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tion. And we need a peace
ful one, like what Martin
Luther King Jr. led, to get
government off our backs.”
Speaking at the Forsyth
Holiday Inn, Hill said aver
age Americans are not
doing as well as they have
and the dollar is losing its
value because the federal
government is spending
like mad, even as it further
regulates the economy.
By contrast, Hill said
societies flourish when
governments impose only
minimal taxes and few reg
ulations. For instance, look
at Hong Kong, said Hill. In
1946 the British took it
over and it was a city with
no natural resources or
wealth, just a lot of poor
Chinese. But the first
Hong Kong governor was a
disciple of Adam Smith,
the capitalist philosopher
and author of “The Wealth
of Nations.” Hill said he
implemented low taxation
and the rule of law to
enforce contracts, and
within a few decades Hong
Kong had gone from a
small outpost much poorer
than Great Britain to one
much richer.
America was like that,
too, said Hill, until the
20th century when
Congress began overstep
ping the bounds of the
Constitution. He noted
that the Constitution says
that any power not given
to Congress by the
Constitution should rest
with the people and the
states.
But Congress has violat
ed that by imposing
numerous taxes and erect
ed huge social welfare pro
grams and bureaucracies
which were never envi
sioned by the Founders.
Further, said Hill, those
bureaucracies can impose a
web of new rules and regu
lations on Americans
which have the force of
law, even though Congress
never votes on them.
Moreover, Hill shared fig
ures showing that inflation
is much higher, 12 percent,
than the government
reports.
“The government is lying
to you,” said Hill.
Hill urged his audience to
read former Republican
presidential candidate Ron
Paul’s book, “The
Revolution: A Manifesto,”
and talk show host Neal
Boortz’s “The Fair Tax
Book” about replacing the
federal tax code with a
nationwide sales tax.
Even as Hill, a graduate
of the University of
Chicago with a law degree
from Harvard, bemoaned
the state of American poli
tics, he sang the praises of
locally-owned small busi
nesses. He shared data
from the University of
Chicago showing that
small businesses time and
again outperform large
businesses, because they’re
locally owned and able to
give better, more personal
service.
“Cheryl’s (Treadwell)
Holiday Inn is going to
give more personal service
than the Hilton in
Atlanta,” said Hill. “(O.J.)
Booker’s hospital (Monroe
County Hospital) will give
better service than Grady
in Atlanta.” Hill said he
was recently in the local
hospital was very pleased
with the service.
Hill said his bank’s mis
sion is to help small, local
ly-owned businesses,
recalling the success of
Spanky Beck at Monroe
County Memorial Chapel.
Trees
continued from the front page
at the pecan and maple
trees to see if they’re worth
salvaging.
Budd said some trees
have been damaged by the
heavy equipment and
underground work done on
the courthouse square dur
ing the renovations.
“The best plans are to
replant and go with some
species that will last a long
time and provide good
canopy,” said Budd. Budd
said elms and oaks are
some of the best trees for
that.
However, Budd said he
did not know that county
workers had already cut
down three older trees on
the square.
Hackles were raised last
month when county com
missioner Larry Evans, the
lead member of the renova
tions committee, ordered
workers to cut down two
magnolias and a maple on
the square to make room
for a new sidewalk. It’s
thought the trees were
about 70 years old. The
move led to a confrontation
between Evans and com
missioner Jim Peters, one
that left Evans with crimi
nal charges of disorderly
conduct and terroristic
threats.
But the work must go on,
and probate judge Karen
Pitman said the committee
has decided to move the
main courthouse entrance
to the east side of the
square, across the street
from Grits Cafe. The cur
rent entrance is on the
west side. Pitman said
they also plan to put a
handicapped entrance on
the south side, where a
new wheelchair ramp has
already been created. An
intercom button will allow
wheelchair visitors to alert
deputies inside and gain
entry, said Pitman.
Committee members had
wanted to move the main
entrance to the original
entrance on the south side,
but with the main stairway
at that entrance there
doesn’t appear to be
enough room for the metal
detector and crowds to
make it the main entrance.
While the courthouse
lawn has been seeded and
has wheat straw on it,
Pitman said they will
eventually install a sprin
kler system and sod and
landscape the lawn. She
said they also plan to plant
new trees as big as possi
ble to provide the most
shade.
The courthouse renova
tions, which have included
a new copper roof, new
windows, doors, floors,
paint, and landscaping,
will be capped with a dedi
cation ceremony when it’s
completed.
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Forsyth, GA31029
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After the old Dillon
Funeral Home sold out to a
large conglomerate, Hill
said he wanted Forsyth to
have a locally-owned funer
al home. It was tough.
After opening for business,
Beck didn’t get a call for
the first 60 days. But then
he got one, said Hill. And
he did such a good job he
eventually put Dillon out
of business.
With about 28 employees,
Hill said his bank has a
bigger staff than all the
other banks in Forsyth
combined. He attributes
their success to the fact
that he and president Bill
Bazemore live in Monroe
County and therefore want
to see local businesses
prosper. For instance, when
the Left Bank restaurant
on the downtown square
went out of business, it
was the second one there
that had flopped, said Hill.
It would have seemed like
a big risk for most banks
to back a new restaurant
going there. But because
they lived here, Monroe
County Bank wanted
something there and took a
chance on Grits Cafe. It
has paid off marvelously,
said Hill.
Hill said government
doesn’t need to regulate
businesses because that’s
what customers do.
“To succeed in business
you have to treat your cus
tomers well,’ said Hill.
“Customers regulate busi
ness. It’s stupid to have
government regulate busi
ness.”
He noted that savings
and loans went bust in the
1980s even though they
were all heavily regulated
by bank examiners. And
now, says Hill, banks have
to navigate so many regu
lations that he has two
employees devoted just to
complying with them.
As for solutions to the
massive government, Hill
said he wasn’t sure what to
do. He said both the
Republicans and
Democrats are big govern
ment parties now. He said
he may vote for Sen. John
McCain as the lesser of
two evils, noting the liber
tarians do not usually get
elected.
He said the early
colonists held the Boston
Tea Party over a tea tax
much smaller than the 20-
40 percent of income the
government extracts from
citizens today. Hill said the
problem is that most con
gressmen are professional
politicians who, unlike pre
vious generations, have no
businesses or interests
back home to return to.
“I don’t know how to fix
this,” said Hill.
Dawn and family
We grow portfolios,
and teenagers too.
Dawn Williams recently joined the professional team at Monroe
County Bank. She has twelve years of banking experience and is
one of the friendly tellers who greets you with a warm, welcome
smile. Bank customers appreciate her courteous attitude and
have come to rely upon her banking expertise.
Three years ago Dawn moved here primarily because of the
excellence of the Monroe County school system. Her son
Stephen (17) attends Mary Persons High School and Hannah
(10) is a student at T.G. Scott. Dawn knows the value of investing
quality time in her childrens lives, and in providing them with
the opportunity to acquire a good education. Stephen will be
going to college next year and his mother is dedicated to
helping him prepare for this milestone in his life.
Dawn knows the importance of being focused and prepared. She
brings these strengths to the workplace and mirrors these same
values to her children. Time invested in family and in those we
are privileged to serve is one more reason Banker’s Hours don’t
end at 5 p.m.
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|fj®; MONROE COUNTY BANK
Local, Listening, Leading.
&
NWSB
I FNDF