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Week of April 21 - 27, 2008 |
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New Health Care Legislation Targeted Toward Small Business
Health care is a hot issue in
Campaign 2008, and we can expect to see a host of health care solutions
proposed in Congress starting now and continuing into next year. In
recent weeks, leading Senators have introduced two approaches that seek
to help small business owners facing major increases in the cost of
health insurance. The Small Business Health Plans Act (S. 2818),
introduced by Sens. Enzi (R-WY), Nelson (D-NE), and Gregg (R-NH) is the
latest and revised edition of a proposal that has passed the House on
several occasions in recent years. This plan creates a version of
Association Health Plans (AHPs) where small businesses are permitted to
purchase insurance through trade associations who contract with
insurance providers and are thus able to pass on lower costs. |
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Improving the Tax Code for Small Firms With tax day recently passed on April 15, policymakers are floating ideas for how tax reforms can be used to help stimulate the US economy. The latest ideas come from the House of Representatives’ Small Business Committee. In a new report, the Committee recommends seven tax reforms that can help strengthen the economy and enhance support for new and growing businesses. The recommendations include:
Download the US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business report, “Seven Ways to Stimulate the Economy by Updating the Internal Revenue Code.” |
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As business booms in formerly struggling
economies like Brazil, China, India, and Russia, firms from these
nations are becoming major global players. Business leaders can learn a
great deal from these new firms and their success in the global
marketplace. But, as a new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study notes, we
can also learn a great deal from firms who stick to their home markets
and come to dominate them. The study profiles the BCG “50 Local
Dynamos,” fifty exemplary firms who are competing and outperforming
multi-national corporations in their home markets. Examples of these
firms include Baidu, which is outperforming Google and Yahoo in China;
Mexico’s Grupo Elektra, a major force in retailing and financial
services; and Brazil’s TOTVS, a producer of enterprise resource planning
software. The firms come from wide variety of countries and sectors, yet
they share a common business strategy that focuses on home markets with
business models that finely attuned to the home environment. According
to BCG, their competitors need to consider similar approaches and design
distinctive models for distinctive markets. What works in Peoria won’t
likely work in Sao Paolo, St. Petersburg, or Shenzen. |
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As part of its ongoing efforts to support
inner city entrepreneurship, the US Small Business Administration has
recently announced a new initiative known as the SBA Emerging 200. This
effort seeks to identify 200 inner-city companies with great potential
for rapid expansion. These firms will be invited to participate in a new
curriculum designed to create a successful expansion strategy. Selected
firms will also be linked into local, regional, and national networks of
mentors, peers, and outside experts. Eleven cities have been selected to
participate in this first round of this effort: Albuquerque, Atlanta,
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Des Moines, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans,
Oakland, and Philadelphia. SBA and its partners are now in the process
of selecting participants and the program is expected to operate from
May through December. |
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Self-Employment in Rural America
Self-employment as a major economic force is
a new reality throughout rural America. According to a new article in
Rural Realities, a publication of the Rural Sociology Society,
self-employment in rural America has grown by more than 240 percent
since 1969. Meanwhile, growth in rural wage paying jobs grew by only 61%
over the same time frame. At present, approximately 5.3 million rural
residents are self-employed. If present trends continue, the
self-employed will account for 1/3 of the rural workforce in 2015. The
report’s author, Stephen J. Goetz, expresses many concerns about these
trends as earnings for the self-employed have hit historic lows. In
2005, the average self-employed rural worker earned about half ($16,851)
of his or her employed counterparts ($31,596). Goetz recommends a number
of potential remedies for these challenges. First, policy makers must
get a better understanding of the challenges and issues facing the rural
self-employed. They should also provide strengthened technical
assistance and easier access to support programs at local colleges,
universities, and elsewhere. In addition, rural leaders should invest to
help develop a stronger base of local services for this workforce. These
services might include child care providers, legal and accounting
services, and temporary help agencies. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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