When I was a kid I used to love to watch a show called, "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee", which was by all accounts a form of "Dateline" for kids. It was the kind of show that gave kids the opportunity to speak up about their own opinions to current events, political candidates, and serious issues like AIDS and homosexuality. The show encouraged kids to think for themselves, form their own opinions, and in the words of Ms. Ellerbee herself, "If you don't know, ask". It empowered my generation to speak up, ask questions, and take an active role in making our world a better place.
I did not create this blog to be a soapbox for myself or the issues I feel passionate about. As a general rule I stay out of politics as much as possible, mainly because the inevitable confrontation makes me severely uncomfortable. However, there is something happening in my state's government that upsets me so much, I can't help but scream my disgust from the rooftops.
As some of you may know, the State Legislation is in session right now. Of the many things being debated, (like state budget reform, gun laws, medical marijuana, and civil unions), my dear friends up at the capitol have taken it upon themselves to decide whether or not grocery stores and convenience stores can sell full strength beer and malt beverages. I'm sure you all can guess, given my profession, that I vehemently do not want this to happen. The store I own is located less than 100 meters from a large grocery store, and beer equates to more than half of my yearly sales. Do the math and you come up with great news for the Kroger Corporation and devastating news for us.
But all this is old news. If you've lived in Colorado for any length of time you know that bills like this one have been floating around the capitol for decades. While I'm not completely convinced that our business would survive the addition of more than 50 new competitors, I know that we would do our very best to adapt as best we could and, (at the very least) go down fighting. It's not really even this bill in particular that makes me so mad...it's the underlying fact that after seeing how this works I've decided politics is a filthy and vile practice.
What makes me most upset is that this one decision, that directly affects the lives of more than 10,000 people in this state, is entirely in the hands of a few politicians. There is no talk of a ballot initiative, and while there WAS an open committee session where "anyone" could get up and voice their opinion to the Representatives, the public was given ONE DAY advance notice. They did, in fact, have three lovely ladies speak on behalf of the consumer but oddly enough, all three of them were in support of this bill. One Representative in particular (LISTON), the main sponsor of this bill, seems to be doing everything he can to speed this bill through the House...Maybe so the general public doesn't pick up on it? It baffles me to wonder why this issue is so important to Rep. Liston and his supporters when there are so many other, bigger issues at stake. What's my guess? Money. This is nothing more than old fashioned greed, placed under the cloak of "customer convenience" and "job creation". News of this bill is obviously the talk of our industry right now, and one particular distributor of ours has already taken action by laying off around a dozen people, including one of our best and most honest sales reps. Apparently this is what "job creation" looks like.
I've never fancied myself a corporate hater. I've shopped at Wal Mart, eaten at Applebee's, and I often find myself in Target or Best Buy. But there is certainly a balance we need to strike here. I fear that the powers that be, (whether they realize it or not), are working to homogenize this state and make us just like all the others. I fear that the powerful "armies" of lobbyists employed by these corporate giants are influencing our lawmakers more than we realize, and it makes me feel incredibly sad for our political system and this country as a whole.
Ms. Ellerbee, there are things I don't know, so here goes the asking: Do politicians really have any "power" or are they simply vessels through which lobbyists twist the laws to make them better fit their own needs? If so, can we really call ourselves a democratic nation if it's really the lobbyists who make all the decisions? Why is my own state government, that my tax dollars fund, spending so much time debating whether or not to eradicate AT LEAST 900 small businesses? Aren't small businesses and private employers the ones who are slowly repairing our ravaged economy?
One more thing. The civil unions bill, that would have given ALL unmarried couples (gay OR straight) the full rights of a married couple, including access to health benefits and next of kin rights, didn't even make it out of the committee stage. This makes my blood boil.
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