Small Business BlogThe Bottom Line - Charles Cooper's insights about today's news

politics

Is the AIG Bonus Tax Going Too Far?

While it is true that the people are up in arms over executive bonuses, bailouts and all the other fiscal shenanigans going on these days; when it comes to government interference in contracts and private industry, shouldn’t there has to be a line where we say this far and no farther and shouldn’t passing a special tax on a small group of people because the Congress doesn’t like what they were paid well past that line?


Tags: aig, bonus, taxes

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Posted: 3/19/2009 | Comments Comments (1)

taxes

Escaping the Tax Hikes: When Businesses Go Overseas

One of the arguments against tax hikes is that those with the money will leave the location being taxed. We have seen it happen on a municipal level, even a state level, and now, we are seeing it clearly on the national level as the president’s tax policies crystallize and companies relocate overseas to escape them.


Tags: business flight, taxes, obama, switzerland

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Posted: 3/12/2009 | Comments Comments (1)

legal

Stimulus Fraud Coming to an Inbox Near You

Ripped right from the headlines, con artists are targeting people with an email campaign that promises to get you a piece of the recently passed stimulus bill, thousands for just a small fee. Don’t you believe it!


Tags: stimulus bill, fraud, obama

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Posted: 3/5/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

success

Changes Coming to Government Procurement

It is a great idea and the time for it is ripe: Rebuild the nation’s government procurement process to make it leaner, less expensive, more efficient and more fair, but will it work and how will it affect small business?


Tags: federal contracts, government procurement, government purchasing, obama, peter orszag, office of management and budget

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Posted: 3/4/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

economy

Don’t Call it “Nationalization!”

There is something to be said for clear communication, at least in most places. However, that does not seem to be the case in Washington, D.C. where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is desperately trying to convince people that a takeover of Citibank is not nationalization. What else should it be called?


Tags: nationalization, citibank, harry reid, george orwell, doublethink, newspeak

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Posted: 2/24/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

taxes

The Taxman Cometh

What with all the talk of the stimulus bill, another phase of Obama’s economic plan has had barely a mention—until now. We are talking about the President’s goal of cutting the federal deficit in half while, at the same time, raising federal spending and federal control to record heights.


Tags: small business, taxes, obama, deficit

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Posted: 2/23/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

economy

Automaker Bailout Part 2: It is Raining Money!

At the risk of telling you “I told you so,” well, I told you so! The original Big Three Dog and Pony Show before Congress netted the Detroit automakers billions of taxpayer dollars, changed the company jet from an executive perk to a major PR liability and later on led to the same effect on the humble thank you note. Other than that, not much seems to have changed. After all, if things were different, two of the Big Three wouldn’t be back for another helping of bailout pie.


Tags: automakers, ford, gm, chrysler, bailout

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Posted: 2/18/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

politics

What Would You Do With This Company? Part II

In case you didn’t see through the thinly veiled references, yesterday’s column was talking about the federal government. I asked in an earlier entry, after Congress gave itself a generous pay increase, whether the government should be run like a business. Now, with it expanding beyond all reason, we come back to that question: Should the government be run like a business?


Tags: federal, government, bankrupt

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Posted: 2/17/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

politics

What Would You Do With This Company? Part I

There is a corporate entity out there, vast and powerful, big enough to dictate the terms of any contract it enters into, it spends money like water yet it provides lavish perks for its executives and its board while, at the same time, being underfunded to the extent that it has been running so deeply in the red for so long that it has been essentially bankrupt for ages. As a business owner, what would you do with this organization? [First of a two-part series]


Tags: federal, government, bankrupt

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Posted: 2/16/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

Clock is Ticking on Senate Stimulus Vote

There will soon be a vote on the Senate version of President Obama’s so-called stimulus plan, on the list of social and governmental programs, the token tax cuts and the even more token nods to small business. Question: If this bill doesn’t stimulate small business, why is everyone calling it a stimulus bill?


Tags: small business, economy, stimulus, senate, obama

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Posted: 2/9/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

economy

Hire American

The media has been talking about the Buy American provisions in the much-debated stimulus bill, but there is similar issue under debate in the Halls of Congress, the 1-HB Guest Worker visa issue. The question is this: As American unemployment continues to break records, is there still a place for foreign workers in America? Is it now time to Hire American?


Tags: small business, economy, recession, guest workers, h-1b visa

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Posted: 2/6/2009 | Comments Comments (37)

Buy American

Buy American! That is what is being debated in the halls of the Senate this week. What they seek is a balance between the needs of the global economy and the stimulation of the American economy and the future of small exporters could well hang in the balance. Is it more important to keep the global markets in mind or to build wealth here at home by buying American?


Tags: small business, global trade, balance of trade, import, export, economy, recession

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Posted: 2/5/2009 | Comments Comments (2)

A Great Way to Stifle Talent and Entrepreneurial Spirit

Our president is stepping out onto a regulatory tightrope. Sensitive to the public outrage over executive pay, bonuses and perks at companies receiving taxpayer bailout funds, he is proposing to cap those salaries and perks, but is that necessarily a good idea in a free market economy?


Tags: small business, executive compensation, pay caps, obama

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Posted: 2/4/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

management

A Great Way to Stifle Employee Morale

I once had a job that required a daily productivity report. The idea was that if you had to tell the boss everything you did—in 15 minute increments no less—then you would be more productive. Do you think this improved anyone’s productivity?


Tags: small business, productivity reporting, management

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Posted: 2/3/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

A New World Order We Can Live With

The Prime Minister of Australia has come out with it, a call for a New World Order in which Democratic Socialism would be the norm since, according to the PM, the free market simply cannot be trusted. Maybe he is right, and a new world order really is necessary, but is it the democratic socialism that he is calling for? Not a chance.


Tags: small business, bailout, economy, recovery, obama, congress, pelosi, reid, new world order, democratic socialism

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Posted: 2/2/2009 | Comments Comments (0)

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