One of the benefits of FRA meetings is hearing the thoughts of some of the smartest people in our industry. That was clearly the case at our recent Fall Board Meeting, with the state of our economy on everyone’s mind. A few comments and phrases that stuck in my head:
• Joe Young: “You have to be optimistic to be a logger, or you will not get out of bed.”
• Jim Contino: “Trying to be the healthiest leper in the colony.”
• Tommy L. Norris: “Times like these, you get better.”
Tommy’s words immediately made me think about the things we all are doing to run our businesses better. But I realized that he is also getting at something more specific.
Tough times, really tough times, when people lose or are close to losing their life’s work, bring forth emotions very similar to the loss of a family member. The “better” person that we can become is the one that rises above our own problems and goes to the aid of a friend who is struggling.
This help may be nothing more than just being there. It is the demonstration of genuine concern that matters. But speaking of tough times, I would like to touch on a problem that has been bearing down on all of us increasingly: Government Gone Wild. I was glad to see that the Board of Directors raised the broad problem of overregulation in full session this September and that we will be taking on this reality as an FRA action point.
It is shocking that, at a time when the struggle for economic recovery is on everyone’s agenda, the federal government takes steps that directly threaten business survival. You would think the top priority would be to remove barriers, in order to stimulate growth and jobs. That’s not happening. We are seeing radical, zealous attacks on our industry from both the federal Department of Labor and the EPA.
Why are senior policymakers in Washington following such a path? I can only conclude either that they are inept and do not understand how fundamental economics works, or that they have a radical socialist agenda that runs counter to everything that built our country.
Maybe the good news about bad times is that it wakes us up to the importance of staying connected— whether it’s in politics, friends, or family.
Dick Carmical
FRA Chairman