What is a Capitalist? Or, rather, who is a capitalist?
HE'S COMMERCE with a smile on his face. He's REAL PROGRESS standing behind a counter, in a factory, or behind a desk.
Capitalists are the heartbeat of every Main Street in America. In fact, progress all over the world really stems from the risks the capitalists are willing to take.
Every man, woman or couple that decides to risk home and life savings by opening a new business is a capitalist.
Capitalists comes in all sizes, shapes and temperaments. There are tall, sad capitalists who sell hardware; and short, happy capitalists who manufacture shoes or produce software.
There are young capitalists who have taken over the family farm to grow and sell hay. There are old capitalists who still run the family clothing store chain and pay wages to thousands of folks on their payrolls.
A capitalist might be rich and powerful--but most are not. Or he may be small and energetic—most are—and he has risked it ALL to open the little shop around the corner from where YOU and I live.
But either way, rich or small, large or medium, he's the great American businessman who spins the wheels of trade and meshes the economic gears of the nation.
He's a capitalist.
He's a good neighbor back of a cash register, a desk or a milling machine. He's freedom with the front door of his business open to you!
He's America's greatest host and largest employer.
Each business morning he opens his glittering stores and displays what's fine in the world for all to buy at prices you can afford.
He creates, manufactures and/or sells bathtubs, wonder drugs, lumber, automobiles, bread, books, and much, much more.
He is the godfather of better living for you and me by supplying us with wages and helping to drive prices down through production—so our wages will go further and buy more to satisfy our needs and desires. He's the man who buys tomorrow at wholesale in the hope of pleasing YOU.
Yes! He's a capitalist!
He's also a philosopher with a fixed daily overhead and a diplomat with a file full of accounts receivable.
He's the community philanthropist who helps build hospitals, and helps pay for schools. He's the spark plug of every community producing benefits for others while seeking some profit for himself.
He's a capitalist.
Landlords love him because his payroll helps thousands of renters pay their rent on time. Bankers respect him because they understand the risk he undertakes day after day.
We, the customers depend on him.
He keeps the factories of the nation alive. His constant freight moves the overland trucks and the nation's railroad cars. His payroll churns the community's economy.
He's a capitalist.
He likes: Quality merchandise, people who pay their bills, modern stores, clean sidewalks, shiny store windows, good checks, a healthy economy, happy customers, courteous salesmen, the Chamber of Commerce, and Christmas.
He dislikes: Inferior merchandise, shoplifters, checks that bounce, rainy days, fly-by-night salesmen, dirty show windows, and unpaid bills.
He's a buyer and he's a seller. He's a gambler, betting his own money on what will may YOU and ME—his customers—happier tomorrow than they are today.
He's proprietor, a tax collector for the state, a bookkeeper, a straw boss, a messenger boy, an efficiency expert, a cashier, a credit manager, a trouble shooter, an order filler, a payroll clerk, a bill collector, a "Yes" man, a "No" man, and a civic builder.
He's the hardest-working, most valuable man on every Main Street.
He's a capitalist.
