The power of democracy is in its middle class. It is really quite simple and easy to understand. In a society in which a middle class does not exist, the division of the social order is dichotomic. Without a middle class the power of the elite to exploit the weak population is un-proportionate. In such a case, two layers of society will exist, a small group of self interest, riches and a majority of the poor. The principal of democracy which encourages freedom and equality needs a middle class layer, promoting a social diversity which in its turn is in charge of monitoring the rich and granting a range of opportunities to the rest of the population.
A healthy middle class is constructed based on the concept of small business owners. An industry which I take big pride to be part of. When thinking about and looking at your neighborhood, hopefully, the majority of the diversity of an individual shopping is made in those small businesses. Those stores, not only protect the customers by creating a healthy quality and pricing competition. It also allows families to maintain themselves respectfully by doing something they like and, in many cases, believe in. Those small and medium businesses are the foundation of our democracy. They protect us from the tyranny of cooperation and allow a fair and enjoyable employment for a big part of the local population.
Following the economical crisis and the enlargement of the national debts hold by the majority of the European countries, the amount of taxes taken from small businesses has risen in a dangerous speed. The sales tax, employment tax, IRPF (in some countries) and social security are just a part of the taxes that are imposed those days. All those taxes are taken aggressively and automatically from smaller businesses. The effect of those taxes, affect every aspect of our society. It obliges the increase in the price for the final customer, it diminishes the salaries of the employees and in many cases diminish drastically the income of the small business owner.
Many will say that it is necessary and important to support our government, which is true. From the other side, if the government is not supporting the small businesses from its side, would it not be an unfair way of operating a society?
I happened to live in Barcelona, where a clear economical crisis is on its way. The political event of the 1st of October 2017 and its continuation (up to this day) has affected drastically all the small businesses. The amount of tourism dropped un-proportionally, the sales cycle of stores in the tourist areas dropped in more than 40% and the general investment in the last quarter of 2017 drop by more than 60%.
Nevertheless, the government, which is the sole responsible for all this mess, not only continue to take all the taxes it charges but also refuses to delay those payments. Many stores are closing around me and many people are starting to join the unemployment market. Which will diminish the purchasing of the local and will create in its turn more closure of stores and unemployment.
The government is killing the small businesses in that way, which is killing the middle class. Is it not time to stop paying for the mistakes of the cooperation and the politician? How many more signs are we looking for?
If the same is happening around you. Please share it. Only by sharing we will create awareness and only with awareness, we can create a change.
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