Stories of greed and corporate excess in large companies have caused people to lose confidence in our system of free enterprise. This lack of confidence has led to the federal government taking action by asserting its influence over businesses in the financial and automotive industries. The "free"dom in our system of free enterprise is disappearing one Presidential Executive Order and Congressional Bill at a time. What was once unthinkable in the U.S. is now becoming a reality.

• Government controlled banks.
• Government controlled transportation (first it was railroads, and then it was airlines, now it is automobiles).
• Government regulated food supply.
• Government controlled healthcare.

What happened to the republic founded on independence and individual freedoms? What happened to the idea of a federal government with limited powers?

I hope and pray that these beliefs (freedom and limited government) are not yet dead in our nation.

Recently, it seems as though with each new sign of trouble in the economy the people in this country look and depend more on the federal government to take action. Unfortunately, we have been falsely led to believe that it is the role of the federal government to control all aspects of the economy. With each action taken by the federal government in an effort to "prevent an economic catastrophe" the government assumes more power and control over private business. I realize that the TV news commentary shows like to draw comparisons between what is currently going on in the U.S. versus what has happened in socialist, communist and fascist nations. They do this in part for dramatic effect and increased TV ratings, but take a moment to consider current government control over banking, transportation, housing, food supplies and the bills currently being debated on healthcare and energy/climate change.

A civil war was fought the last time people were forced to work for a specific organization where they received their:

• Housing and land on property which was owned by the company.
• Food and clothing from the company store.
• Money and banking services through the company treasury.
• Transportation from the company.
• Energy to light and heat their home from the company.
• Healthcare and well being (or lack thereof) from the company doctor.

Are we destined to repeat history? I hope not.

As your representative I would oppose any and all attempts by the federal government to:

• Take over control and own any portion of a publicly traded company.
  • The federal government has run up our nation's debt to levels which by the governments own admission is unsustainable. How then can the federal government be expected to take over and rehabilitate a struggling for-profit business?
• Bailout failing companies.
  • There is no such thing as a company that is too big to fail.
  • If a company is so large that its failure would significantly impair the economy then the Federal Trade Commission failed. Its mission is to ensure that companies through mergers and acquisitions do not become so large that they cause less innovation, higher prices and fewer choices.¹

As an alternative to the approach taken by the federal government to regulate pay and to take over public companies I would support legislation that proposed the following:

• Modify the regulations regarding the construction and make-up of the Boards of Directors for publicly traded companies.
  • Boards of Directors for publicly traded companies should be composed of equal portions of the following stakeholders:
    • Company Officers
    • Industry Leaders
    • Employees at or below middle management
    • Major Stockholders
    • Minor Stockholders

Currently, Boards of Directors at publicly traded companies are generally composed of company officers and friends of the CEO. This has led to out of control executive compensation and unrestricted greed and corruption. By allowing other stakeholders a say in how the company is run and managed it will curtail the ability of some company officials to make poor self serving decisions at the expense of employees and stockholders. I agree with those who say we need more oversight to prevent some of the activities that went on at companies like Enron, WorldCom, AIG, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Chrysler and General Motors. I do not agree however that the oversight should come from the federal government. Instead, I believe that this oversight should come from employees and stockholders.

1. Federal Trade Commission, Welcome to the Bureau of Competition. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from http://www.ftc.gov/bc/index.shtml