The Conservative View: Open the Gate

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Open the Gate

A wise man once said that any government is a burden and expense to the citizens. I feel that the burden should be as small as possible; every effort should be made to make the government involvement into our lives simple and efficient. Anyone who has ever started a small business knows the runaround from our government just to obtain the proper licenses and permits to do business. From personal experience I know how frustrating it can be when you start calling different agencies; when you ask questions invariably the answer will be “I don’t know”. If you are lucky, after a dozen or so calls you might start to make some headway in getting your question answered. From my experiences the most useful information was to talk to other business people who had gone through the same process. I have often said that there should be some agency that an inexperienced entrepreneur could go to that could help them through the process. Fortunately a bill has passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives that has the potential to make the burdens for our business people much lighter.

House Bill 2310, by Rep. Jason Murphey, establishes a pilot program to integrate several licenses and permits with a one-stop Web site administered by the Department of Commerce. The bill would encourage a real-time environment where business owners can receive instant license and permit approval. The business one-stop site was established by legislation initially approved in 2007. The goal of the 2007 initiative was to provide potential business owners a single location they could visit in order to help them start a business.

We Americans seem to have forgotten that the entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens is the driving force of our economy. Government programs very seldom have a lasting positive impact upon our economy. I have observed people that would want to start a business, when they saw all of the hassle and paperwork they would decide to forget their desire to start a small business. I feel that the American people are a lot like a pen full of fine racehorses, they are just waiting for the gate to be opened so that they can stretch their legs. I say open the gate and let the American people grow our way out of the financial troubles we are experiencing. House Bill 2310 passed the House with a vote of 66-33 and will now proceed to the Senate for consideration.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.