Keyword tag search: small business

Main Street Alliance Leader Don Orange Shares His Story in Washington, D.C.

On March 17, Main Street Alliance leader Don Orange, owner of Hoesly ECO Auto & Tire in Vancouver, Washington, joined House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress at a press conference highlighting how the new health care law is already benefiting millions of small businesses and consumers as its one year anniversary approaches on March 23rd.

Don is the Chair of the Main Street Alliance of Washington, a coalition of more than 2,000 Washington small businesses affiliated with the national Main Street Alliance network. His business is a family-owned and operated auto shop with five employees. Don’s business is benefiting from the Affordable Care Act’s small business health care tax credit, which is offsetting his 2010 health care costs by 14 percent.

“As a small business owner, I know we need to keep moving forward on health care,” Don said. “We won’t go back, and we won’t let the benefits of the new law be taken away from us. The health care law is good for small businesses and good for our communities – it’s good for America.”

Click here to read Don’s full story.

Direct from Main Street: Washington Small Business Views on Credit and Lending

This report shares the findings of a survey of Washington small businesses, focusing on their experiences with credit and their reactions to one current proposal to support small business and economic growth: the creation of a state bank. This report contributes to the discussion of such a proposal by sharing the perspectives of Washington’s Main Street small businesses.

Click here to download the full report. Continue reading »

Oregon Small Business Owners Show Support for State Bank

This post was written by Dan Lombardi, small business organizer for the Main Street Alliance of Oregon.

On Wednesday, January 12, the Main Street Alliance of Oregon held a press conference in the state capitol of Salem to announce the release of a report: Direct from Main Street: Oregon Small Business Views on Credit and Lending. The report asked 116 Oregon small business owners and small family farmers about their experiences, since the recession began, with credit and lending. It also asked them for their perspective on one proposal to address the credit crunch: the creation of a state bank that would partner with local financial institutions to support small business lending and community economic development. Continue reading »

Direct from Main Street: Oregon Small Business Views on Credit and Lending

This report shares the findings of a survey of Oregon small businesses, focusing on their experiences with credit and their reactions to one current proposal to support small business and economic growth: the creation of a state bank. This report contributes to the discussion of such a proposal by sharing the perspectives of Oregon’s Main Street small businesses.

Click here to download the full report. Continue reading »

Oregon Small Business Leader Joins Sen. Jeff Merkley to Call For End to High-Income Tax Cuts

As reported on the blog of the  Main Street Alliance, NWFCO’s national coalition of small business owners, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley hosted a press conference call with state and national small business leaders on Wednesday, November 17. The purpose was to discuss the small business case for ending the Bush tax cuts for the top two tax brackets on schedule at the end of this year.

Jim Houser, Co-Chair of the Oregon Small Business Council and a national board member of the Main Street Alliance, joined the call. Jim and his wife Liz own Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland and employ 14 people. Continue reading »

The Bank of North Dakota: What a Bank Should Be

It’s been a heated election season. When the political dogfights get all the attention, it’s easy to forget that there good policies and institutions out there that receive bipartisan praise, are working well, and deserve to be built upon.

The Bank of North Dakota is an important example. Founded in 1919 in response to a credit crisis that threatened that state’s agrarian economy, the Bank of North Dakota is now a revered institution credited with helping keep the state solvent and growing while many others are struggling with the effects of the current recession. Continue reading »

$75 Million: For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, A Small Price to Pay for an Election

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been all over the airwaves recently–and not just with its hefty ad buys targeting candidates in the fast approaching November elections. Last week, the Chamber earned a wave of critical press when the story broke that it was funneling donations from international corporations and overseas affiliates into the same bank account used to fund its electioneering campaign ads1. Continue reading »

  1. http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/ []

Colorado Progressive Coalition Teams with Members of Congress To Educate Public On New Health Care Law

September 23rd will mark the six-month anniversary of the passage of Health Care Reform. As the anniversary approaches, members and leaders of the Colorado Progressive Coalition (CPC) have been partnering with members of Congress for a series of forums across the state that highlight what the new health care law will mean for Coloradans. Continue reading »

Looking Back, and Forward, at Post-Katrina Justice and Accountability

August 29, 2010, marks the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Even now, survivors still face devastation and daily reminders of the governmental system that failed them. Hurricane Katrina raises the opportunity for all of us to question the role of government in communities, especially black communities. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the use of storytelling in media and justice. Continue reading »

Main Street Alliance Leaders Plant Flag for Small Business Values in Washington, D.C.

In late July, small business owners from all across the country – from Maine to Montana, Louisiana to North Dakota – left their homes and their businesses on a mission: to carry a message about small business values direct from their Main Streets back home all the way to Washington, D.C. It was the “America’s Small Business Values at Work” summit, sponsored by the Main Street Alliance, NWFCO, and Community Organizations in Action. Continue reading »

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