This week’s Small Businesses “In the News” included the following stories:

Coalition Member Asks President Obama to Address Regulatory Reform
Tampa Tribune, 7/5/12, LTE by coalition member John Doble

President Barack Obama was in Tampa recently to give a campaign speech at Hillsborough Community College. As a Floridian and concerned business owner, I would like for our president to include a peel-back of excessive regulation in his stump speeches. One of the greatest challenges to my company’s well-being comes from federal agency regulation. Every time my company looks like it might be above water, we are burdened with another regulation or rule that costs us money and cuts into my and my staff’s time and the time I could be using to grow my business.

Florida Concrete and Products Association Joins Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations Call for Regulatory Reform 
Florida Voices, 7/5/12, by FCPA President Mike Murtha

The Florida Concrete & Products Association (FCPA) and its coalition partners have joined the National Federation of Independent Business – Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations group in order to increase the voice of duplicative over-arching regulation. In particular, FCPA is concerned about the overregulation of fly ash, which is used to make concrete.

A ‘Disappointing’ Jobs Report Echoed in Local Unemployment Numbers 
Philly Burbs, 7/8/12, by Crissa DeBree

U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended. “That’s pretty close to stall speed,” said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Northampton. “We can survive this if the reason is more caution than it is a lack of demand, which I think may be the case at this point. But 80,000 in June, or 75,000 on average for the past three months, is really not enough to generate income so this economy can accelerate. It’s disappointing.”