American Obstinacy

You have to hand it to Stephen Wingate, the Rambo of American small business in Ukraine. We first covered his nightmare in trying to open his Mykolayiv restaurant (February 9, 1999) and now we cover his fight to keep it open. To refresh your mind, Wingate got a building for 21,000 hryvnias and after sinking tens of thousands of dollars into its renovation was told he would not be allowed to open it. This native of the bluegrass state turned out to be more stubborn than a Missouri mule, screaming his head off to anyone who would listen and wearing the local corrupt politicians down to the point where last spring he did open his “saloon” after all. Now he sees it in danger if the son of his main local opponent is elected mayor. And he is doing everything he can to stop that from happening. Some of his antics seem to me a little on the churlish side, but with what this fellow has had to put up with, I can understand why he has decided not to take any guff from anybody but to dish it out himself.

Actually, there are stories about other Americans in Wingate’s position being told to get out, leave their investment to others, or be killed. And the businessmen usually flee. This is one reason why nobody wants to invest here. The investor has no idea, based on past experience, if he will actually be allowed to make money or if everything will be taken away from him.

The small business Stephen Wingate has set up is precisely the kind this country needs to get off its knees economically. I find it hard to believe that anybody has failed to understand that it is this type of business which gives market economies their dynamism. He has also presented an inspiring example to one and all that you really can fight city hall, which might lead Ukrainians themselves to emulate him and start changing things. If this country had more businessmen like this loudmouthed American from the land of Daniel Boone, this country could start going places. Or if businessmen had less cause for such bumptiousness.