Masonry Magazine October 1992 Page. 6
FROM THE PRESIDENT
By RICHARD MATTHEWS
President, Mason Contractors
Association of America
It's Time to Reduce Government and Promote Business
THE RISING COST OF REGULATIONS to business is staggering. Not just in dollars spent, but also in the degree to which they stifle economic growth, especially for small companies. The accelerating costs of federal regulations for business raises questions about how far the government should go. Brink Lindsey, director of regulatory studies for the Cato Institute, a public policy research organization, says "The current level of regulation is so high, so complicated and so intrusive that it's strangling business and suppressing productivity."
Consider what's now pending before Congress regarding OSHA. The Safety And Health Reform Bill, OSHA Improvement/Expansion Act and the mind boggling, OSHA Criminal Penalty Reform Act. Add to this, Family Medical Leave and Mandated Health Care. All of this will have a major impact on your bottom line.
Two other regulations passed into law in 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments and he Americans with Disabilities Act (effective in late July for employers with 25 or more workers) have varying degrees of impact on our members. Along with OSHA's new enforcement and increased fines which has gone into effect this year, one wonders if it's worth the risk to stay in business.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not against health and safety. Certainly there are benefits to having clean air, making accommodations to employ people with disabilities and safe jobsites. But just how far should lawmakers, and regulators go in trying to reach those objectives? It's not a question of no regulation at all, but rather overregulation.
As a small business owner, I work long days, many times six days a week. I've always paid my employees, taxes, and creditors ahead of myself. I've put quality ahead of profit. I take pride in the work we do. Unfortunately, I feel that hard work and professionalism are becoming criminal acts. We are being punished by ever increasing taxes and government regulations. America's work ethic, that we were once proud of, is being suppressed by government expansionism. It's time to reduce government and promote business.
There are winds of change sweeping our country, and 1992 may be the year when a tornado of political upheaval touches down. In the past twenty years, we've never seen so much disenchantment, as much political unrest, so much sheer citizen anger that seems to be lurking just below the surface of current events.
In this kind of political climate, the meek will be devoured. When you have something worth protecting, you better be prepared to do battle. When things are finally sorted out, there will be some victors-and I plan to have our industry and MCAA among them. Today, you have to approach political battles like an old fashion street fight in order to prevail.
So climb into MCAA's corner and help us carry this fight to victory. We need to become more involved and more informed. We need to become informed about issues that affect mason contractors and suppliers directly. We need to find out how the candidates currently running feel about our issues. We must educate ourselves and the candidates on how we feel on issues that directly affect us. Then we must support those candidates that feel the same way we do-and work against those who don't support us.
In the months ahead, I promise you you will see MCAA become more active and energetic than ever before. Remind every mason contractor you know that MCAA is the only voice they have to protect their rights, and that we need them on our side-right now.
MCAA will continue to work in Washington for the betterment of our industry. We will work even harder to develop stronger ties with those associations who have similar interests so we can effectively impact the decisions that come out of Washington.
This November-Remember to get out and vote.
6 MASONRY-SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1992