Congressman Tim Bishop announced Thursday that he has successfully intervened on the behalf of three North Fork winemakers to help them get their wine labeled and ready for sale, after federal budget cutbacks and increased demand jammed up the wine label approval process earlier this year. — The Suffolk Times, 30 June 2011
New York Congressman Tim Bishop (CD-1) intervened on behalf of three wineries in his district that were facing delays in getting the labels for their wine approved by Washington. The process normally takes 48 hours but has stretched out for months for minor changes to the packaging.
Jim Waters of Waters Crest Winery, who had recently changed the shape of the bottles and added the word “dry” to his 2010 rosé label, is relieved by the approval and is now ready to sell 120 cases of that vintage.
In his last congressional race one of the strengths of Congressman Bishop was his constituent service, his willingness to get involved to help his constituents. After helping these three businesses “The congressman added that the label issues have been resolved for all the wineries that he was made aware of. He urged winemakers still having label trouble to contact his Patchogue office.” Good work, Congressman.
On The Other Hand
On the other hand it begs the question, why does it require the intervention of a United States Congressman to fix this problem? Why is Washington approving changes to a product’s packaging, such as the shape of the bottle and adding the word “dry” to the label? Do you think we are overregulated? Why is a bureaucracy 300 miles away from these small businessmen, bringing their business to a standstill?
While you ponder that question and others like it, what kind of legislation does Congressman Bishop vote for? The 2,000 page ObamaCare bill? Yes. $800 billion in stimulus that didn’t stimulate? Yes. Taking over two automobile companies? Yes.
The image that jumps to mind is that of the arsonist who starts a fire and then arrives first on the scene as the hero to help put the fire out. In this case, fortunately, the congressman and his staff were available to help these constitutents. What if next time the congressman is too busy trying to cut the deficit? I have a better idea. Get rid of the burdensome regulations that are choking small and medium businesses, the engines of job creation, and set them free. As I have repeatedly written, I believe the stubborn unemployment is due to uncertainty. There are so many new programs and regulations coming down the road, programs and regulations supported by Congressman Bishop, that small and medium businesses can’t predict their costs and until they do, they are not going to hire more people that they may have to turn around and layoff if they guess wrong on their costs.
That’s my opinion; I’d like to know yours. Please comment below.
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