Hamilton County Publisher

Did you see the story in the paper a couple of months ago? Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, testified before a Senate committee , that “Congress should keep the estate tax rather than repeal it and help a few rich Americans like him. ‘I think we need to take a little more out of the hides of guys like me’ Buffett told the panel.” (AP)

Here’s a link to the story http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/business/15buffett.html

It seems out of character for an arch-capitalist like Buffett to come out in favor of a tax but if you think about, it makes a lot of sense. Buffett made his fortune through his own intelligence and hard work, as many capitalists have. Now he is showing his appreciation for the system that permitted him to do that, a system that rewards intelligent investing. The estate tax ensures that the money earned by successful capitalists goes back into the system to reward succeeding generations, not into the private coffers of a few offspring who had nothing to do with earning the money to begin with but were lucky enough to be born into the family.

Of course it is important that we elect good stewards of that money as public servants. That’s a whole different issue but I applaud the thinking of Warren Buffett and the intelligent stance he takes on this issue. When it comes to leaving a legacy he puts his own parochial and familial interests aside and casts a vote for the better good, a system that keeps the entrepreneurial spirit going by pumping the money back into the system.

We recently installed No Soliciting signs in our neighborhood (Noble West in Noblesville). They didn’t ask me, they just did it. I have a problem with those signs for a number of reasons.

1. Who do they mean? I’m not sure who we’re trying to keep out but I just had a girl scout who lives across the street sell me a couple of boxes of cookies yesterday. She’s a neighbor and I’m happy to have her stop by to solicit me. Perhaps we didn’t mean her. My son delivers and sells newspapers. Does it apply to him? Jehovah’s Witnesses stop in from time to time. They’re not selling anything other than the promise of redemption. Are they solicitors?

2. The signs don’t seem to deter salespeople anyway. I presume we’re trying to keep out door to door salespeople who sell magazines, cleaning products, etc. The signs just went up so we’ll have to see if they work but in the past I’ve noted that people ignore them. And, I’m not sure what happens to violators.

3. I don’t like what the signs say about us. They exclude people. At the entrance to our neighborhood we let people know that some people aren’t welcome here. I don’t like that. I prefer to welcome people to our neighborhood.

I understand what our neighborhood association is trying to do but I think its wrong-headed. We need more activity on our streets, not less. We need better communication, more interaction and more openness. Excluding some people, even if they are solicitors, works against that goal.

Hey, I know what it’s like to endure an unwelcome sales pitch from a solicitor. I’ve listened to my share. I’ve bought from some, rejected many more. But my background is sales and I have sold for many years. Door to door is the toughest way to sell. Often these people are doing it because they have no other skills or are earning their way through college or some other worthwhile endeavor. It’s never a career choice. But, this is capitalism at it most basic level and they’re learning valuable lessons (primarily that there are always harder ways to make a living than their current career choice). The least we can do is open our doors and give them five minutes of our time.

Finally, I was passing a Fishers business the other day (a housing developer) and noticed a large “No Soliciting” sign on the door. Talk about hypocrisy! This business wouldn’t exist if it couldn’t solicit business, yet the owners won’t permit others to solicit them. Someone famous once said: “Nothing happens until someone sells something.” It’s absolutely true: sales makes our economy go. It’s a great American tradition. Take down the signs!

Mike

A few weeks ago, the last remaining video store (with the exception of Blockbuster) closed in our community. It was Movie Gallery in Westfield. I understand people are watching more movies than ever. Considering we’re in the middle of the “personal entertainment revolution,” where are people getting all their movies? Are they downloading all of them from the internet? watching on pay per view? getting them in the mail through netflix? I can tell you they’re not renting at the video store because there aren’t many of those left.

It wasn’t so long ago that you could find a video store in just about any shopping center. And, many grocery stores used them to attract customers who nearly always bought something else. Well, our local Kroger never had one that I can remember and Marsh closed theirs about a year ago.

As a parent of young kids I really enjoyed visiting the video stores on winter days, giving the kids a chance to get out of the house when cabin fever started taking hold. Kroger has a machine but only one person can browse at a time and its not like browsing through a store. I’m not sure how the economics of renting movies have changed but they obviously have as you just can’t find a good movie store around any more.