Capitol Monitor ....
Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Fourth District of Virginia 

January 5, 2007

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In this Issue

 1. A Nation of Dreamers

2. The Maze of Employment Law

 

 

:: A Nation of Dreamers ::  

My son was about eleven years old – the age when frogs, spiders, snakes, and anything that jumped or slithered was of the keenest interest to him. One day, he barged into the kitchen with wide-eyes, eager to tell me something. “Dad!” he said with enthusiasm, “Do you know that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump out? But if you put a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly turn the heat on until it boils, the frog will never jump out?!”

My son had heard the fable of the boiling frog. Although I somewhat regretted to tell him that the biological basis of the boiling frog story was questionable, I explained to him that the real meaning lay in the figurative context of the story. The point of the story, I explained, is to illustrate how the small and seemingly insignificant changes in life, over time, can make the biggest impact on our lives. But when they happen so gradually, we do not feel these changes as they are occurring. After listening for a minute, he peered up at me somewhat disappointed and darted back into the backyard.

Years later, I found myself recalling the “boiling frog.” In Washington, it is a similar story. For many, it’s often easy to lose perspective and it becomes even more difficult to shield against gradual changes that can eventually lead to catastrophic losses. This can be true for us as a nation as well.

I thought back to the roots of our nation, to the days of our nation’s infancy. Our Founding Fathers had a vision for a nation free from the tyranny of England. They had no reasonable expectation of success and they were unsure of what the new world would look like – they only had a dream. And despite the overwhelming chance of failure, of personal ruin, of death, they built a revolution. They built America. Our Founding Fathers were dreamers.

And for generations to come America was a nation of dreamers. There were dreams that changed the direction of our nation: the dream of a transcontinental railroad, the dream of equality for African-Americans, the dream of putting a man on the moon. And there were dreams that changed the direction of a life: the dream of a home, the dream of a college education, the dream to build a better life for our families. We Americans believe that if given the opportunity we can make our dreams come true. All we need is opportunity. We will take the risks. We will put in the hard work. We will give it our all…and just maybe our dream will come true.

In the years that have passed, a subtle change in the mindset of America has occurred.  Like the frog in the pot of heating water, this change may not even have been noticeable over a short period of time. Somewhere, America began to shift from a nation of dreamers to a nation of expectors. More and more today, there is an emphasis on gratification rather than fulfillment. An emphasis on the end result rather than on the hard work needed to get there. An emphasis on what I can expect rather than what I can dream.

The expector mentality not only assumes opportunity, but it assumes that that opportunity will lead to success. I expect that I should own a home. I expect that I should have a college education. I expect that I should have a high paying job. I expect that my children should go to the best school. I expect that I should have what someone else has, regardless of what I put into it.

And, there is an even more alarming trend our nation is experiencing: the escalation from an expector mentality to an entitlist mentality. An entitlist assumes that someone else is responsible for giving us both opportunity and success regardless of our action or inaction.

Think of the days of our Founding Fathers. Imagine if our Founding Fathers were entitlists. Imagine if they expected England to give them their freedom. Imagine if they simply expected all that they eventually had to fight for, die for, and build with their own hands, hearts, and minds. Imagine if, even worse, they were angry because they believed they were entitled to all they expected to find? How far could America have run on the engine of an entitlist mentality?

No nation can stay strong when we replace our dreamers with entitlists. It is the equivalent of cutting off a train engine mid-way. The train may keep going on the energy it has stored, but it will eventually slow. The weight of the cargo will weigh it down and it will creep to a stop.

While America may not be perfect, America is great. In a world that spends a lot of time focused on America’s power, her wealth and her military muscle, it is more important than ever for Americans to understand from where our greatness truly comes. It isn’t wealth, it isn’t military power, and it isn’t pride that makes a nation strong. It is their people – and their dreams. As we start a new year and a new session of Congress, America and her new leaders need to reject the entitlist mindset, and return to being a nation of dreamers.

:: The Maze of Employment Law ::

Any small business owner knows the responsibility of running a successful business is much more complicated than simply turning a profit. Operating a business with employees requires accountability and responsibility, both to the company and its workers. Just ask any small business owner—there is tax responsibility, the worry of whether health and safety standards are being met, the choice of employee benefit plans, just to name a few.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides a number of helpful online resources to help small business owners walk through the confusing maze of employment law.

  • The Employment Law Guide for Small Businesses, a publication of the DOL, offers helpful information on developing wage, benefit, safety and health, and nondiscrimination policies for small businesses in the general industry. You can find the guide online at www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/index.htm.  

  • An interactive e-tool called eLaw Advisors answers federal employment law questions in an easy-to-understand way by simulating an interaction you might have with a law advisor. eLaw Advisors are beneficial to both employers and employees and can be found at www.dol.gov/elaws/. 

  • A summary of major employment laws is available as a tool to acquaint you with basic employment issues such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, among others. The summary also includes references to the full description of each federal law listed in the summary. The summary is available at http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/lawsprog.htm. 

Don’t get lost in employment law. Take advantage of the resources provided to you and make the most of your small business. For more information on employment law, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s website at www.dol.gov.

 

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