Thomas Jefferson's Department Of Commerce

The Department of Commerce: The Most Important Department of the President’s Cabinet

Thomas Jefferson, one of the nation’s founding fathers, once said “Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.” Thus, one can conclude that Jefferson put great importance in commerce. Commerce is defined as the large scale activity of buying and selling, or trade between countries. To help encourage commerce, the president has a cabinet department designated specifically for commerce, called the United States Department of Commerce. Its secretary, or leader, is Penny Pritzker. First, the Department of Commerce leads thirteen different commerce agencies. Second, they handle all patents and trademarks for the country. Finally, the

Many believe that patents and trademarks have no importance in the economy. Nevertheless, one must remember that without patents and trademarks, innovation would slow greatly in America. Without a patent or trademark to protect one’s inventions, their ideas may be taken or used by others, without giving them credit or compensation for the original idea. Trademarks deal with words, logos, symbols or phrases that distinguish a company and never expire. Patents deal specifically with inventions and can last fourteen or twenty years, depending on the invention. Both can significantly aid a business. For example, Nike has trademarked their iconic “swoosh” logo. No matter which country one is in, the logo is recognized, thus for a global business, a trademarked logo is crucial. Third, trademarks spark innovation. Trademarks never expire, thus if a logo is trademarked, no one else can use it. It forces other businesses and organizations to make new logos to obtain trademarks. Thus, patents and trademarks are an important part of a competitive

Some claim the American economy would be better if left alone by the government, and if the government spent less tax dollars. Even so, the American economy has showed signs that it needs government intervention in order to succeed. America has programs that use tax dollars in attempt to benefit the majority of the country. Tax dollars can be used to provide federal aid to areas that are suffering from natural disaster, funding government agencies such as NASA, salaries for government employees, etc. The Department of Commerce studies how these tax dollars are used, and makes suggestions to the Executive Branch on how to spend their tax dollars to better benefit the country. In addition, the department takes steps to boost competition in the economy. As Herbert Hoover once said, “Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.” To boost competition, the department works directly with businesses and universities to aid in development. Without competition in the market, if one company controlled everything, they could set prices at whatever they choose, which would greatly hinder the economy. As a result of better spending tax dollars and improving economic competition, the entire country