A Parable: the Death of Ingenuity

Sometimes fiction best illustrates a concept. In the following story you can see the damages done to individuals, businesses, and communities by excessive bureaucracy.

John Jacob had an idea—a really good idea. After years of fixing broken wagon axles in his rocky Appalachian fields he had invented a flexible axle that could scale even small boulders without breaking. The device worked so well that many in the surrounding area wanted one. Gradually JohnJacob, known as JJ, conceived the idea of building a business to manufacture his wagons. He and Lucy, his supportive wife, mortgaged their farm for startup money, purchased equipment, and opened their doors under the name Wagons HO!  Word spread and orders poured in—so many that he hired a man to assist him and a woman to keep the books and order supplies. Their small community reaped benefits from JJ’s success—a small hotel was built, three companies manufacturing accessory items for his wagons started up, the railroad planned a small branch line to service the growing needs of the town, and two new cafes opened.

JJ and Lucy were optimistic about their future, and planned to expand their capacity, hire another employee or even two, and improve the design of their wagon bed.

Then the problems began. 

The Environmental Protection Agency arrived and determined that Wagons, HO! was cutting trees for lumber from restricted government lands. They fined him and JJ had to import his lumber. They said the river quality might suffer and required him to pipe water into the area, though JJ never used river water or dumped into the river. He had to pay for air quality tests and studies to prove that his business didn’t impact endangered wildlife. A cranky neighbor complained about noise, so they restricted his business hours. He spent hours doing endless paperwork, which slowed his production and cut his profits. He worried constantly about his ability to make his monthly payments to the bank. He and Lucy were always stressed and their relationship suffered.

OSHA came to inspect and determined that the forge used to make his iron rims might be defective, so they required him to build a new one. Health care officials required him to remodel his restroom and increase sewer capacity. He was forced to offer health care benefits and insurance, and deduct Social Security and unemployment.  Licensing fees and regulations created a bureaucratic maze and he had to hire a second person to do all the paperwork, which meant he couldn’t hire another craftsman. The cost of the wagons went up substantially and his profit margin went down accordingly.

Eventually, rising costs and the bureaucratic maze strangled his profit margin. Few orders came in for the increasingly expensive wagons and every month they agonized over the bank payment. Their three children gave up ball teams, music lessons and any activities with connected costs. The stress had become unbearable and their dream had become a nightmare.

The end came quietly and painfully. The bank repossessed their facility and their farm, including their house. They let the employees go and moved into a small apartment in town. One of the two new cafes folded about the same time, as did all three of the companies providing wagon accessories. The railroad cancelled its planned spur, the small hotel had few customers, and the town slid into a recession.

JohnJacob and Lucy ended up on food stamps, along with one of their employees, as there were few jobs in town. JJ was a beaten man, the resourcefulness hammered out of him. His ingenious invention died an obscure death, and farmers the region over continue to mourn their broken axles in rocky fields.

Freedom, ingenuity, prosperity—they live together, they die together.