Giving thanks
A day to celebrate the land of the free
As our modern gladiators chase a pigskin down the field in Detroit, Dallas and Washington, D.C., we settle into our living rooms, loosen our belts and remind the little ones this is the day we echo the thanks of the Pilgrims, who gathered in the autumn of 1621 to celebrate the first bountiful harvest in a new land.
The Pilgrims’ first winter in the New World had been a harsh one. The wheat they had brought with them to plant would not grow in the rocky New England soil. Nearly half the colonists died.
But the survivors were hard-working and tenacious, and — with the help of an English-speaking Wampanoag named Tisquantum (the Pilgrims dubbed him “Squanto”) — they learned how to cultivate corn by using fish for fertilizer, how to dig and cook clams, how to tap the maples for sap. And so they were able to thank the Creator for an abundant harvest that second autumn in a new land.
The problem with this tale is that it’s not true.
In his “History of Plymouth Plantation,” the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry because they refused to work in the fields, preferring to steal. Gov. Bradford recalled for posterity that the colony was riddled with “corruption and discontent.”
Although in the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622 “all had their hungry bellies filled,” that relief was short-lived, and deaths from illness because of malnutrition continued.
Then, Richard J. Marbury points out in a November 1985 article in The Free Market, “something changed.” By harvest time, 1623, Gov. Bradford was reporting that, “Instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God.”
What on earth had transpired?
In 1623 Gov. Bradford simply “gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit.”
Previously, the Mayflower Compact had required that “all profits and benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing or any other means” were to be placed in the common stock of the colony. A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed — a concept so attractive on its surface that it would be adopted as the equally disastrous ruling philosophy for all of Eastern Europe some 300 years later.
Yes, America is a bounteous land, but the source of that bounty lies not primarily in the fertility of our soil or the frequency of the rains. No, the source of our bounty is the discovery made by the Pilgrims in 1623, that when individuals are allowed to hold their own land, to eat what they raise and keep the profits from any surplus they sell, hard work is rewarded and thus encouraged, and the entire community enjoys prosperity and plenty.
And so it is that on this Thanksgiving Day we ask God’s continued blessing on America, the envy of mankind, the land of the free.
A version of this editorial first appeared here in 1999.
The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal. All other opinions expressed on the Opinion and Commentary pages are those of the individual artist or author indicated.
The Review-journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 275 words and must include the writer’s name, mailing address and phone number. Submissions may be edited and become the property of the Review-journal.
Email letters@reviewjournal.com Mail Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125
Fax 702-383-4676 driveway — to see what I mean.
Providing a solution to the foot traffic at the driveways would, I believe, address some convenience and public safety concerns. It’s worked at all the major Strip intersections with elevated walkways. marginal small-business tax rate to 25 percent. It allows businesses to apply this rate to roughly a third of their income and taxes the remainder at lower individual rates. The smallest businesses save big with a 9 percent tax rate on income up to $75,000. These new, lower rates also come with anti-abuse rules to ensure the cuts benefit the small businesses they were designed to help.
But the benefits don’t just end with income. The complexity of our current 70,000page tax code leads many to hire an accountant instead of wading through the labyrinthine rules by themselves. That’s thousands of dollars, and in some cases a full-time salary, devoted to complying with Uncle Sam’s requests instead of engaging with customers or otherwise growing a business.
The House bill allows businesses to immediately write off loan interest and capital investment expenses in full. It’s far more practical than the current system.
As the House and Senate iron out the differences between their bills in the coming weeks, our representatives should keep in mind that the best tax policies for small businesses are those that allow them to retain control of their hard-earned income. It’s Main Street, not Washington, that will truly make America great.
The writer, a Republican, is a small-business owner who represents Nevada’s 37th Assembly District.