RVBusiness, March/April 2019

BY MIKE BRAUN We Need More Private Sector Thinking in Washington D C Americas true power is held in our local chambers of commerce not our chambers of Congress Our best wisdom comes from the factory floor not the Senate floor RVBUSINESS GUESTVIEW I ve spent the last 37 years growing a small business in my hometown into an industry leader in distributing auto and RV parts and accessories In that time the last two years stand out as the most business friendly economic environment Ive ever seen The last time American unemployment was this low The Beatles were at the top of the charts and I was the starting forward on the Jasper High School junior varsity basketball team The last time U S stocks had a January as good as 2019 the Indiana University Hoosiers were on their way to their last national championship under Coach Bobby Knight The pro growth pro business policies of the Trump administration have created an economic environment that drives home what all of us as businesspeople know already private sector enterprise is the engine that drives the American economy not government Main Street small business owners are the force that generates prosperity not politicians Americas true power is held in our local chambers of commerce not our chambers of Congress Our best wisdom comes from the factory floor not the Senate floor Entrepreneurs understand what makes our economy tick and with a businessman like President Trump at the helm the true potential of the American economy is being unleashed Every day Americans are seeing tremendous benefits from President Trumps tax cuts This legislation was designed to promote long term economic growth and companies large and small across the country have been growing and reinvesting such as ExxonMobils recent announcement of a 10 billion investment in Americas infrastructure creating 9000 new jobs 28 RVBusiness M A R C H A P R I L 2 0 1 9 Nowhere is this growth more evident than in Indiana Many Hoosier companies have been able to use the resources they would have previously been sending off to Washington D C to instead invest in their employees through bonuses lower health insurance premiums increased wages and retirement benefits As the positive results of this legislation and the Trump administrations regulatory cuts compound more and more American small businesses will join the ranks As an entrepreneur and business owner myself I have my own story of sharing the benefits of this economy with my employees With the capital infusion of the Trump tax cuts my company was proud to cut health insurance costs for employees increase 401 k benefits and institute midyear bonuses for the first time in company history Im proud that my company was able to share the benefits of tax reform with our employees and when American workers see the results of these policies in real dollars and cents in their paychecks and 401 k s its clear that when government gets out of the private sectors way the result is opportunity growth and prosperity My company has been involved in shipping RV parts for many years and I understand the unique challenges of this industry not as a politician but as a business owner RV production has long been a great marker of the strength of our economy The outdoor recreation industry contributes more than 30 billion to the American economy or 2 of our annual GDP As the RV capital of the world employing thousands of people boasting the lowest unemployment rate in the na tion and selling nearly 90 of the nations RVs Elkhart Indiana has been able to adeptly take advantage of the roaring economy spurred by the Trump tax cuts and has become the envy of manufacturing communities across the country As a lifelong conservationist and avid outdoorsman myself I understand the importance of the outdoor recreation industry to the Hoosier economy and to workers across the country I look forward to working with the Trump administration and my new colleagues in Congress to craft legislation to address our nations infrastructure problems a major priority for Hoosiers and the outdoor recreation industry that provides such a critical sector of our economy American businesses rely on good roads and safe bridges and our crumbling infrastructure has been ignored by Washington for far too long Business moves America and the American RV industry is one of the great examples of what makes our economy exceptional The pro growth pro America policies enacted by Republicans and President Trump give businesses large and small the freedom to control more of their own revenue and in turn provide more opportunities for workers and their communities I ran for the U S Senate because I believe we need more private sector thinking in Washington and less government interference in American business I hope that my friends in the RV industry will not hesitate to contact me with ideas and firsthand experience on how policies are affecting your industry which is so critical in my state and the country I look forward to working with all of you to grow and strengthen our economy and keep American business booming RVB Mike Braun is a lifelong businessman job creator defender of Hoosier values and U S Senator from Indiana After graduating from Wabash College and Harvard Business School Mike turned down Wall Street to return to his hometown of Jasper Indiana to raise a family and build a business Meyer Distributing just a few miles from where he grew up He grew that small company into national industry leader with locations in 39 states and more than 800 employees all while keeping his companys headquarters in his hometown