Trouble Ahead For Small Business

In these troubled economic times, most businesses, big and small, are struggling to stay afloat, much less generate the levels of profit needed to make the business a viable investment for their owners and shareholders.  Now, three pieces of pending legislation offer more problems especially for small businesses:

• Health Care Legislation
• Cap and Trade
• Card Check

Let's take these one at a time:

Health Care Legislation -  Would require employers to offer coverage to their employees and contribute at least 72.5% of the premium cost for single coverage and 65% of the premium cost for family coverage of the lowest cost plan that meets the essential benefits package requirements -or- pay 8% of payroll into the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund. 

There would be reductions in the percentage for smaller employers with ranges of  8% for employers with payrolls of over $400,000., to 0% for employers with payrolls of less than $250,000.  My concern is that there is even a percentage at all listed for the smallest employers.  Why not just say employers with payrolls of less than $250,000. are exempt?

Cap and Trade (Emissions trading) - This bill would place a limit on emmissions any business could emit into the atmosphere (the Cap).  This limit would be issued in the form of credits for the amount of emissions that could be emitted.  Business that could not limit emissions to this amount (Cap) would have to reduce emissions -or- could buy credits from a business that did not need to use all their credits (Trade credits).

The concern of course is how costly it would be for a business to reduce emissions -or- buy (trade) credits to emit more.  For certain types of industries this could prove very costly, and is just another form of government control over business.

Card Check -  The "Employee Free Choice Act"--better known as the Card Check bill--is a proposed law that would change how unions are allowed to organize workers in the United States. Big labor unions like the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and the Change to Win Coalition spent heavily during the 2009 election, and are pushing Congress to approve this law. Union membership has been declining--currently about 7.5 percent in the private sector--and they hope this law will change the rules and reverse that trend.


There are two problems with Card Check:

1. Eliminating the Private Ballot

Card Check would effectively eliminate private voting.

Under the existing law today, workers have a chance to vote for or against unionization in a private-ballot election that is federally supervised. Under Card Check, if more than 50% of workers at a facility sign a card, the government would have to certify the union, and a private ballot election would be prohibited--even if workers want one.  By forcing workers to sign a card in public--instead of vote in private--Card Check opens the door to intimidation and coercion. 

2. Government Arbitration and Control

Card Check could put government regulators in charge of private business decisions.

Once a union is certified, the business and union would only have 120 days to reach agreement, before facing the prospect of being forced into binding arbitration. This means a panel of government arbitrators who may have no understanding of the business could impose a two year contract deciding all workplace terms--without any vote by the company or its employees.  By placing government regulators in charge of a two-year decision, business flexibility is limited--at a time in our history when it is needed most.  Very small businesses would probably be exempted - but for how long?

Regardless of your stand - get informed and make your voice heard on these three issues!