U.S. Chamber of Commerce Free Enterprise Express tour bus
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Suzanne Clark sees it, the choice is between a future in which America remains on the cutting edge of innovation and a world model of economic freedom and prosperity or one in which the country is left behind, looking backwards toward ideas some had thought consigned to the past.
This fall, the organization Clark leads, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is taking that message on the road across the U.S., with its Free Enterprise Express Opportunity Tour.
Begun Sept. 18, the bus tour will make stops in communities throughout the U.S., as the Chamber works to push back against polls showing an apparent growing soft spot for socialism among the population and to remind Americans of how the market-driven interplay of businesses, investors and consumers, not government control, have created the breakthroughs that make modern life possible and prosperous.
"The best argument for free enterprise is the one people can see for themselves: A new job, a growing business, a breakthrough innovation, a stronger community, and a better quality of life," said Clark, the Chamber's President and CEO.
"As other economic ideas gain traction, business leaders have a responsibility to demonstrate what's at stake and why free enterprise remains the best pathway to opportunity and prosperity."
The Chamber has not issued a set schedule for all of the stops. However, since the tour launched, the Free Enterprise Express had stopped in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio, as of Sept. 28, as it drove west from Washington, D.C.
The national tour, however, comes as the opening round of a new push in support of economic liberty and free enterprise, called the New Fight for Free Enterprise. The Chamber noted it is being funded through an endowment created by a $100 million contribution, the largest ever received by the Chamber in its 114-year history.
The donation was first announced in June. The Chamber said the donation was made by a longtime member who "requested anonymity" and restricted the funds from being spent on elections or campaigns.
In discussing the tour, Clark noted it was launched, in part, to respond to what polls say is a growing acceptance of socialism and other forms of government economic control among Americans.
According to a Gallup poll, for instance, more than 40% of respondents said they view socialism positively, vs 55% who had a positive view of capitalism.
But in an appearance on CNBC, Clark said Americans concerned about higher costs and affordability should take note that the economic sectors now considered most unaffordable are those most regulated by government.
Clark pointed particularly to the U.S. housing market, which she noted is plagued by "bad permitting backlogs, local regulation, restrictive zoning" and other impediments caused by too much government involvement.
"Where free enterprise is constrained, that’s where Americans are doing the worst," Clark said.
"... get government out of the way, and prices will come down."
While she acknowledged many Americans – and particularly younger Americans – have warmed to the concept of socialism and its promises of "free" essentials, and particularly health care and education, Clark said she most Americans still prefer economic freedom and most Americans will choose the principles and promise of free enterprise.
She said that is especially true when Americans are presented with a choice she expressed as: "... Do you want to live in a place that is innovating and inventing and at the center of the future, or do you want to live in a place that is embracing the past?"
"They’ll pick the future every time," Clark said.
“American families face real challenges, but those promoting socialist solutions are wrong about the causes and dead wrong about the solutions,” Clark said. “We do not need to choose between acknowledging today's challenges and defending free enterprise. We can do both.
“The answer is not to abandon the system that has done more than any other to raise living standards and expand opportunity. It is to remove the barriers that prevent free enterprise from doing what it does best: creating growth, solving problems, and improving lives. My vote is for free enterprise every time.”
