Centerfield

Good for you John for asking the right question: did this guy come to you because he's devoted to helping small businesses first, or did he come to you because he's really more in the business of providing political funding, and you are a willing audience?

It sounds to me like this organization actually needs to be initiated and then run by real businessmen, not run by party flacks who recruit businessmen by selling slick stories. Unfortunately, most small businessmen are too busy. And if they are successsful enough to get rich and consider becoming politicians, they become fundraising whores who chase big donations. Game over.

I am quite far from being an expert in either healthcare or small business. But it does seem to me that healthcare/benefits is the single issue that creates a chasm between big companies and little companies. If I were a small businessman, I think I might well be convinced that this is the single relevant issue, and that it should be addressed via moving to a single-payer system that decouples employment from healthcare provision.

I do have to speculate that many small businesses can exist only as SMALL businesses in large part because they don't have to provide all the things that bigger players are required or strongly expected to provide. But when it comes to healthcare, large buying groups do seem to be able to take advantages of economies of scale not open to small businesses. So that suggests another possible path. Might the government be able to create a single healthcare buying group that all small business owners could buy their employees into?

Whats the real truth here? Are your potential (should you choose to provide them)per-employee benefit costs so much higher than a big business that you can't shoulder them primarily due to the extra amount you'd pay that a bigger employer doesn't? Or would you still be unable to afford comparable benefits even at the per-employee cost that much bigger companies pay?

What's the story? I bet there's a lot of variance from small biz to small biz.

Brian,

Your point on decoupling health benefits from employers is very important. I'm a big believer in leveling the playing field and small guys have a harder time attracting the better help when larger more established companies can offer more sizzle to go with the steak.

My employees are unskilled labor so my issues aren't the same as a white collar company. But I do have health insurance for myself and a few key employees. I would glady have every full timer insured but I simply cannot afford it...even less so now. Four years ago, I ensured 9 people for about $2350 per month. Until this past Janurary, I was ensuring only 6 people for $2850 per month! My energy bills are up 70% and the tax cuts did NOTHING to improve anything for me. And people want raises?!? Ha!

I told the NFIB rep that some sort of single-payer system that can control frivolous and redundant adminstrative costs, bargain for better drug prices and give hopsitals better protection from getting shafted with uninsured patients' bills would go much further to reducing the cost of health care than that tired GOP talking point about lawsuits which are miniscule in comparison.

But, yes, there is a lot of variance between small businesses. There's the local grocer, pizza shop and electrician and home builder and then there's larger firms that employ a hundred people.

John,

There is one thing I am surprised about in your post. You said that limiting law suits was something that you didn't see helping you much as a small business owner?

I guess it would depend on exactly the type of small business that you are engaged in but it's been my observation that the costs of liability insurance can be a crippling factor for many small businesses in certain sectors. In many cases it can actualy be a bar to small businesses entering certain markets....as some customers will only qualify vendors that have a certain level of liability insurance..... and alot of small vendors just can't afford to pay for that level of coverage. Furthermore going without such insurance (or having inadequite coverage) could mean that the first accident your company was involved in (even if it wasn't at fault) could end up costing you your business.

Obviously the costs of such insurance are directly tied to the prevalance of lawsuits and the size of the awards provided. I would think this would have been more of a concern for a small business owner?

Cengel,

I was referring to lawsuits in the context of health insurance costs. I think the effect that lawsuits have on the cost of premiums is a bit over blown and more importantly, it's not primary factor in increasing costs. I think administrative costs, new drug marketing and treating uninsured people have a more dramatic effect on premium costs.

In my line of work, business insurance isn't cheap but it's hardly a back breaker.

Tort lawsuits drive up costs not just through the awards in successful cases, but in the large amount of "defensive medicine" which doctors must practice in order to avoid suits.

But, again, in terms of the original gist of the post, do you all think one must follow or agree with what basically boils down to a Republican fiscal agenda to be pro-business or even pro-small business?

As a business owner who generally believes in the power of the free market, I find that much of the agenda they support doesn't really help someone in my position.

Some of that may just be a difference of opinion or type of business, John. I would think that at least some small business owners, maybe those farther down the road and closer to either dying or retiring or selling their business may find the NFIB positions would be very helpful to their businesses. Capital gains? Your business may not have much, but what about developers? Real estate brokers? The estate tax? If you've built a $10 million business, and you're planning for your children to take over, you've got to start planning for that. Why doesn't a cut in federal corporate taxes and federal income tax help your business?

As for health care, I definitely agree that it needs to be disconnected from the employer. But that doesn't mean that it needs to transform to a single-payer health care system. But that's a subject which has been and will be covered in many, many other posts.

I am a small business owner and have little use for the NFIB. I have the same wish list as John:
Simplify taxes and health care and make insurance more competitive. I would add the roll back of intrusive regulations.

I have tried for several years to mobilize small business operators to participate in the political process and help elect sympathetic candidates. The response is almost negligible.
Even when some policies can destroy their business such as a smoking ban there is little response. A machiavellian candidate would say that they supported small business but take no risks and dedicate no effort to help them out.
Why bother?...They don't organize money or votes.