Letter: People create business: Business exists despite government, not because of it

Robert Neale, like President Obama, wants to put the cart before the horse ("Teamwork between American people and government brings success," Readers' Forum, July 29). Business exists despite government, not because of it.

From the first time a hunter traded part of his kill for berries from the gatherer, business has been conducted without the "help" of government. Neale suggests that American accomplishments are "only because we have a government that provides the environment and resources for that accomplishment." On the contrary, the government, through taxes and onerous regulation, consumes precious resources rather than providing them. Government, being a revenue consumer rather than provider, can only exist when it consumes through taxes the wealth that business has already generated. Those tax revenues provide infrastructure that would not be necessary if business wasn't already providing goods or services.

Neale further states that the government "provide(s) opportunity, location, workers, customers" and suggests that "business would not exist" without it. Hogwash. The government didn't give me my location and doesn't provide my business with customers or workers. I get those through my hard work and good ideas. The reality is that businesses compete for customers by providing goods or services that a customer is willing pay for. The business that doesn't win that competition will fail. Government doesn't create that competition, it just benefits from it by taxing the winner's income.

Brian Myers

Bountiful