TOPIC: In order to help small businesses, thrive, government should play a minimal role in private business matters.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
This issue raises the controversial issue of whether government’s less involvement in private sector would benefit businesses. Indisputably, government should not intervene with private business as not to give them any space to do their business as they will. However, there are serious consequences in giving small businesses too discretion that would hurt the customers’ rights.
First of all, businesses invest only if they see a profit in doing so. In other words, business is not about what is best for the customers but what is best for the bank account of investors. Since customers are not a priority, unless government regulates their function, customers would likely to get hurt. Since it is not fair to expect from a customer to fight for his right against a greed cooperate, government regulation is the only option to protect customer rights. For example, pornography statistically is one of the most profitable business in the United States. To make more profit, business owners are willing to even use children to perform such disgraceful act. However, thanks to the strict government regulations in the United States, such attempt would result in imprisonment. Also, it is very hot topic that there is an increase in small businesses that steal personal information to sell to another business who are using this information to stalk the person. Information regarding whether the person uses a certain website to shop or votes for republican can be used to influence the person in social media. This is the case with Russia’s intervention in the US elections. Russia allegedly used personal information that it gathered through small apps in Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere to discourage American people from voting for Hillary. This might have very serious damage to the democracy but what is worse is that users are manipulated without even knowing what is happening. Their right to privacy was violated and since there is no government regulation that holds social media companies like Facebook or small app owners, customers cannot fight for their rights in courts.
Besides, business owners are likely to do anything possible to reduce their expense. For this matter, experience shows us that they can force an employee to work over 60 hours a week without even a fair pay or they can expose their employees to dangerous chemicals that would eventually kill them. Thanks to the strict government regulation in the United States, rights of employees is relatively protected. But there is more that has to be done. Business owners are employing in poor regions knowing that people in those regions have no choice but to work for them with a smaller pay than those in other regions. Business owners should not be able to pray on people’s vulnerabilities. Also, although business owner cannot discriminate their employees based on their race, religion etc., due to the lack of government regulation, they are allowed not to employ someone because he is black, women or Muslim. People of color, women, especially with children and religious people are not given the same chance with white men when they look for a job. They often hide personal information and often lie in the interviews to get the job. There are cases where business owner is outspoken racist but cannot be sued for it because government does not prohibit such action.
