Charter City Essay

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

November 8, 2011

American Foundations Section 17

Sunnyvale

            First of all if I were to create a city in some uninhabited part of the globe I would have to give it a name. If I were to name a city it would have to be named Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale would be on an island in the Pacific Ocean and everyone would want to live there because of the Free Market Economy and equal opportunity for everyone.

            The first thing that I would do after establishing Sunnyvale of course is write a constitution. The United States Constitution was absolutely instrumental in the economic growth of the United States. I would make sure that my constitution established freedoms and liberties, and that it stated that there would be no unfair taxation or seizing of property. I would have a constitution that made it possible for the economy to grow.

             In Brother Johnson’s paper, The Success of an Idea: American Economic Development, 1787-2010 he states, “As laws are enacted that infringe upon the right to property, a market economy is replaced by some other system. For this reason the free market economy can be appropriately labeled the private property order.” It is essential to have a Constitution so that there are not laws that are made that ruin the free market economy in Sunnyvale. “We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.” (D&C 134 v. 2; see also 3 Nephi 3) The scriptures state that there must be a constitution and God inspired the scriptures so there MUST be a constitution in Sunnyvale.

            President Benson said, “A free market is the right to voluntary exchange of goods and services free from restraints and controls.” So Sunnyvale would have to be a free city, where people could exchange goods without worrying that the government would put an unfair tax on the goods. The government of Sunnyvale would also not be able to seize goods at will.  President Benson also said, “A free market survives on competition.” This is very true, there would have to be competition in Sunnyvale as well.

            In I Pencil it talks about the invisible hand, “In a market economy, when I act in my own self-interest I am guided by the invisible hand to act in the interest of others.” This statement indicates that we as a people do nothing because we “love” others; we do it because it will help us. But because we do things that will help us, we ultimately help others. The invisible hand would be very prevalent in Sunnyvale. The invisible hand would help guide the free market in Sunnyvale.

            In the movie Greed it asks, “Are business men evil?” In the film it answers this question it talks about how no one is forced to buy goods off of businessmen, and that dictators are much worse than businessmen because they take money by force. Businessmen do not take money; they earn it fair and square. The movie also talked about how Red Cross lifeguards are not as good as lifeguards who are trained by a profit organization. This is true because there is and incentive to work hard and be alert when there is someone watching you, and the Red Cross doesn’t watch its lifeguards, but profit organizations do. In Sunnyvale the companies would need to watch their employees to make sure that they are performing well, so that the company can progress economically. People slack off on work if they believe that they will not get caught and then even if they do get caught there will be no consequences, in Sunnyvale people would not behave in this manner.  They would know the consequences of inaction and therefore they would do what they were supposed to do to be able to help Sunnyvale grow.

            The movie on greed stated that, “Greed is not a bad thing as long as it helps the economy grow,” just because another person makes money does not mean that someone else is getting less money. Greed can be a good motivator in a free market economy as long as it doesn’t become too much, or too selfish.

            Marion G. Romney talks about the United Order in the general conference report, 1966. He defines it as “The United Order the Lord's program for eliminating the inequalities among men, is based upon the underlying concept that the earth and all things therein belong to the Lord and that men hold earthly possessions as stewards accountable to God.” In Sunnyvale, the people would live by the United Order so that everyone understood that Gad created everything that they have and that without Him they would have nothing. Sunnyvale would have a United Order because it makes having a free market so much easier. The United Order creates peace and harmony among people and that is how I would want my city of Sunnyvale to be.

            To recap, Sunnyvale would have a constitution, a free market economy, the invisible hand, the United Order, and of course a little bit of Greed. All of these components would combine together to make Sunnyvale a city of opportunity. People would come from everywhere just to be able to taste of this opportunity.