Yesterday, I mentioned a few things I learned about people early on in my career that helped me succeed in the long run. And that reminded me of something else I came to understand quite quickly, and has never changed over time.
My primary business was the financing of all types of equipment for businesses, ranging from very small acquisitions, such as a low-end photocopier or phone set, up to multi-million dollar installations used by industrial giants. Regardless of the equipment's cost however, every transaction has to be specifically spelled out on paper in the form of an appropriate contract between the involved parties. And it was the contracts themselves that brings me to my subject for today: Lawyers.
Taking a step back and looking at typical financing transactions, there are generally two primary entities involved. Equipment users on one side, financing entities on the other. Users typically acquire equipment to replace outdated models, or due to business growth, or perhaps for development and production of some entirely new idea or invention. As for financing providers, their job is to support equipment users by advancing the cash required to help keep those businesses growing.
So, on both sides of the equation we have businesses involved that in their own ways spur production, growth and development, employment and help boost economic conditions. And without either of the parties the overall economy would likely suffer greatly. But now we come to another group of participants and another aspect of business completely.
Because, as I've already mentioned, every financial transaction has to be memorialized on paper. And that means, since most businesspeople aren't attorneys, lawyers have to be hired.
In most financing instances, what lawyers do is review and assess contracts drafted by others -such as lenders or banks- and try to insure that their client's interests and potential exposures are as protected as possible in the document's verbiage. And, without doubt those are extremely important issues. Yet, if you look at what lawyers do in regard to actual business growth, the dynamics of the overall economy or any other aspect of productivity, they not only don't add a thing, they're basically parasites.
I think my point about lawyers being similar to leeches can be illustrated by asking a couple of simple questions. For example: What would really happen to the economy if you removed all the businesses? I think the answer's quite obvious -it would stop completely. And what would happen if you shut down all the lenders of funds? In that case, the economy would likely continue to function, but growth and modernization would drastically be reduced.
Now, what would really happen to the economy if you took away all the lawyers? I think the answer is: Probably absolutely nothing at all except that business incomes would increase in the amount of legal fees they'd no longer pay.
And this brings me to my favorite subject of late. Because if you accept the premise that attorneys add no value at all to the economy and are basically parasites by nature and training, it becomes more clear as to why the POTUS thinks and acts as he does. Because since he has no concept of why or how businesses work, he probably perceives them as places where lawyers earn fees from others labors and likely believes that's a good thing.
However, I think that perhaps he ought to do a little bit of homework, because by penalizing business success via taxes and regulation while amassing almost $16 trillion in debt, pretty soon now I suspect there may not be any blood left for him to suck.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
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