if Kaitlyn views progressives as nice people who are trying to help her. Or if she views them as well-meaning fools, as I do when I’m trying to be charitable.
But in bed late at night, I wonder if she ever hates them for destroying her life and the lives of her children.
Probably not. Because nothing really happened. And nothing ever will.
There’s nothing to complain about.
Everything is ok.
I left her a $10 tip for a $15 haircut, and I walked out. I looked good – it really was a sharp haircut. But I felt like I wanted to puke.
Everything is not ok.
My daughter worked for a company in CA but was constantly sent on contracts in the Pacific Northwest. She decided to move to the Northwest and set up her own business. Working out of her home she has low overhead an can under bid every other company. She does environmental surveys for construction projects. From day one she’s always had contracts and has a booming one person business. She did her homework on studying the market.
Turned out, it was a city parking lot and nobody was running it at all ever. Guy made a mint.
“Americans, on average, unknowingly commit four violations of law each day. “
That’s why I gave up....on doing anything.
As the old saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I assume if all failed she still has her knowledge to rely on. I’m betting she doesn’t want it bad enough. Also, some people are not made to be owners.
Kaitlyn (not her real name) and her husband will be fine. They sound like good workers. I’m sure your generous tip was appreciated. Good job, Geek. If they are smart, keep a good attitude and have supportive parents, their lives will be GREAT.
(ABSOLUTELY the government is too large and OUT-OF-CONTROL)
I ran into the same hardships with my business.
you know what I did to make it and grow it to a point where I could retire at 34 ?
I broke the rules. no permits. No insurance. No lawyers or bankers or accountants or insurance reps.
If you do everything by the book you need to be rich before you can open a business. If you want to be a business owner you just go for it.
you can’t be a doctor this way, but you can fix someone’s car.
“moved to Cape Cod where I spend my time making life miserable for Red Sox and Pats fans (I’m a Yankees-Giants guy)”
While you are at it, make life miserable for all the filthy democrats up there,
Wait, I am just the poster, not the author!
I was thinking much the same thing when I read this
To me, everyone has missed the point, not even one that the author was making. It is a great article that not only illuminates the harm of government, but illustrates why younger people can’t connect the notion of government to the problems in their personal lives. I have 2— 40 plus educated professional daughters both dealing with issues that at first glance seem to be personal in nature—job dissatisfaction and rebellious teens. They don’t have the slightest notion that they are dealing with the residuals of a permissive society and the discouragement of personal initiative...and get angry when I try to point that out.
“Progressives want the government to control everything in order to enrich themselves and their cronies.”
I disagree.
Imo, progressives want what the Morally Reprehensible Elites (MRE) tell them to want. There is no thinking by progressives at all. Just the feelz they’re told to feelz.
A necessary trait to be a progressive is the inability to relate cause to effect over time.
It’s the MRE that rake in the benies from the manipulation of the hordes of progressive useful idiots.
If the MRE win in the final push, it’s the progressive useful idiots that’ll fill most of the death camps. The MRE know full well that anyone stupid enough to believe their propaganda is stupid enough to believe anything and will, therefore, always be a danger to the MRE.
Exactly, and exactly why I haven’t started my own business.
LOL - happened to our next-door neighbor. Went in and told the guy "I want to look like (Mr. Inspectorette). Barber told him hell will freeze over first.
The writer blames all of this on Progressives. It is the fault of the FERAL Government pure and simple. A government that is run by the non elected organizations setup by a bunch of lazy ass politicians
Then there’s islam….
I’ve been saying for some time that most, if not all, forms of licensure constitute a legalized bribery scheme.
You get a diploma from a medical school, guess what. You’re a Doctor. State license boards be damned.
Same with law school.
As far as auto mechanics and barbers are concerned, either you can or you can’t. Got a bad haircut? Wait for it to grow out and go to someone else next time. I’ve cut my own damned hair and got away with it, mostly because I *wanted* to buzz it to the scalp for reasons. That time.
As for opening a business, retail or service? Shouldn’t have to do anything but rent or buy a storefront and do it. Some protective regulations involved with the hiring of employees, but that shouldn’t be burdensome. In fact, if you can literally get someone to work for peanuts because that’s all they want, good for you.
And don’t get me started on paying bribes to state officials to get permission slips to keep and bear arms. That should NEVER have existed in this country after 1791, and ought to be set on fire and the ashes plowed into the earth.
Rant over.
This time.
"Mmmm... (thumbs through book)
That's a violation of city ordinance 118.C. 'Giving up without a proper notarized inspection and permit.'
See if you can find those documents while I get my ticket book out of the (Obama DOT-mandated) city electric micro-truck..."
OOPS! Thanks for posting, RightGeek.
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