Standing on Our Own

Chief Executive spoke with Donald P. Grasso, CEO of Rytec High Performance Doors, about how cronyism affects small businesses. Here’s what he had to report. “Rytec is a company with 200 employees that makes products that conserve energy. It’s a successful, market-leading company that my employees and I have built with no help from Washington at all. We don’t get any credits from the U.S. Treasury to subsidize our products. We’re too small to have the voice that GE has through their lobbying efforts. We’re not a Solyndra, where we’ve given money to the Democratic Party to get that quid pro quo of a subsidy. Government had no part in building this company—nor do they shoulder any of the risks.

And if we fail, the government will not be there with a safety net to keep us from failing. We’re doing it the old-fashioned way—working through the private sector. “It is companies my size that have been adding jobs year in and year out. I’m proud of that and the fact that our sales are up and we’re hiring again this year. We’re doing it by standing on our own—without having that voice in government. Frankly, I’m glad we don’t have that voice because I wouldn’t want to be
dependent on government in that way nor do I think that is its role. But the big companies shouldn’t be getting that treatment either. If the federal government is interested in making it easier for those companies to do business, they should start by taking another look at our taxation policies.

“Personally, I don’t even want to take the time to understand the Byzantine methodology of crony capitalism. I will keep my head down and continue to work hard to make innovative products that meet the needs of the market. I will focus on my business, on our customers and try to develop products that meet their needs. That’s how we built this business and that is how we will continue to grow.”

This is a sidebar to: Why Crony Capitalism Hurts Us All