LocksmithLedger.com |

This editorial is being written on April 15th, the dreaded deadline for paying your income taxes. Many people across the country are forming tea parties as a protest against where our tax dollars are being spent. Other people are going so far as to circulate petitions calling for recalls of politician officeholders.

It is human nature to grouse about problems. In the USA it is common practice to stage what are called "peaceful demonstrations" about everything from gay rights to gun control. Every citizen has a right to free speech in this country. If you want to march, then so be it.  As long as people and property are not damaged in the process, there is nothing wrong with staging a demonstration.

It is easy to be against something. It is much harder for many of these same people to offer a better plan than the one they are against. Regardless of the political party in power, over the years the opposing party not in office has been obliged to "just say no."  This has led to an almost perfect 50/50 split in public support of the two major political parties. The party having the least public apathy during each election cycle is the normal winner. Issues often get lost in the process.

Locksmithing is having some similar problems today. It is easy to be against the horde of phony locksmith phone numbers now appearing in the yellow pages. I have attended locksmith meetings recently where every locksmith in the room understood the problem. At the same time, many of these locksmiths are asking what they are going to do about it. "They" refers to groups such as the yellow page people, politicians and ALOA.

Just like the economy, there is no quick fix for disposing of the phony locksmith problem. All the groups mentioned above are quietly moving to resolve the problem. It took several years for the phony locksmiths to move into Internet sites and all the phone books across the country, and it will take at least that long to bring the issue under control.