The U.S. economy is stalling. Week after week, month after month, economic reports reinforce this alarming reality.
Here in our state, unemployment remains above 7 percent, and there are few signs that things are improving. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Missouri
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Small businesses face too many federal regulations
Monday, 24 September 2012As the November election quickly approaches, voters have to consider whether we can afford to stay the course or whether we need to take a new path. Like thousands of fellow business owners across the state, I am eager to hear specific solutions our leaders intend to implement once in office. Fixing the economy and putting Americans back to work has to be a top priority. Continue reading
St.Louis Today: Small businesses face too many federal regulations
Wednesday, 19 September 2012Missouri has done a good job reigning in burdensome state regulations, but Washington doesn’t seem to get it. Federal regulators are always telling us what we can do and how we can do it, without any real thought of how it affects small businesses. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is high, and thousands of Missourians are looking for work.
(Source: St.Louis Post – Dispatch, 9/19/12, “Small businesses face too many federal regulations,” by Jim Henderson, President, Dynamic Sales Co. Inc)
Reuters: Unemployment rates rise in US election swing states
Monday, 20 August 2012Unemployment rates rose in July from June in almost all U.S. states, including those where the presidential election fight is expected to be fiercest, according to data released on Friday by the Labor Department.
Altogether, jobless rates rose in 44 states, dropped in Idaho, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, and were unchanged in four states in July from June.
(Source: Reuters, 8/17/12, “Unemployment rates rise in US election swing states,” by Lisa Lambert)
Washington Times: Alford: Regulatory Tidal Wave is Swamping Small Business
Monday, 6 August 2012The U.S. economy is teetering between progress and regression. As businesses work to overcome staggering odds, many of which are imposed by Washington, each step forward seems to be met by two in the opposite direction. Few would argue that the anemic growth the country has experienced over the past four years is enough to rebound from the trough we find ourselves in, yet policymakers continue to revert to the same failed policies that have yielded little in the way of results.
In the wake of the economic downturn of 2008, the American public unwittingly surrendered innovation and individualism for the promise of federal rescue. Now, as the markets settle, the sober realization that further government intervention has failed is setting in. Recently, the rate of small-business startups hit a record low, businesses revised downward their hiring expectations and government spending peaked — all at the expense of taxpayers.
(Source: Washington Times, 8/3/12, “Alford: Regulatory Tidal Wave is Swamping Small Business,” by Harry Alford, president and chief executive officer of the National Black Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the U.S. Chamber’s Government Oversight and Consumer Affairs Committee.
Stop the Tidal Wave Effort Grabs National and Local Attention
Friday, 27 July 2012Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations launched their latest regulatory reform effort called “Stop the Tidal Wave.” This effort focuses on a potential tidal wave of costly federal regulations over the next four years that would impact U.S. businesses and consumers. There are currently 4,128 federal regulations in the pipeline which, if implemented, will impose costs of more than $515 billion on the U.S. economy. Continue reading
NFIB Launches Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations
Tuesday, 24 July 2012Small Business Optimism Continues to Slide amid Regulatory Tide
Wednesday, 11 July 2012Some unsettling—yet not surprising—numbers were released yesterday from NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index. The report, which gauges the outlook of the small business community, found that confidence among business owners plunged to its lowest level in eight months in June. Coupled with dismal jobs numbers, the index reaffirms that policymakers need to work with small businesses to create solutions instead of continuing to put more barriers in the way of their success. Continue reading
New Survey Finds Small Businesses Plan to Hire Fewer Workers This Year
Monday, 2 July 2012A national survey released today confirms the economy continues to teeter between recovery and further losses. Although a handful of economic indicators have pointed towards positive momentum, it seems each bit of progress has been dampened by greater intervention by bureaucrats in Washington. Continue reading
The Hill: Two years later, many of Dodd-Frank’s rules remain unwritten, report finds
Nearly two years since it was made law, almost 36 percent of the roughly 400 rules required by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law have yet to be written, according to a new report. Due to regulatory uncertainty caused by pending regulations such as those under the Dodd-Frank Act, many small businesses do not hire new employees or invest in their businesses – ultimately hurting America’s economy.
(Source: The Hill, 7/2/12, “Two years later, many of Dodd-Frank’s rules remain unwritten, report finds,” by Peter Schroeder)