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January 28, 2007

MNB 01/29/07: Bush Floats an Almost-Good Health Care Plan

Well, President Bush got to make a bit of history with the first-ever State of the Union speech that began with the words Madam Speaker -- a fact that he graciously pointed out as soon as he took the podium last Tuesday night. Among other things, he also proposed a health care plan which, while not without problems, is certainly worth talking about. If nothing else, it is a plan that would begin weaning Americans away from employer-provided health insurance, and that would be a very good thing for microbusinesses.

Plus, more action on Capitol Hill last week covering the tax gap and the never-ending drama surrounding that minimum wage increase.

Listen to this week's podcast.


For more information:

State of the Union 2007 (White House web site)
State of the Union: Democratic Response
IRS information and documents on the tax gap
Bill Summary and Status: H.R. 2 (THOMAS)


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Posted by The MicroEnterprise Journal at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2007

MNB 01/22/07: Lawmakers Spat Over Small Business Tax Cuts

I suppose it's possible that there's just something in the air that makes people serving in Congress slowly lose their minds, but I doubt it. And maybe the fault could lie in House Democrats trying to score rhetorical brownie points on the backs of Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and President Bush. Maybe those Democrats, smarting under charges from the party base that they've been "spineless" for the last six years, are spoiling for a fight.

I could have wished, though, that they hadn't chosen to pick a fight over a package of tax cuts that includes a few items of use to microbusinesses for a change.

Listen to this week's podcast.


For more information:

Senate Finance Committee, Summary of Legislation
Hoyer Calls for Clean Minimum Wage Bill (Press Statement)
The Conference Board
National Federation of Independent Business
Senate Small Business Committee


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Posted by The MicroEnterprise Journal at 02:56 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2007

MNB 01/15/07: Velazquez Starts Out With A Steady Hand

A lot of people seemed to think that the Democrats would surge into Washington at the start of the 110th Congress, frothing at the mouth and starting fights with President Bush just because they're Democrats and he's ... well ... not. And certainly there are some storm clouds on the horizon, especially in the little matter of the war in Iraq. But a lot of what seems to be going on during these first few weeks of the new Congress has been pretty mild-mannered and bipartisan.

Is it possible that somebody who said they wanted to "change the tone" in Washington will actually be found to have meant it? What a concept!

Listen to this week's podcast.


For more information:

House Small Business Committee
2006 National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report to Congress (Executive Summary)
House Ways and Means Committee
The National Association for the Self-Employed
Small Business Trends


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Posted by The MicroEnterprise Journal at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)

January 08, 2007

MNB 01/08/07: Net Neutrality Win Rings In New Year

Happy New Year!

The new Democratic congressional majority has gotten itself off to a cheerful, energetic and noisy start, with much promised activity and much promised bipartisanship. As to that, we'll see. There are a few matters coming down the pike that will help to establish whether the Democrats really will treat us to 'a new tone in Washington' (where have I heard that before?) or whether we'll see a certain amount of business as usual.

Plus, a promising development in the Net neutrality wars, a flurry of new bills from the Senate Small Business Committee and a preview of the looming fight over the 2007 Farm Bill.

Listen to this week's podcast.


For more information:

Federal Communications Commission
SaveTheInternet.org (Net neutrality advocacy coalition)
Center for Rural Affairs (CFRA)
CFRA Working Paper: Rural Development and the 2007 Farm Bill
"Powerful Interests Ally to Restructure Agriculture Subsidies" (Washington Post, 12/22/06)


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Posted by The MicroEnterprise Journal at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)