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For the past decade, groups opposed to Wal-Mart have targeted the large retailer for a variety of reasons ranging from health care plans to their union-free work environment. As the anti-Wal-Mart movement gained ground, more and more bills were introduced to force the company to change the way it conducts business and pays its employees.

One of the great vulnerabilities of capitalism is the perception that it is somehow less than moral, if not positively amoral. A common view of business was depicted in the movie Wall Street, in which Michael Douglas’s character made famous the phrase, “Greed is good.” Capitalism is widely seen as promoting selfishness. We tolerate it because it gives us jobs and prosperity, but many look on this as a Faustian bargain. Charity and capitalism are seen as polar opposites. Thus there’s a phrase that’s often used today—I myself use it from time to time without thinking—which is “giving back.” If you’ve succeeded in business, it’s counted a good thing if you “give back” to the community. And charity is, of course, a good thing. The problem with this phrase is its implication that by succeeding, we have taken something that wasn’t ours. The same idea is summed up in the cynical saying, “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” This way of thinking about democratic capitalism is wrong.

While small businesses are the main driving force behind our state’s economic growth, they have garnered little support from our state legislature. Since 2001, Washington Policy Center’s Small Business Project has dealt with the state’s restrictive legislative climate and given a voice to small business owners through research and analyzing their policy recommendations. However, during that time the Project has only been operating on a part-time basis.