[FreedomFriend]

Taxes are one of the main reasons for small business failure. Personally, I know of small businesses that have been taxed (federal, state, local, ordinances, fees, etc.) in the amount of $50,000-$100,000 per year when their total sales was about $230,000-$300,000.

Think about how that wipes out any profit that you may have had after food, merchandise, labor, and operation costs?

[Slyfox]

What do I think about a lawsuit? I don't know about that. I do know that when my better half and I were starting out we qualified for a low rent apartment. I looked at a few of them and said "No Way!" They were rat traps. We bit the bullet a little harder and came up with enough money to afford a nice apartment. When we bought our first house you can bet your bottom dollar we worked like dogs to buy a nice house in a nice area. Now, why has the federal government gotten rid of the prime incentive to work for something better? It worked for me. Now, after many years of hard work to get what I have, people are moving into my neighborhood who aren't lifting a finger to have a similar lifestyle. And they don't leave their crime and their bad landscaping habits from whence they have come.

A lady I know masterminded a zoning code enforcement effort that forced a bunch of out-of-state apartment owners to fix their places or tear them down. Crime has went down since she got the city's attention about it. That may be one way to counteract some of it.

We have a neighbor from some country that likes to live in brightly-colored houses. They painted their two-story BRICK house a limey-blue green and trimmed it in a bright royal blue. We were pulling our hair out. Last week, I noticed some painters were giving it a fresh coat of dull old beige with white trim. I actually got out of my car and thanked the painters. I guess the Neighborhood Beautification Patrol must have finally got to them.

You know, back at the turn of the last century, when my Polish great-grandparents moved to Michigan, they were handed a book on how to settle the land, build a house and they were also about the local American living standards. Not only were they encouraged to learn English but they were also given a heads up on how to fit in with their new neighbors. They were taught to be good citizens.