What I would like to hear from a leader this Thanksgiving.

My fellow Americans; we are on the verge of one of our great national holidays. A day set apart specifically to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Yet there are so many among us whose lives have taken a financial turn for the worse. And indeed the vast majority of Americans today are feeling less sure about their financial future than they were last Thanksgiving. The question on every ones mind seems to be 'how can we solve this massive problem facing all of us'? How can we fix the housing, the banking, and the auto industries whose downturns have lead to cut backs in every other job sector in this nation?

I wish one man could provide that answer. I wish one group of people, or even a political party had the ability to solve this. But history has taught us, if we will learn the tough lesson, that this can only be solved by the American people. We can dilly-dally if we’d like, fooling around with quick fix schemes that the government and industry call bailouts. However these bailouts only put off the hard work that has to be done and prolongs the pain. We need look no where else but our own history. Where the well meaning leaders of this nation offered the American public a New Deal when the economy fell upon hard times. This new deal gave millions of people jobs, and kept industries afloat. Yet after a decade of the government spending trillions of dollars with this New Deal, unemployment was still triple what it is right now, with soaring inflation. Those fortunate enough to have a job, worried that it wouldn’t still be there the next day. We now call it the Great Depression, but to those living it, it was a 10 year nightmare. So bad was life in the 1930’s, that relief came in the form of World War 2!

Why did conditions stay miserable for 10 years if the Government was doing all it could to help? Well the answer should be obvious. Government can’t fix the economy in a capitalist society. Government can only hurt it. But why? Again the answer is obvious if you step back to look at the problem. Government generates no income. Despite what some in Washington think, we can't "govern more", in order to bring in more revenue. All the money the federal government has, it had to take from the citizens who earned it. In order for government to spend money on projects, it has to take more money from citizens. That leaves less money for the citizens to spend in the marketplace. Slowing the economy. Higher taxes discourage people from working to get to the next level. And higher taxes discourage people from taking risks to create wealth. If Government decides to spend money with out taxing the citizens more, then it has to print more money. That devalues the money you have saved and earned. When you're money is worth less that's inflation. So in fact the government has taken money from your pocket once again by making the things you buy more expensive through inflation. The equation is rather simple. The more the government grows, the more the economy slows.

So if government can’t bail us out, and companies are failing and people are losing their jobs, what are we supposed to do? Well like I said earlier, the American people are going to have to provide that answer. If we in Washington will stay out of the way, and create incentives for you to build your dream, the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans will lead the way once more. There’s exciting breakthroughs for us to make. Can wind or solar power become efficient enough to run every home? Or is there another source we haven’t thought of? What will fuel our cars in the future? These breakthroughs will come from the private sector, not government. Despite what some may think the World Wide Web was actually created by a private citizen, not a Vice President. . On Christmas day 1990 Sir Timothy Berners Lee implemented the first successful communication between an HTTP client and server via the Internet. There’s no telling how many jobs were created by the Internet. But rest assured no government had a hand in creating that industry.

And let’s not forget small business. From flower shops, to garages, dentists, to Joe the plumber. Small business is the back bone of America. Government certainly isn’t going to help the small business man or woman by creating a national job corps and raising taxes. The best we can do for you, is tighten our own belts and stay out of your way.

Let’s be clear with ourselves. The next few years will be tougher than we’ve faced in quite a while. If we allow the government to attempt to bail us out we will surely extend that period. The late 1970’s were similar to the late 1920's and today. However both unemployment and inflation were much higher than where we are at now. Yet it was in the face of that, that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs launched new companies, in a field that at the time was 40 years old and yet these young men transformed it. They were helped by the government with tax incentives. Together Apple, and Microsoft along with other competitors they inspired to launch, have lead to millions of jobs that didn’t exist previously. I don’t know which field the next great employer will come from. But I do know that government can only slow that progress. We have clear lessons of the different ways to address these problems. The path of the 1930's New Deal bailout, or the path of 1980's low tax Capitalism. Capitalism doesn't promise there won't be rough times. It does promise the opportunity to work our way out any mess we find ourselves in, unlike bailouts which handcuff business and stifles the free market. For those among us who would argue taxes are as low now as they were in the 80's, I would remind them, you don't inspire a movement by doing nothing. Let's show the Americans who are willing to work for their dream that the government is going to help by giving big incentives to those who create new jobs, even if the job is just for themself.

So as your family and friends gather for Thanksgiving and some may grumble there’s nothing to be thankful for. Why not remind them of what our first President George Washington said back in 1789 when he proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday. “The fourth Thursday of each November shall be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be”. In other words, thank God for the good we’ve enjoyed in the past, and thank Him for we are sure there is good to come. Because we live in a free nation. Where our dreams are not shackled but encouraged. Where people can rise to their full potential without the burden of government restricting that growth. America is today, as it was at it’s formation, the country where you are born with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

There are millions of us in this great land. And all of us have been blessed by “the great and glorious Being” with different gifts. As a leader in Washington hopefully we are blessed with vision to see how we can best serve our citizens. And as a private citizen, now is the time for you to find what gift you have been blessed with, and then make the most of it. That will bless the country, honor your Creator, and most assuredly lead to your happiness.