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Individual Rights vs Community Responsibilities in Foundation Repair

Rig in Tucson March 2021As a society and a community we seem to struggle with how to balance protection of individual rights with community responsibilities. When we look back at the history of our country we see many people who have contributed and sacrificed for the greater good of our nation. People have given their lives defending us, people bought war bonds, worked long hours in munitions factories and shipyards, to the police and fire professionals and many similar activities. On a less beloved but still important way also we pay taxes to support community efforts like building dams, airports, water and sewer systems freeways, schools and many more infrastructure and not structural infrastructure that require each of us to give up hard earned dollars to make our communities a better place and enable businesses to thrive.

Individual rights are important too as no one wants to be deprived of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. People should expect to be protected, and represented and not be abused or deceived.

I feel strongly that we should never make profits to disadvantage homeowners.

The point is that there should be a balance between the two. You can’t run into a crowded theater and use your first amendment rights to shout “Fire!” when there is none. Neither individual rights nor community responsibilities should be at the expense of the other but rather a balance. Too often we get caught up in taking one side or another without recognizing a balance between them… as Benjamin Franklyn said we need to saw a little off both ends to make it fit. Sometimes in today’s climate it seems the focus it too often only about “me”…. my rights and my freedom at the expense of our responsibilities to our communities.

I am in business and have many stakeholders. This includes my individual right to own and operate a business to make a profit. I also help provide for over 90 families and have a responsibility to them. Our company pays many taxes (which as my individual right to minimize legally allows me). In addition, I have always recognized our responsibilities to the community.

In addition to the obvious, being licensed and law abiding, there is a larger issue of ethics. How do we balance our need satisfy the equity holders desire for profit, and the need to support employees and their families with being ethical for members of our community… I would call them the Community Stakeholders.

I feel strongly that we should never make profits to disadvantage homeowners. We cannot take advantage of their lack of knowledge to the advantage of the equity and employee stakeholders. Because they are at a distinct disadvantage, we need to take special care to educate them, to stay objective, to remove conflicts of interests, to protect them with competence utilizing the mechanisms of the community, the Board of Technical Registration to regulate and protect proper conduct for engineers. As opposed to non-licensed salesman who are not regulated by anyone and are paid with 100% commissions for everything they “find”. Sort of like the witch hunters of the middle ages who were paid a commission for every witch that they “found”.

We can do things like use consensus allowables for gaging severity, use peer review to help us overcome blind spots, utilize data driven recommendations, and be transparent.

I have been told many times by my peers in the foundation industry, and our supplying stakeholders, that profits cannot be balanced with these principles. I am happy to report that even though it took many years to build our own model, and iron out the kinks, our profits are at least as good or better than our peers in the piering industry.

Balance is achievable and, in the end, better for everybody.

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