*This article was originally published in The Hill * How much does it cost to rebrand a fee levied on health insurers as a “HIT on small business”? Well, $1.593 million, according to this exposé in the New York Times a few days ago. A little background: a provision of the Affordable Care Act levies a feeContinue reading “Who’s Really Behind the “Voice of Small Business?””
Tag Archives: small business
Paid Sick Days: Good for Workers, Good for Business
Tony Sandkamp, owner of Sandkamp Woodworks in New Jersey, is a supporter of paid sick days for workers – because it makes sense for employees, and it makes sense for his company’s bottom line. Sandkamp, a Main Street Alliance leader, recently joined a panel of business leaders at the New York Regional Forum on WorkingContinue reading “Paid Sick Days: Good for Workers, Good for Business”
Will SEC order a dose of sunlight for corporate political spending?
Mary Jo White, the new Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was recently confirmed to a five-year term that secures her position until 2019. With that kind of job security, Ms. White should be able to rise above the partisan pressures of Washington politics and advance a proactive agenda at the SEC thatContinue reading “Will SEC order a dose of sunlight for corporate political spending?”
Sorting through the business lobbies’ diverse interests on tax reform
This fall a major showdown is brewing over tax and budget priorities in our nation’s capital. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Congressman Dave Camp (R-Michigan) have been laying groundwork for a rewrite of the U.S. tax code.
Laundering The Message
How big insurance bought and paid for the “small business” attack on Obamacare Last week, the National Journal reported that in 2011, the health insurance industry lobby group AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) quietly funneled $850,000 to the NFIB – the self-proclaimed “Voice of Small Business” – as part of a campaign to repealContinue reading “Laundering The Message”
Tax Havens for Big Business? Small Business Owners Say ‘Not so fast’
Multi-Partisan small business owners spoke out earlier this month, further distinguishing their interests from those of Big Business. Wednesday, in his post “Has the Budget Crisis Du Jour Got You Down?” Bill Daley pointed out that if Congress were to close one tax loophole on offshore accounts, it could be enough to create a ‘jobContinue reading “Tax Havens for Big Business? Small Business Owners Say ‘Not so fast’”
Does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speak for small business? Maine small business owner says: “No!”
Melanie Collins, a small business owner and leader with the Maine Small Business Coalition, traveled to Washington, DC on October 19 to speak at a press conference outside the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Her message was simple: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t speak for small business, and it doesn’t speak forContinue reading “Does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speak for small business? Maine small business owner says: “No!””
Bogus Claims About Small Business and the Bush Tax Cuts for the Top 2 Percent
The debate about the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent of income earners (with annual household income over $250,000) is heating up in Washington, DC, and with it the rhetoric about how ending these special breaks might affect small businesses. Indeed, opponents of ending the special breaks at the top are making doomsdayContinue reading “Bogus Claims About Small Business and the Bush Tax Cuts for the Top 2 Percent”
ACA Decision: Much at Stake for Small Businesses
Millions of small business owners, and their tens of millions of employees, will be greatly impacted by tomorrow’s US Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act. The enormous benefits that the ACA provides–expanding coverage options, lowering costs and giving consumers, not insurance companies, control over their own health care, to name a few–hang inContinue reading “ACA Decision: Much at Stake for Small Businesses”
Does the NFIB represent small business…or big special interests?
Cross-posted from Public Campaign website. Analysis by Public Campaign and Alliance for a Just Society The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), heralded as the “voice” of America’s small businesses, has received renewed scrutiny due to its role as the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit to throw out the Affordable Care Act, which awaits aContinue reading “Does the NFIB represent small business…or big special interests?”