Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. KING of Iowa asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) This resolution is about the on-premise sign industry. They…
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. KING of Iowa asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
This resolution is about the on-premise sign industry. They say that a business without a sign is a sign of no business. This commonsense truism is proof that a well-designed, on- premise sign can help small businesses succeed.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, on-premise signs are the ``most effective, yet least expensive form of advertising for small businesses.''
Small businesses need all the help they can get during these difficult economic times that we are currently experiencing, which would allow them with the signage help, to use effective advertising as a good start.
I say this as someone who brings over 35 years of small business experience to the table, which would include 8 years on the House Small Business Committee, from which this resolution comes.
Just to touch some of the high spots on the on-premise sign industry, we have small businesses in particular that are at a competitive disadvantage with the large industries in the country today. One of the things that helps them compete is the effectiveness of being able to place signs in proper locations.
When I think about driving down the road and often we're looking for the signage that directs us on where we turn off--the right turn for gas, food, or clothing, or whatever it might be--it wouldn't be America if it weren't for the on-premise signs. It helps direct customers to the small business sites.
I want to also add, Mr. Speaker, that the Small Business Act empowers the Small Business Administration to take actions to relieve the competitive disadvantage that small businesses face. The Small Business Administration has recognized the value of on-premise signage, as we recognize in this resolution tonight.
I will say that it's a sign of the entrepreneurs in this country. It's a sign of their success. And lack of a sign is an indication of a potential business failure. We simply cannot find these businesses to do business with them if it were not for signage, Mr. Speaker. That's what brings this resolution here.
I'd also address that small business feels this pressure of this downward economic spiral as much as or more than any other sector of this economy. They are pressured by their customers' lack of revenue, they're pressured by budgets being squeezed, by large corporations, the pressure by the demands of an economy that has shrunk dramatically and that continues to stagnate in the bottom of the trough. They're pressured by taxation and regulation more so than large businesses are.
The businesses that need these signs up in front of them are also the ones that are under the scrutiny of the IRS. They're under the scrutiny of the Federal regulators. There is some information that I have accumulated that shows that the businesses in this country are subjected to over 680 Federal regulating agencies. Six hundred-eighty. And the burden that small business has is they don't have multiple floors in their high-rise office buildings that are full of lawyers and counselors that are in the business of keeping these businesses in compliance with all the Federal regulations.
They need to have their property rights preserved. They need to have low taxation and low regulation. Big business will often come to this Congress and advocate for more regulations because they know it puts them at a competitive advantage over the small businesses that are at a distinct disadvantage, Mr. Speaker.
These businesses need every advantage we can give them because they are the incubators for the businesses that will grow into the large employers into the future. They happen to also be the businesses that employ a significant majority--70 to 80 percent--of the employees in this country.
They can't make it without signs. They can't make it without being able to exercise those property rights. The Small Business Administration recognizes that. We recognize that, also, in this resolution tonight, as we recognize the burden of this economy, the burden of this budget, and the extravagant expenses and spending that's taking place that's rolling out from the top reaches of the government in this country.
Somehow, there has been this tsunami of a current that has swallowed us up--a Keynesian current--the idea that we can spend and borrow our way into prosperity, even though a family can't do that, a small business knows they can't do that, the on-premise sign industry knows that you can't do that.
You've got to have effective utilization of the resources in order to find a profit so that you can hire people. That's what creates jobs, is profit. Productivity marketed well, with good advertising, creates the profit that's necessary in order to hire employees and it creates the good jobs.
I want to provide the provision so that in this country our small businesses can succeed with signage, with low taxes, low regulation, and not putting the burden off onto future generations.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.
I would yield myself the balance of my time.
To reiterate these points that I've made, it may not serve a purpose here, but I would take us back to where we stand with the Federal spending that exists today.
This Federal spending that doubles our deficit in 5 years and triples it in 10 years, this spending, this profligate spending that's rooted in the Keynesian philosophy--John Maynard Keynes--who said, ``I can solve all the unemployment in America.'' This is during the economic crisis called the Great Depression of the thirties.
How did he propose to solve all the unemployment problem in America? He said, If I can just go out to an abandoned coal mine and drill a lot of holes into the bottom of that abandoned coal mine and put U.S. dollars in those holes, fill them back up again and fill the coal mine full of garbage''--and that was the word he used, was garbage, which I thought was interesting--then he would turn the entrepreneurs in America loose and they could go about digging through that garbage and that would put everybody to work and it would solve the unemployment.
This is the mindset that prevails in this psychology that comes from those who are spending trillions and trillions of our grandchildren's dollars.
It's interesting. I don't know that John Maynard Keynes when he talked about digging holes and burying money and filling the coal mine up with garbage, he didn't talk about the signage necessary to be able to direct the entrepreneurs to the landfill or the coal mine so they could begin to dig through that garbage and come up with this money.
In fact, Keynes said: The more foolish the spending, the better, because at least when you spend it in a foolish way, it's not competing directly with the private sector that has, by virtue of it being able to compete, demonstrated that it is a more prudent expenditure than government can possibly make.
So I don't submit that we bury money in the coal mine or fill the coal mine up with garbage. I think that the EPA would probably raise an objection with that, Mr. Speaker. But I do submit that we get our wits about us, get a handle on what we're doing with our expenditures, get control of this profligate spending that's taking place and take responsibility in our time, in our generation, this year, now, here, in the House of Representatives, instead of delaying it off onto future generations.
Let's tighten our belt now like a family would tighten their belt now. Let's make sure that the entrepreneurs in America have the tools they need to help us recover from this downward spiral in our economy.
Let's keep the taxes low, let's keep our spending low, let's keep our borrowing low. Let's keep our regulations low and let's put our signs up high so everybody can see where to turn off to the small business and do business there.
I yield back the balance of my time.
announcement by the speaker pro tempore
