March 29, 2016 (Tuesday)
On this day (March 29, 1886) while trying to develop another product, in a Georgia back yard the inventors of Coca Cola accidentally brewed the combination of a syrup they had created with carbonated water and came up with a product that would someday become known around the world as a refreshing non-alcoholic drink.
In the ensuing years, others produced soft drinks with various flavors based upon new recipes, and an entire industry sprang up in the the good old U.S.A. That industry is now world-wide. Coca Cola signs are in many countries.
That’s the way this country has worked, and it has worked well. People were free to investigate and invent. Some ideas caught on, and made it to the marketplace, creating wealth.
People made rich by developing ideas and products needed help in production. Jobs were created, and in time a middle class arose.
Poor people had a path to the middle class. They went to work and bettered themselves, socially and economically.
Today there is much talk about 1% of the population controlling more wealth than the other 99% combined. Many people seem to think there is something immoral and wrong about this situation, and want laws passed that will force the wealthy to share their wealth with the poor. Does that sound like the America we have always known? I think not.
There’s an opportunity out there somewhere waiting for those willing to do whatever is necessary to seize it. Every time we have a “Coke” or another soft drink we pay tribute to that idea.