Sunday, May 30, 2010

Wal-Mart, Compassion, Midwestern Values and Economic Indicators

The current default mode in Washington is government takeover: health care, student loans, the financial sector, etc. The assumption is that the government is better equipped to manage elements of our lives than we ourselves are; that the capabilities of the government exceed those of the private sector. Implicit in this mode is the assumption that individuals turn first to the government for solutions to life challenges. Have those leading this charge bothered to ask individuals how they would prefer to manage their lives; whether they share the belief that government is better equipped than the private sector to provide long-term sustainable solutions to health care innovation or job growth, for example?

This afternoon, when pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot, I saw a 30-something man, in apparent good health and wellness of mind, standing at the Wal-Mart parking lot exit holding a hand lettered sign that read:

Need Work.
Donations Accepted.
God Bless.

With unemployment in the 11% range, northwestern Ohio's economy is in a challenged state. The unemployment is impacting folks across the spectrum of jobs. Unusual, in this area, is to see an unemployed individual actively reach out like this. Sure, I've seen individuals elsewhere -- Boston, Phoenix -- use this approach. Never before have I seen it in our smallish town. Could this be a leading economic indicator? Could this be an indicator that the economy is lagging in a way the media is reluctant to report? Or is this a one-off event?

Is this man acting in the way the government expects? Why was he reaching out to his fellow townspeople? Why was he at Wal-Mart and not at the local unemployment center registering for entitlement benefits? Is this a leading indicator? An indicator that individuals prefer to solve life challenges using the resources available to them?

When exiting the Wal-Mart parking lot, the woman driving the Honda Civic ahead of me stopped. She handed the sign holder a bag of grocery items just purchased at Wal-Mart. A few words were exchanged. She drove on.

Did I witness a leading indicator of how individuals prefer to solve life challenges through voluntary assistance of one another? Do individuals outside of D.C. view Wal-Mart as key to restoring the economic health of this country?