Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Business Journal Q4 2014 | Page 11

no one had passed a budget in the last few years and reelection had become the only real goal of the elected officials, there was no hope of a political solution. Bureaucrats in multiple departments became consumed with who had control of the military, how was it being paid, what were the PR ramifications of the campaign, what would the army look like in the future, and most importantly, did it impact the power of department heads to enforce their will on the people. The weight of regulation, oversight, compliance, fees, permits, inspections and negotiations finally broke the proverbial camel’s back. Christmas came and went, the new year passed, the enlisted men went home and the volunteers gave up hope. The Hessians didn’t get beat at Trenton, Washington didn’t turn the tide in the war and Britain continued its rule of taxes, fees and restrictions. The dream was killed and Washington retired to an “adult community” near Boca Raton, Florida. by your Chamber of Commerce, simple beliefs of our are all about reclaiming the spirit founding fathers right that Washington portrayed on here in Cheyenne, Laramie that remarkable Christmas night. County and the State of Although individuals like those who Wyoming. If we can do made that fateful crossing are not them here, perhaps we can common, I do believe they are still be the shot heard around among us. I believe the fire that lit the world. Perhaps we the American Spirit and spread hope can be remembered as around the world still exists and it is those who crossed the incumbent on each of us to work hard proverbial Delaware and every day to reclaim the beliefs that drove America strongly the individual is of paramount value into the 21st century. and that freedom from too much government intervention creates a brilliant future for all of us. Building Cheyenne’s Future is about fostering those I get it, this whole little story is silly, but the lessons are sobering. The foundation of our nation was to push back on taxes and regulations, believing that when individuals are allowed to dream and then pursue those dreams, wonderful, marvelous things can happen. Over the years, we have weighed those dreams down with the very taxes, fees and regulations that the Aristocracy in England tried so desperately to yoke us with. Building Cheyenne’s Future, both the document and the current efforts Q4 2014 BUSINESS JOURNAL l PG 11