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Week of 09 March 2009

Lessons Learned on the Farm Still Apply to Small Businesses

Senator Lieberman Addresses Rumored Tricare Cuts

Lessons Learned on the Farm

Still Apply to Small Businesses

By Rochelle Paul
Strategies for Small Business Examiner

Presumably, you are checking out this webpage to see what it is I'm writing about with regard to small business. Good for you! It's my sincere hope that you'll come back again and again to take a look at what's going on.

Let me indulge a moment...

I was raised in a Midwestern farm family. Grandma and Grandpa worked the farm, raised three children and then enjoyed as the in-laws joined and grandchildren came along. We weren't exactly a Rockwell painting, but we were a pretty decent, reality based stand in.

And I learned early on from that family life, that farmers are small business men and women that customers are the most important element and that small business is the backbone of America.

I'm proud of my family and the lessons they taught me. Proud of working at the farm stand when I was a wee-one that I could throw a Christmas tree onto the roof of a car and tie it down, or toss a full bag of corn onto the counter and help you pick the best "bakers dozen" of the bunch, all when I was just a kid. We worked long, hard hours, ate farm family meals and didn't worry about weight or calories, took care of the customers, and yep, they took care of us.

So why am I telling you this and what in the world does it have to do with a Strategies for Small Business column all these years later?

Because it was that life and those experiences that taught me about small business and what it takes to run one. Those experiences and those people, my family and the teenagers they hired to help out, and the customers who in many cases became friends, that got me to this point in my life, writing this column.

And it was all of that that raised in me the idea that small business in America is about the people and at its heart, is not merely "the American dream", but is the backbone of America.

Regular readers will come to know that term. I hope you'll be one of them. Backbone of America. The men and women who had an idea, a dream, a hunch that something would work and went about making it happen. The people who run small businesses and the people who use them. Because together, small business owners and small business consumers are what make it all great. Make it work.

Did you know that small business represents over 99% of all employers in America? That fact comes from The National Federation of Independent Business.

They also tell us that small business creates 80% of all new jobs in America. Think about that. This nation is facing an economic crisis, (whatever that means and that depends on who you talk to or listen to) and in all of the talk coming out of Washington and across the media, all the discussion of new jobs and stimulus, all the ways the government is throwing money around, remember that 80% of all new jobs are created by small business.

And yet small business hardly seems to be on the Federal government's radar.

According to a CNN article, the hearing to confirm President Obama's nominee for the Small Business Administration's Administrator, Karen Gordon Mills, has not even been scheduled. They add that traditionally the SBA administrator role has not been filled until April or later.

We are in an economy that is in turmoil. Small businesses are worried, and rightfully so, that they will fail if things don't turn around. The federal government says it's helping with stimulus after stimulus, yet that same federal government is in no hurry to seat the head of the SBA.

We hear the talk of turning around the economy, but small businesses of America that create 80% of new jobs, represent 99% of employers, and small business employs more than half of private sector employees, with no clear picture of just how small business will benefit from all these stimulus packages.

There is a small ray of hope for some small business owners. The Federal government has delegated $255 million in emergency lending, an effort being overseen by the SBA. The same SBA without a new leader being confirmed any time soon.

So, there is some money on the horizon for some small business owners, and that's a good thing.

But let's take a quick look at some of the numbers. The SBA will be charged with handing out $255 million in loans to small businesses that already have loans. Unless you have one, you won't be getting this money. This is apparently to get money moving to small business and secure loans. Citigroup has received, so far, $45 Billion. That's one bank. Northern Trust Corp. has received about $1.5 Billion. GM and Chrysler have been pledged $39 Billion, having so far received $17.4 Billion between them. Those are not the only large corporations and banks to be bailed out. Yet just those few have received a combined $63.9 Billion, so far

Small businesses, via the SBA, will be given $255 Million.

You do the math...

Don't forget those other statistics: small businesses create 80% of new jobs, represent 99% of employers and employ more than half of private sector employees.

Not the greatest picture of balance in "stimulating".

The point is this.

America repeatedly leans on its citizens and small businesses in the troubled times to stay afloat. Comparatively, it can be argued that there is a disparity in the way the federal government supports those same citizens and small businesses, rather placing more effort to shore up and support Wall Street, big oil and large corporations.

I'm not looking to cause a political brouhaha. I'm simply trying to show what it is we're going to do with this column.

It is my plan to look at American small business and the people who make it work. We're going to celebrate small business and the people who bust a gut everyday to make theirs a success. We're going to pick their brains and learn all we can from each other.

We're going to support each other and talk to each other, give each other ideas and tips, we're going to see what's going on in communities across America, and we're going to let people know there are others in that same small business owner boat; others who understand that together, we can and should make our voices heard.

So, that's it. This column is about you, the small business owner, or the person who wants to be a small business owner. I am looking forward to this ride, and I hope that you come along and enjoy!

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Senator Lieberman addresses

Rumored Tricare Cuts

TRICARE USER FEE Update 33: Following is a letter sent by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman to a member of FRA Branch 20 in Groton CT in response to his query on the rumored Tricare for Life budget cuts. It is self explanatory and should be widely disseminated in the military community:

Dear Mr. Serabian:

Thank you for contacting me regarding rumored cuts in benefit programs for military retirees, including TRICARE for Life. Currently, a wealth of false and misleading information is being distributed on this matter; and I welcome the opportunity to explain the source of the confusion.

I am aware of several chain emails, online discussion boards, blogs, and even articles in well-intentioned veterans' publications that imply that President Obama and Congress plan on eliminating TRICARE for Life. The insinuations put forth by these sources are false.

The source of these stories is a report issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), entitled Budget Options Volume 1: Heath Care, released in December 2008. Before jumping to conclusions about the report itself, however, it is important to know exactly what the CBO is. CBO is a nonpartisan federal agency, tasked with providing Congress with cost estimates for the many legislative proposals considered each year. It also periodically offers Congress suggestions for adjusting federal spending. CBO is an information gathering body for Members of Congress. Its recommendations about the budget are completely non binding; and its officers do not draft actual policy, legislation, or law.

The Budget Options report in question offers a total of 115 options for reducing (or, in some cases, increasing) federal spending on health care, only three of which relate to TRICARE. These options are merely suggestions, not policy statements or actual legislation. Reports such as this one are routine, and very few options or recommendations made by CBO are typically acted upon. President Obama has not indicated support for the three recommendations in this report related to TRICARE, nor has any Member of Congress, to the best of my knowledge. Any suggestion that the Administration is affiliated with this report ignores the fact that it was drafted by the CBO - which, again, is an advisory body of the legislative branch, not the executive branch.

You may also be interested to know that both the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have issued statements condemning the aforementioned rumors that are being perpetuated through these chain emails.

I hope that you have found this letter informative, and I encourage you to share this information with members of your community who are concerned about issues relating to military retirees. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, please be assured of my continued commitment to protecting the various interests of all those who have fought tirelessly to protect our cherished freedoms.

Thank you again for sharing your views and concerns with me. I hope you will continue to visit my website for updated news about my work on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman

UNITED STATES SENATOR [Source: Paul Serabian msg, received 21 Feb 09++]

Payments to Disabled Veterans

The Economic Stimulus bill recently signed by President Obama contains a provision for a $250 payment to disabled veterans. NAUS recently received the following program outline from the VA:

"The President recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This Act provides for the one-time payment from the U.S. Treasury of $250.00 to individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income or adults receiving Social Security benefits, VA compensation and pension benefits, and Railroad Retirement benefits.

To qualify for the payment, the beneficiary must have been entitled to receive compensation, DIC (including Parents DIC), pension (live or death), or Spina Bifida for any month between November 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009.

The beneficiary must live within the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, America Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

We anticipate that the $250.00 payment will be issued in June 2009. No action will be needed by you to receive this one-time payment.

VA will issue the payment separately and it will NOT be included in your regular C & P benefit payment.

VA will send the payment to you in the same way you receive your current VA benefit, whether by direct deposit or mail.

The economic recovery legislation also provides for a one-time payment to beneficiaries of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). However, if you currently receive benefits from Social Security and/or SSI, and you also receive VA and/or RRB benefits, you will receive only one $250.00 payment.

The payment is NOT considered income under any Federal program (including VA pension), or any State program financed with any Federal funds.

The payment is NOT taxable by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)."

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Lessons Learned on the Farm Still Apply to Small Businesses

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