Government seems to view large companies as a partner used to roll out their top-down policies
Ask any small- or medium-sized business owner what it’s like to operate a company in today’s environment and they will tell you it’s stressful.
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The list of things to keep you up at night are long and plentiful: Regulations, cash flow, taxes, interference into the operations of our companies – to name a few.
No wonder many small- and medium-sized companies are being sold to larger companies. According to the Roosevelt Institute, this trend has jumped a staggering 75% since the 1980s.
The result is market, economic and power concentration, where a few large corporations own a majority of businesses. This is not good for the consumer or free enterprise, as we continue to see a concentration of wealth and the rise of quasi-monopolies.
Governments claiming to be concerned about this seem to do nothing to stop it. In fact, they seem to enjoy having a partner in big business that they can either control or work with to support their policies. They do this in exchange for taxpayers’ dollars in the form of government grants and subsidies.
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In Ontario, we saw this in the form of the cap-and-trade energy program. Under this policy, small emitters had to pay increased taxes for energy usage while large emitters received government grants in exchange for their support or silence on the damaging economic effects on such punishing taxes.
What we also see more often is large companies squeezing their small suppliers in their terms of service. They continue to push for longer payment terms for their small- and medium-sized suppliers. It used to be that you provided goods or services and the expectation was that you would be paid in 30 days. That’s because that is when you are in turn required to pay your labour and your suppliers.
But larger companies have used their clout to push their small suppliers to extend their payments to 45, 60 and now even 90 days for payment. This means cash flow becomes an issue for the smaller companies.
Far from stopping these predatory practices, government seems to view large companies as a partner used to roll out their top-down policies. One only needs to look at ESG (Environmental Sustainability and Governance) or DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies to see this is true.
Large companies that are not content with just instituting these policies themselves are turning around and demanding their suppliers establish them as well.
Big corporations are now insisting that all of their suppliers view the world through their same political lens. This is wrong. The free market works because companies trade good and services due to value for dollar, not adherence to political beliefs.
Recently, I was asked by a large company if our business had a DEI policy, as they were auditing all of their suppliers. My answer was that we have one of the most diverse employee bases because we are located in Scarborough and hire the best candidate for the job regardless of any other factors.
The company took this to mean that we don’t have a DEI policy because we don’t have quotas. I told him we hire based on character and credentials not the colour of skin. I was told they just needed to check a box on their forms.
Hiring practices should be left at the discretion of the entrepreneurs, not to their customers. Discrimination is wrong. Replacing past discrimination with other discrimination does not fix the problem. Anyone with common sense can see that.
If an employer does not hire the best employee for the job, they will not have a strong business and that is their loss. Large companies trying to control the hiring process of the suppliers is an absurd overreach.
When you add all these challenges up you can see why after having years of sleepless nights, many small business owners are looking to head for the exits.
Some people may ask: Why should we care about small business owners?
To that I say we are the barrier preventing the complete concentration on wealth, power and uniformity of thought into the hands of large corporations. This would not serve our children well.
— Jocelyn Bamford is vice-president of a Canadian manufacturing company and the founder of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada. Learn more at www.ccmbc.ca.
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BAMFORD: When government and big biz work together against the entrepreneurs
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16.02.2024
Government seems to view large companies as a partner used to roll out their top-down policies
Ask any small- or medium-sized business owner what it’s like to operate a company in today’s environment and they will tell you it’s stressful.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
The list of things to keep you up at night are long and plentiful: Regulations, cash flow, taxes, interference into the operations of our companies – to name a few.
No wonder many small- and medium-sized companies are being sold to larger companies. According to the Roosevelt Institute, this trend has jumped a staggering 75% since the 1980s.
The result is market, economic and power concentration, where a few large corporations own a majority of businesses. This is not good for the consumer or free enterprise, as we continue to see a concentration of wealth and the rise of quasi-monopolies.
Governments claiming to be concerned about this seem to do nothing to stop it. In fact, they seem to enjoy having a partner in big business that they can either control or work with to support their policies. They do this in exchange for taxpayers’ dollars in the form of government grants and subsidies.
Get the........
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