There is perhaps no system in the world that better protects the interests of Americans than the free enterprise system. At both home and abroad, embracing innovation and entrepreneurship makes America a freer and safer country. Since its founding, our country’s dedication to a free market system, absent large government intrusion and regulation has made us stronger. At a time when we see dictatorships across the globe abusing their powers, it should remind our leaders at home that American companies must be free to operate and innovate without censorship over government intrusion.
Take for example the rapid expansion of technology around internet. Today, foreign adversaries like Russia and China are trying to rewrite the rules of the internet to exert more control over the web and digital platforms. Thankfully, American and Western tech companies and digital platforms have been stepping in to support Ukraine, intensifying efforts to bolster cyber capabilities and identify and stop disinformation campaigns. A government that can overregulate your internet can also spread disinformation, propaganda and abuse the power of the internet. This is all made possible because of the embracing of the big hand of government. A government that can “give” you everything you want can also take it all away.
Given this current landscape, we cannot overlook how vital it is to ensure that democracies, not autocracies like Russia and China, are exporting technology across the world. This is especially important as technology increasingly envelops global affairs – militarily, economically, and politically. Embracing innovation and embracing free markets will not just support our local mom-and-pop shops but will continue to help spread our values across the globe.
That is why it is particularly alarming when legislation is brought up in Congress that would thwart progress and innovation in our tech sector. Problematically, some lawmakers are pursuing anti-innovation legislation that would undermine America’s technology innovators while at the same time giving a leg up to authoritarian countries. From West Virginia to California and every state in between, our elected officials must reject calls to stifle our American innovators. We must embrace the free market system that makes America great and refuse attempts for big government to tell our businesses what they can and cannot do.
We should be taking every opportunity to ensure that American tech remains the strongest in the world, not promoting anti-innovation legislation that hamstrings our domestic companies’ ability to innovate in the face of aggressive adversaries. American innovation makes America uniquely strong – something we cannot stray from.
How the U.S. responds to these shifting standards and norms in the global tech arena now will undoubtedly shape the internet and economy of the future. Our leaders in Washington and West Virginia must stand strong in supporting our homegrown innovators and advancing our technological interests at home. If they don’t, we risk falling into a disadvantaged economic position and decreasing our influence over geopolitical affairs.
Now more than ever, it is vital for our leaders to support policies that will strengthen our domestic tech industry and sharpen America’s technological edge. A free market system is not the only path to prosperity, but it is one of the most important, today and into the future.
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Dr. Chris Stansbury is a Charleston native and a graduate of George Washington High School, West Virginia University and the Southern College of Optometry. He is a co-founder and partner at West Virginia Eye Consultants, an optometry/ophthalmology group based in Charleston, WV. WV Eye has grown from a humble start-up with two doctors and one employee to 10 doctors and 70 employees. The multi-specialty eye care practice has 6 locations that serve southern West Virginia and the tri-state area. Dr. Stansbury served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2014-16 where he was the Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. He currently resides in Charleston with his college sweetheart, Amber, and their two boys, Grant and Reed.