By Evelyn Pyburn

A government that recognized the individual, didn’t exist until the emergence of the United States. Even during the Enlightenment, just the concept of it was just as readily recognized as a threat to autocracy as it is today, and it was just as fervently opposed by aspiring dictators. Individualism became a reality for the very first time, and essentially the only time, with the American Revolution.

Individualism was the “shot heard round the world.” And it is still reverberating.

Now that New York City, a city previously distinguished as the embodiment of economic freedom and recognized as such throughout the world, has elected a communist mayor, and now that liberals are heralding Venezuelan’s communist leader, Nicolás Maduro, as a hero, we shouldn’t be surprised that socialists will now turn with vehement attacks on private property. Private property must be the next target. Efforts to destroy western civilization and impose communalism cannot happen in the same sphere as private property rights.

Private property rights are about the individual person, not the collective. If society is to erase recognition of the sovereignty of One, over the nebulous impulses of the masses, the individual as a concept CANNOT be allowed to exist – which is what private property is all about. PRIVATE PROPERTY IS STANDING ROOM FOR THE INDIVIDUAL.

That is why private property never existed before the writing of the US Constitution. Never before was there a reason to differentiate one property from another. All property – everything – including the person — without question, belonged to the king, the despot, the overlord, the political elite.

The singular individual did not exist as a concept nor as a reality. Each One was the property of the feudal lord — readily dispensable upon the wavering whims to serve the horde. Without the ability to own themselves and the means of survival, the individual person is but fodder for the mob.

Any collectivist crusade must extinguish private property. It will now be attacked with vehemence, because you and I, as individuals, must be quashed, silenced, suppressed, and that cannot happen if we are allowed to own property – the means of our survival.

But this attack is not new. It has been going on for a very long time. At the very least, since public schools quit teaching the tenets of the US Constitution — since students ceased to learn about the differences in “isms” and most especially about the importance of private property rights.

In fact, the violation of property rights in the US has its own government infrastructure, which has offices in almost every town in the country. They oversee centralized planning, building codes, zoning, and community development. Besides being shielded from most State oversight, these agencies get the lion’s share of their funding from the federal government.

And, wow, have they ever been effective. It is almost exclusively because of this weighty governance that our country has a housing shortage. Just think about it. Has there ever been a demand for a product that cannot be delivered by the market? It is almost unheard of.

High prices indicate high demand. What other product, in high demand, doesn’t have the whole of the market place rushing to deliver it to consumers, as fast as possible? Even if the product is illegal, producers rush to meet market demand, ie. drugs! Black markets!

Housing has essentially become illegal through the unaffordability and encumbrances of building codes and other superfluous regulations. So absolute is its government prohibitions, the market cannot overcome them.

I have covered the issue of centralized planning, zoning and building restrictions since the 1970s and in all that time I have never heard any discussion from anyone regarding property rights or cost. Never, never in adding a new restriction or requirement has anyone ever said, “How much will that cost the homeowner?”

Oh, yes, the cost of whether the agency can afford to enforce some new rule has been raised, but never, never, never a word about whether the property owner – the individual citizen—  can afford to pay for the new mandate. And NEVER has there been discussion about its impact on businesses, or the economy and certainly not on housing affordability.

So as the socialists wring their hands and cry crocodile tears about how homes are no longer affordable, don’t believe they are sincerely concerned. The laments are not directed at changing the dictatorial system; they are but advancing the welfare state. They are pleading for government housing. Paving the way for a greater collectivist state and more bureaucracy.

Over the decades, this has all unfolded so effectively because public school children were not, and are not, taught about property rights, or about the Constitution and the pillars that uphold its principles. While the children may pledge to support freedom, they were never told there is no freedom without property rights.

And, unless citizens stand their ground against the attack upon property rights that is manifesting before us, we will lose it all – property rights include more than a house. Property rights are our means of conducting business, advancing technology and new ideas, of earning a living and being able to keep it, of having the means to learn or to invest or to support those we care about – of being able to have a savings or to keep our retirement funds, or of having a means to travel and the latitude to do so, and of pursuing good health. Property rights are our means to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

By Evelyn Pyburn

It’s a new era for ice hockey in Billings, Montana – in fact for all ice sports.

With Signal Peak Energy’s $6 million donation, this past month, along with the addition of many other community donations, a groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday to build a $12 million Signal Peak Energy Arena, which will feature two-sheets of ice for hockey, curling, figure skating, etc.

On a bright sunny and very warm day, hundreds of people and numerous dignitaries, including Governor Greg Gianforte, were on site to commemorate the launching of the new facility, which will eventually include a second phase of four basketball courts. The new sports complex is located on property the city purchased a few years ago, next to the Amend Park Soccer Complex, near the corner of South Billings Boulevard and King Avenue East.

The two-sheet ice project is a public – private collaboration of The Yellowstone Ice Foundation and the South Billings Urban Renewal Association, (SBURA), a tax increment finance district funded by property taxes from business growth in the vicinity of the intersection of Interstate 90 and South Billings Boulevard. SBURA donated $4.6 million.

The goal of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation, which will operate the new facility, is to build it without further reliance on public dollars. Over a year ago, City of Billings’ voters rejected a $143 million bond aimed at building and maintaining a full scale recreation facility, in the same location. That effort followed years of effort, by hockey and other ice sports participants to find a way to increase capacity for their growing sports, since they were out-growing the existing Centennial Arena, which has been the only ice arena in Billings since the mid- 70s.

The new state-of-the –art facility will not only serve the youth of today but will “drive long-term economic success and create opportunities for athletes of all ages,” heralded Parker Phipps, Signal Peak president & C.E.O.  Signal Peak operates Montana’s only underground coal mine north of Billings on the border of Yellowstone County and Musselshell County near Roundup. Phipps is also president of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation Board.

Alex Picicci, Signal Peak senior accountant and secretary-treasurer for the Yellowstone Ice Foundation, also spoke to the crowd about the potential for ice sports in Billings.

The crowd especially enjoyed a historical rendition about hockey in Billings, from a man referred to as the Godfather of Hockey in Billings, Joe Studiner.

There was no hockey in Billings when Studiner arrived in the city over 50 years ago, which made him inclined to think he wasn’t going to remain in the city very long. But when he heard that there was an effort to form a youth team, he arrived at the gathering ready to serve as a coach and became a leader for the sport in Billings and throughout the state. As strange as it might seem for a city located in the north, the sport’s biggest struggle – with only outdoor rinks – – was that it was often too warm to have ice.

Studiner is more than pleased with the prospect of having an indoor rink with two sheets of ice.

The 69,996-square-foot complex will have capacity for about 2,940 spectators, and is expected to contribute to future economic growth of sports tourism for Billings, which has been championed by Visit Billings as part of the Billings Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber of Commerce President/ CEO, John Brewer, underscored the growing importance of sports tourism to the local economy.  Billings Mayor Bill Cole, further emphasized the potential for the Billings economy, stating, “Tourism is a powerful economic driver.” He noted that each year, the city hosts 2.6 million visitors, generating $621 million in spending.

The Billings Tourism Business Improvement District has announced the commitment of $1 million over the next three years to support Signal Peak Energy Arena.

That announcement followed an earlier one from Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Billings of a $500,000 contribution, which secured the naming rights for the building’s lobby.

“Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company is well-known for their commitment to the Billings community,” said Phipps. “Pepsi’s donation brings a legacy of public support to the state-of-the-art ice arena.”

Tom Dimich of Pepsi-Cola Bottling explained. “Our involvement goes beyond supplying refreshing soft drinks; we’re eager to invest in a project that will do so much for the families and athletes in the region.”

According to Yellowstone Ice Foundation they have has raised over $11 million of their $16 million goal.

Another $1 million was donated by the Larson Family. First Interstate Bank has contributed $45,000. Other contributions have come from KE Construction,  KOA, Billings Amateur Hockey Leagues, Tom and Joan Scott Foundation, Northwest Pipe Fittings, BNSF Railway, Western Security Bank, Altana, The Clark-O’Rourke Family, Weave, MCAHA, The Seedhouse Family, Billings Overhead Door Co., Edwards & Culver, The Wald Family, Mattress King, Intermountain Health, Collaborative Design Architects, A & E Design, and Allegra.

“This project is a win for Billings and for Montana kids,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Thanks to strong community partners and Signal Peak Energy, we’re investing in a stronger future for the community and for young athletes looking to grow, compete, and have fun.”

Dick Zier, who heads SBURA, also spoke to welcome the ice arena. He said that they expect the addition of a $20 million basketball court to be ready in a little more than a year.

The Signal Peak Energy Arena is expected to be completed in April 2026.

Despite a high-performing job market, economic growth in Montana slowed in 2024, continuing a three year decline following the pandemic year boom of 2022, when the state had one of the fastest growing economies in the US, according to Jeffrey Michael, the new director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research during its annual Economic Outlook Seminar. It looks like growth for 2024 is going to come in at about 2.4 percent of non-farm earnings – better than what was predicted.

In 2023, Montana fell back to a level closer to its historic average, and is likely to maintain that average in 2025 with a projected growth rate of 1.7 to 1.8 percent, which Michael said may be a bit too pessimistic. 

Even though there has been much talk about Montana’s population growth spurt, the reality is, in 2024, Montana’s population growth fell to its lowest level in decades. At the same time, Montana’s traditional resource-based industries of agriculture, mining, and forest products, all experienced downturns in 2024.

Other projections for Montana is that the population growth will slow even further; the full impact of mining and wood products closures and their layoffs are likely to be further felt in 2025; and interest rate sectors will get little relief.

 Inflation is down but it hasn’t been defeated. Because of that the Federal Reserve has indicated it is going to pause in reducing interest rates in 2025.

The good news will come after 2025, according to Michael. It’s then that moderate population growth will resume; the state’s tech industry will continue to mature; and new investments are likely in mining, energy and tourism.

Michael said that Montana’s population grew slower than that of the US for the first time since 2012. At 0.5 percent population growth in 2024 was the lowest in two decades. The decline happened for several reasons. Net migration into Montana from other states dropped to 5,400 in 2024 from a peak of 20,500 in 2021. Also, according to Michael, Montana has not felt the surge in international in-migration (legal and illegal) that has powered recent population growth in other states. Montana ranks last in international migration and is the only state with fewer than a thousand international migrants in 2024. However, births exceeded deaths last year, which was the first time that natural population increased in several years.

Even though population growth has slowed, the impacts of the earlier rapid growth are still being felt throughout the state. Most notably are persistent high housing costs. In fact, Montana’s population growth will likely remain slow until housing prices and income become more balanced, which may take years.

While the future is highly uncertain in 2025, Montana is likely to maintain slow to moderate growth because Montana is less dependent on international trade and immigration than other states and will likely be less affected by growing global uncertainty and changes in federal policies.

The seminar highlighted the emerging technology of AI (Artificial Intelligence). In introducing the subject, Pat Barkey said they wanted to focus on AI, because of its potential to benefit Montana businesses. Pat Barkey will retire in June as BBER’s director, a position he has held for 17 years.

AI has the capability to enhance productivity and it could enhance almost every industry, said Michael. “You could see significant productivity gains in the future.”

While aspects of AI have been coming at us for several years, its advances were little noticed until it gained the ability to write text, compose music and create art, said Barkey, adding “The speed of its development has been torrid.”

A question that is often asked is “will AI take over my job?” And the conference answer to that was, “No, but someone who understands AI will.”

Barkey said the question that many are asking: Is this going to be like the Industrial Revolution in bringing the entire economy to a different level of growth?

“It’s been a fast moving phenomena,” said Barkey, “What it is really good at is dealing with piles and piles and piles of unconstructed data.” It holds the promise of being able to increase the growth in productivity, which is significant, said Barkey, because “growth and productivity in the economy is what fuels our standard of living.”

We learned a “heck of a lot about production” in World War II, said Barkey.  “We put those lessons to use in the following decades. Coming out of the 50s and 60s, we had relatively high average growth.”

Since then there has been some fluctuation in the 80s and 2000s because of the internet and computers.

According to Barkey, “There has been no game change in the technological development in the economy since World War II. . . nothing like the industrial revolution ‘that changes everything’. . .  Nothing has moved the needle to the entire economy to take productivity to a new level. AI might not be that but it sure looks like it has a lot of promise. . . It doesn’t take much to make a really meaningful change in the economic standard of living ..  . The economy averages about 2.5 percent since WWII.  If we moved it up 3 percentage points out to the year 2040, then we would have almost 50 percent more economic output in the economy than we would have without that extra growth. A little change across the entire economy in the largest economy in the world, gets a whole lot done.”

Personal income growth slowed to 1.2 percent in Montana during 2024, about half of the 2.3 percent growth in 2023, and much slower than the more than 6 percent growth experienced during 2020 and 2021. 2024 was the first year since the Covid upheaval that Montana income grew slower than the US.

Earnings growth in 2024 in construction and the service sectors outperformed resource-based industries over one-year and five-year periods. Construction lead all industries in real earnings growth at $272 million, followed by health care and retail trade with both experiencing over $100 million in earnings growth in 2024.

Montana’s resource-based industries experienced a very difficult 2024. Farm earnings – extremely volatile – show a very sharp decline, after strong earnings in 2022. Mining earnings also declined by about $190 million in 2024, and the full effects of the Sibanye-Stillwater mine closure may not be fully captured in the data. Forestry activities experienced a $19 million earnings’ decline and wood products mill closures are a factor behind an $18 million decline in manufacturing earnings.

So what is sustaining job growth in Montana?

Jobs are less affected by the declines in commodity prices and real estate sales that have pulled down incomes.  Montana’s job growth was 1.5 percent in 2024, strong enough to rank in the top five states, but only half the 3 percent job growth seen in 2023. Jobs grew fastest in construction and services, with declines in mining, finance and real estate.

Said Michael, “The US economy has seen a much more dynamic labor force and a more dynamic business center in the past couple of years more than we have seen in the past decade or two.”

People ask why the US economy does so much better than Europe and other countries, according to Michael, who explained,  “Labor market researchers found that the US worker is two and a half times more likely to change industries and occupations than a worker in Europe. In the US workers are much more willing to change or move to a new sector that is more productive or where labor is more needed.  We have also seen an increase in entrepreneurship, individuals who are willing  to take a risk and start a business —  all of which is beneficial for the economy. And the last thing is the population growth. It is a controversial topic, but there is no doubt that it is a contributor. . . US population growth was more than we anticipated and more people means more workers and more demand in the economy.”

During the 2010s, continued Michael, people were scratching their heads and asking what happened to the American entrepreneur in the 2010s? “The rate of business start- ups was a mystery.” Since 2020 the level of entrepreneurial business creation has increased and sustained at higher levels. “

There was little optimism to be found in the most recent release of NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report, but a whole lot of uncertainty, in fact, a record amount.

NFIB’s Optimism Index, also known as the SBET, recorded its 33rd consecutive month below its 50-year average. The uncertainty index raised eyebrows, rising 11 points to 103—the highest reading recorded.

“With elections right around the corner, there’s bound to be some level of uncertainty percolating among small business owners, but what we’re seeing right now is not your typical election season anxiety,” said Ronda Wiggers, Montana state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which produces the Optimism Index, also known as the Small Business Economic Trends report.

“There’s a massive federal tax increase set to automatically kick in on January 1, 2026, if Congress fails to act in the next 15 months. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would address this problem by preserving the 20% Small Business Deduction, but the likelihood of next year’s Congress and the executive branch working together concerns many small business owners.”

 “Small business owners are feeling more uncertain than ever. Uncertainty makes owners hesitant to invest in capital spending and inventory, especially as inflation and financing costs continue to put pressure on their bottom lines. Although some hope lies ahead in the holiday sales season, many Main Street owners are left questioning whether future business conditions will improve.”

Other Highlights from the SBET Report

* The average rate paid on short maturity loans was 10.1%, up 0.6 of a point from August. The last time it was this high was February 2001.

* Thirty-four percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down six points from August and the lowest reading since January 2021.

* Seasonally adjusted, a net 32% reported raising compensation, down one point from August and remaining the lowest reading since April 2021.

* Twenty-three percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business (higher input and labor costs), down one point from August but remaining the top issue.

NFIB’s monthly (SBET) report is the gold standard measurement of America’s small business economy. Used by the Federal Reserve, Congressional leaders, administration officials, and state legislatures across the nation, it’s regarded as the bellwether on the health and welfare of the Main Street enterprises that employ half of all workers, generate more net new jobs than large corporations, and gave most of us the first start in our working life. The SBET (aka the Optimism Index) is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. More about the Uncertainty Index can be read here. The typical NFIB member employs between one and nine people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.