Adapt to Overcome

Some say it’s the strong that survive, or it’s “survival of the fittest;” but Darwin taught us that the ability to adapt is the most important thing to insure a future. Human beings are the only species that are not completely driven by instinct: we learn, we think, we decide. 

With the ability to think and reason, we can consciously adapt. We don’t have to let nature take its course. We’re also one of the only species that can consciously move toward our own destruction, which is all too common.  

When a person retires with a fixed income, they need to adapt. They aren’t making their full salary anymore, so they adjust their lifestyles. Some cut back on going out to dinner and eat more macaroni and cheese; some clip coupons, bargain shop or take advantage of senior discounts. Some move away, they go to a place where they can live a more comfortable lifestyle with their money. That’s their right; that’s their way of adapting. 

No one says “Uncle Howard and Aunt Dominique moved out of New York. They outsourced their pension.” Everyone understands that they looked for – and found – a better value.  

Businesses need to adapt too. When things change, they figure out other ways to survive, or they don’t survive. When a state or local government becomes too intrusive, when the taxes become too much of a burden, when there are too many demands put on them, when the costs of doing business gets to a point where the profit margin becomes too small, many will pick up and find another place to do business. 

Like Uncle Howard and Aunt Dominique, they looked for, and left for better value.

There will be people that accuse the business of being “greedy” or “outsourcing.” We’ll hear “all they care about are their profits and the bottom line.” But the businesses that move are no different from our retired Uncles and Aunts. They’re looking for greener pastures.  

High taxes in New York have earned us the distinction of being the state with the second worst business climate in the country (after California), so business leaves. They take their earnings and their jobs with them, leaving big holes and big headaches for every elected official trying to put a budget together.

Government needs to make up for the lost revenue, so they adapt by raising taxes on the businesses and people that remain, who adapt and leave. It’s a terrible cycle that needs to be broken. 

For almost twenty years, New York has been leading the country in outmigration. People are bailing out in alarming numbers. In 1950, NY State accounted for 19 percent of the country’s population; by 2000 it was down to seven percent. New York loses thousands of businesses, millions of residents and tens of billions of dollars, thanks to outmigration.  

If our State and local Governments don’t adapt, they’ll continue to steer us toward some dark times; the numbers speak for themselves. States are competing, other states are offering better deals and better opportunities for business. New York had better start fighting for her job creators instead of waging war on them. 

We need our governments to stop treating business as if it was a natural resource to be bled dry, or a corpse to be scavenged from. Business is not a natural resource; a business wouldn’t be here if someone hadn’t built it, and a business can pick up stakes, pack up and find greener pastures.  

It’s very easy to see the consequences, you don’t need to look at numbers or charts, you don’t need to read the Wall Street Journal or study graphs, all you have to do is drive around town and look at the boarded up factories and businesses. The effects have been devastating, and will continue to take their toll until we wise up.