Let’s face it. The economy on a national, state and local level is downright awful. The talk of bailouts of multibillion-dollar companies and banks that have made money on bad loans and bad decisions is overwhelming.

This is just the beginning. We don’t know where it will end … or when. If we don’t bail the companies out, the pundits and so-called experts say the companies will fold and put thousands out of work. If we do bail them out, the taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars. The government advocates mortgaging our future on these companies.

It reminds me of when I was a little boy at the local fairgrounds. The carnival workers, wearing their straw hats and swinging their canes, would try to get the locals to spend their money on an inevitably losing game. And most of the time, they succeeded with their schemes. Now, it seems like the carnies are the ones at the helm of these companies and in command of the boardrooms. No disrespect to the carnies intended.

These multibillion-dollar companies could learn a thing or two from the small businesses run across America. These home-grown businesses have struggled to provide a good income for themselves and their employees. They charge reasonable rates for whatever service they may provide and do so with appreciation for and true interest in their customers and communities. In tough times like these, small businesses tighten the belt and share the pain of shorter hours among employees so that their neighbors won’t have to lose their job. Sometimes this is unavoidable. Being good stewards of all of the assets of the business is paramount. The foresight needed to operate successfully is very important. It seems that all we have seen recently is hindsight. It is no different than me writing a check for $100,000, cashing the check, putting the money in my pocket, and then telling my employees the company has no money. But don’t worry. We have applied for a bailout from Washington. And we expect to get it so we can waste money all over again.

The vast majority of workers in America work for small business. It is time, after being neglected for years by the government, that folks show the little guy on the corner some respect. Think of the small company that does its best to provide a decent job at a decent wage without asking anyone for help. Think about small businesses the next time you make a purchase, buy a car or finance a house. Think of that local store, bank, or company that employs your neighbor and stimulates the economy right here in your community. These hardworking people make a difference in the lives of everyday people.

Instead of doing business with our neighbors, we continue to pad the pocketbooks of those looking for a government bailout with hands opened wide. Consider the megabanks that would loan 150 percent of a home’s value for people who simply couldn’t afford the loan. Think about the automotive manufacturers financing cars for people with a recent repossession for much cheaper rates than the local bank. And most of those banks loaning money at a 0 percent interest rate. It just doesn’t make sense to bail them out with no oversight.

Thank goodness Gov. Mark Sanford has enough guts to stand up and publicly speak out about the disgrace of the Mack Whittle issue. Whittle, the retiring CEO of South Financial Group, which is the largest publicly held bank in South Carolina, has run his bank into the ground. While at the helm, stock prices have dropped from $30 a share a few years ago to now being a paltry $3. And because his employment contract states that he is due $18 million, without regard for performance, his bank is going to suffer. If most small business owners had done the same job as he has done, those folks would have been out of business years ago. But instead, my tax dollars and your tax dollars will go to pay for Mack Whittle’s early retirement and the bonuses of countless other CEOs who don’t deserve our hard-earned money. Thank you again, Gov. Sanford. Keep the Whittle issue in the crosshairs.

These bailouts just don’t pass the “smell” test. It just is not right. Civilizations that do not learn from their history are destined to repeat it. I suggest we take a lesson from the past to solve our problems of the present and future. President Andrew Jackson addressed bankers more than 150 years ago with the following. I wish someone with the same tenacity would say something similar to the corporate culture today.

“Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin 10,000 families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin 50,000 families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves.”

– Fred W. Ford, Orangeburg

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