We were getting a knock-a-week from guys wanting to trim our palm trees. We have about 15 in the yard in 4 or 5 varieties. Only about 5 of those really need professional trimming. This Saturday I finally said yes to a guy who came by.
What impressed me most though was 4 people (maybe a family?) working together to earn a living on a Saturday. They had to find someone who needed their service, sell the service, deliver on their commitment, and collect all in 2 hours. I love seeing people who are entrepreneurial. People who don't wait on opportunities, but go and find them. They also did a nice job on my trees!
If I couldn't have afforded their help, I'd get on the ladder and do the work myself (eventually ;), but it felt right to spend $150 for the trees and some side work. The $150 they earned is a store of the value they transferred to me. They can go exchange that for value produced by someone else. There are things that stop that cycle of value added service. Laziness, graft, over-charging and waste are some of the things that most impact the cycle. The faster the cycle moves the better off more people become.
This is why the growth in government taxes, fees, and entitlements are so harmful. The transfer of value from one person to another cannot be sustained in the face of government waste, graft, laziness, and overspending. There are those who add value and those who subtract it. A society that encourages the latter and punishes the former will decline.
What impressed me most though was 4 people (maybe a family?) working together to earn a living on a Saturday. They had to find someone who needed their service, sell the service, deliver on their commitment, and collect all in 2 hours. I love seeing people who are entrepreneurial. People who don't wait on opportunities, but go and find them. They also did a nice job on my trees!
If I couldn't have afforded their help, I'd get on the ladder and do the work myself (eventually ;), but it felt right to spend $150 for the trees and some side work. The $150 they earned is a store of the value they transferred to me. They can go exchange that for value produced by someone else. There are things that stop that cycle of value added service. Laziness, graft, over-charging and waste are some of the things that most impact the cycle. The faster the cycle moves the better off more people become.
This is why the growth in government taxes, fees, and entitlements are so harmful. The transfer of value from one person to another cannot be sustained in the face of government waste, graft, laziness, and overspending. There are those who add value and those who subtract it. A society that encourages the latter and punishes the former will decline.
You should have offered them another ten bucks to bury that duck.
Posted by: Gabi | April 26, 2010 at 11:29 PM
good post. Thanks!
Posted by: Louis | April 27, 2010 at 11:47 AM