President Obama made the biggest guffaw of his reign last week when he attacked entrepreneurs who built their own businesses from the ground up. He stated that they did not do it on their own, the government made it possible. The implication is that without government intervention no one can succeed in America. This President doesn't know what he is talking about! He has no idea of what it is like to start a business, hire employees, and build it into a successful enterprise. He does not understand the impediments our government places in the path of those hard working people who want to achieve the American Dream.

When my business partner and I started our company, we had nothing but a few ideas and a desire to create a business that would support our family. For the first decade, we were at the mercy of our cash flow. If we got a large contract, it meant scrimping to conserve cash until the client paid their invoice. In the meantime, we had to pay our staff, Worker's Compensation, our office and facility costs and yes taxes. If there was any money left over at the end of the year, we paid ourselves. There were no government grants, nor were there small business programs giving us cash. It was all on us. After a decade of struggling, we became a leader in our niche. We could finally pay ourselves regularly and enjoy some of the fruits of our labors.The government was not there when we started. In fact they placed roadblocks in front of us. Simple questions required careful consideration. The one that irks me the most was determining the difference between a contractor and an employee. Our competitors used contractors and paid them by the day. This had many advantages as they did not have to pay Social Security and fringe benefits to contractors. We engaged an attorney to determine the employment status of people we thought were contractors. To make a long story short, the IRS ruled that people who work for us just two days a year were in fact employees. We followed the ruling even though our competitors did not. To add insult to injury, the IRS never enforced the employer/contractor issue in our industry. As you can imagine, when contractors are deemed employees, the company's expenses were much higher and the profits were lower. Our ability to grow was hindered by complying with senseless regulations and poor enforcement of the rules by the regulators.What Emperor Obama does not understand is that it is the business community that creates jobs in our country. His constant attacks on successful business people make it difficult for an entrepreneur to succeed. By raising taxes on "the rich", the Emperor is confiscating business cash flow that could otherwise be used for business expansion, job creation and to create a more favorable balance of trade. With unemployment remaining above eight percent with no hint that it will move lower in the near future, confiscating the assets of small businesses can only lead to fewer jobs and economic stagnation.Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is the private sector that creates jobs. It is the government that sucks the lifeblood out of successful enterprises, redistributing the profits of the industrious and giving it to those who choose not to work. I do believe that we must look after the old, the infirm, and those who are temporarily between positions. We should help them and ensure that they and their families have what they need. Pensioners need a roof over their heads, food, medicines and a social network to ensure that they have what they need to live comfortably.The unemployed need a cash cushion to support them and their families while they search for work. We should not support those who are able to work but choose to sit in front of their televisions watching Oprah Winfrey. We should not encourage them to have additional children solely to increase their welfare payments. Instead we should provide them with the tools they need to reenter the workplace or to start a business. We should congratulate each and every person who successfully gets off the public dole and becomes a productive member of the business community.The President's continuous attack on those who risk their capital and even their homes to start a business can only lead to less risk-taking and less growth. For the last several months I wondered whether the President was a left wing Democrat or a socialist. With his actions and words over the last two weeks, I believe he must be a full-blown socialist. If he continues on his current path, it is only a matter of time until he could be considered a communist. His socialist programs increase the tax burden on "the rich". His words echo those of the first socialist, Karl Marx: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". In other words, take money from those who work and toil every day and give it to those who do little or nothing to support themselves. Such an economic strategy can only result in fewer high achievers and more sloths. As a result, those with capital will send it overseas resulting in an economic downturn that will increase unemployment. Fewer taxes will be raised at a time when more people than ever before need government assistance.My message to President Obama is to get off the backs of entrepreneurs, small businessmen and women and successful corporations. Leave us alone! Let us keep more of our profits so we can invest it in business expansion. In return, we will expand the economy, hire more people and put our fellow citizens back to work. If the President wants to speed-up the recovery, then he should lower taxes on the upper and middle classes. Instead of paying unemployment and welfare benefits to those who are unable to find work, he should fund economic development. Give businesses low-cost loans to move their overseas factories back to America. Reward businesses for repatriating overseas jobs. Reduce regulations so that new and existing businesses can lower the cost of regulatory compliance. But most of all, create an environment where success is rewarded, not vilified.If President Obama is re-elected in November, our country will continue the downward spiral into government dependency. To win our country back from the socialists we need to get the message out to the voters. Mitt Romney is not my ideal candidate. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate, does not have the votes to win the election. If Obama is to be defeated, then we must rally behind the only candidate who has a chance to win, Mitt Romney. We must throw the incumbent out of the White House in November. But we must also carefully watch the new president to ensure that he remains true to his promises. As soon as Romney deviates from his plan, we must use our letters and e-mails to let him know that the people are watching him carefully. He must be the president that leads America back to its former greatness and gives every American a chance to be successful.© 2012 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved