Freedom.
It’s a word that we, as Americans, are quite familiar with, but what does it mean? Freedom, to me anyway, is the idea that you can do what you want without the government restricting you from doing it—so long as it’s not depriving someone else of their freedom. As we celebrate this 4th of July season, we need always to remember that American citizens like and covet their freedoms. So often, we are the target of other countries mocking tones because we value our Constitution’s freedoms.
Have you read the Bill of Rights recently? If you have, then you’ll come to realize quickly that governments try really hard to circumvent those rights and pile on regulations and limitations. Regulation—it’s what government does best. They are constantly telling us what we can and can’t say (1st amendment), they are trying to control our ability to protect our livelihoods and families (2nd amendment), if they had it their way, they would always be looking into our personal lives and keeping tabs on us (4th amendment), and we constantly are judged before we’ve had the full due process of the law (5th amendment).
While the Bill of Rights implicitly applies to each person’s freedoms, they are also there to protect the rights of businesses. Most of us are business professionals, and we’ve seen, all too often, how much regulation the government tries to put on the apartment industry. We’re in the business of providing quality living spaces to renters who agree to participate by paying rent, etc. We’ve become an easy target for city governments who are always looking for creative ways to pile on the regulations. What they don’t realize is that it affects their citizens in negative ways because, as a business, we typically pass the costs down to our customers, thereby increasing the cost of rent.
Freedom is why AATC, AAGD, TAA, and NAA exist—to fight city regulations and fees that impact your bottom line. Each of the aforementioned associations has staff whose specific task is to lobby local government officials regarding our concerns and help us protect our freedom!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful 4th of July and keep on working hard to keep your hard-fought freedom, both personally and professionally.
Jason Busboom, Busboom Group, is AATC’s President. For more information, contact Perry Pillow at ppillow@aatcnet.org
