Will State Lawmakers Heed New SBA Data, Small Business Concerns?

 

Jan. 26, 2012

There’s more evidence that small business plays a pivotal role in creating jobs in Washington and other states, according to the Office of Advocacy in the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Office of Advocacy released small business data for each of the 50 states.

SBA believes the new data is “an invaluable resource for small businesses, legislators, academics, government officials, and policymakers in each state.”

Why?

“Small businesses are the foundation of economic growth in Washington and in our nation” said Dr. Winslow Sargeant, Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “By supporting policies that promote innovation and entrepreneurship, we help small businesses tackle these challenging economic times. These statistics are a resource for a path to economic growth.”

As for Washington state, the report explains “small business employment; business starts and closings; bank lending; business ownership by minorities, women, and veterans; and firm and employment change by major industry and firm size.”

Salient data about small business:

• There were 532,162 small businesses in Washington in 2009. Of these, 142,854 were employers and they accounted for 53.3 percent of private sector jobs in the state. Small firms made up 98.1 percent of the state’s employers.
• Throughout 2010, the number of opening establishments was lower than closing establishments and the net employment change from this turnover was negative.
• Washington’s real gross state product increased 0.7 percent and private-sector employment decreased 1.8 percent in 2010. By comparison, real GDP in the United States decreased 1.3 percent and private sector employment declined by 0.8 percent.
• Self-employment in Washington surged over the last decade. Female self-employment fared the best compared with other demographic groups during the decade.

To promote entrepreneurship, this week the Washington Policy Center sent state lawmakers in the 2012 legislative session these recommendations:

1. Revisit the voluntary settlement agreement as passed by the state Senate in 2011 – $1.2 billion
2. Reform the displaced worker retraining program
3. Simplify sales taxes by using an ‘origin based’ tax (as opposed to a ‘destination based’ tax) and creating a flat rate for out-of-state businesses
4. Review regulations to ensure that Washington rules don’t exceed federal regulations
5. Enact Tort Reform
6. Do no harm in transportation policy – do not reduce road lane capacity
7. Do not follow Seattle in enacting statewide paid sick leave

In addition, Gov. Gregoire suggested her strategies to aid small business — business and occupation tax relief.

How has the Legislature responded? Lawmakers have ignored their $1.5 budget-deficit crisis.

Instead, lawmakers are considering other matters – mandating paid sick leave and safe leave, banning plastic bags, abolishing the death penalty and gay marriage.

When will Washington’s Legislature demonstrate wisdom?

From the Coach’s Corner, also read:

WPC Hits Target, but Will Washington State Legislature?

Washington: A Balanced Budget Is No Longer Enough

Does the Federal Reserve Understand Small Business?

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

Washington: A Balanced Budget Is No Longer Enough

 

Updated Jan. 11, 2012

A Seattle Times headline is perplexing. True, the headline –“Lawmakers open session, try to close $1B gap” – is a fairly accurate assessment of Washington state’s budget. Not to be laboriously repetitive, but the headline is worrisome. Once again the Legislature faces a budget crisis.

“The economy is the focal point of this year’s legislature as state lawmakers attempt to close a $1.5 billion shortfall in a $34 billion budget at the state capitol in Olympia,” blogged Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business (AWB).

Mr. Brunell is known for his pragmatic reasoning.

“As they deliberate, they must be mindful that Washington is in the midst of an anemic economic recovery which is very fragile,” the AWB president added. “New costs to employers, especially those along Main Street, have a dampening effect on our ability to increase consumer confidence and bring people back to work.”

That’s my sense, too. But the Legislature routinely fails to prioritize first things first. The short-term priority is to balance the 2011-2013 budget. But as a priority, it’s secondary to a bigger quandary – government and budgeting reform, which are needed immediately, as well.

Instead, all budget discussions are about the short-term and relatively insignificant issues grab a disproportionate amount of attention.

Gov. Gregoire wants to focus on a new $3.6 billion transportation package, gay marriage, shorten the school year, abolish social services, release some prisoners before the sentences expire, and increase the state’s sales tax. House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, also says same-sex marriage is a top priority.

A significant number of citizens wants to legalize marijuana. Some lawmakers want a statewide ban on plastic grocery bags.

Most of us in business agree education is a priority. But increasing taxes even for education isn’t productive as long as government/budgeting reform is ignored as a priority.

In addition to Mr. Brunell, another thoughtful pragmatist is Jason Mercier. Mr. Mercier is director of the Center for Government Reform of the Washington Policy Center.

Worth consideration is Mr. Mercier’s list of recommended reforms:

• Enact a constitutional tax and spending limit (with two-thirds requirement to raise taxes) modeled after the original 1993 I-601 formula.

• Remove as many of the restrictions on lawmakers’ ability to set spending priorities as possible (collective bargaining restrictions on compensation, federal mandates, assumption of auto-pilot budgeting on programs).

• Reform competitive contracting. Allow agencies to make performance-based contracting more proactive (create a Competitive Contracting Council).

• Provide the governor discretionary authority to cut spending.

• Repeal unaffordable programs instead of suspending them.

• Require at least a 5 percent reserve when adopting the next biennial budget.

• Require updated four-year budget outlooks to be published after each state revenue forecast or budget adoption.

• Require completed fiscal notes before bills can be acted on.

• Phase in a defined-contribution retirement plan that gives state workers benefits that can never be taken away.

Amen. Yes, the Legislature should soberly balance the budget. However, unless the Legislature concomitantly reforms government and the budgeting process, uncertainty will never be alleviated for the state’s businesses and consumers.

From the Coach’s Corner, you might want to consider other public policy columns.

“There is an important sense in which government is distinctive from administration. One is perpetual, the other is temporary and changeable. A man may be loyal to his government and yet oppose the particular principles and methods of administration.”

-Abraham Lincoln

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

Budget Debate: Will Legislature Read Seattle News Media Headlines?

 

Nov. 28, 2011

The headline on the Seattle PI Web site was startling. It read: “FACT CHECK: Has Wash. cut budget by $10.5B? Hardly.”

The headline and accompanying story questioned what appear to be misrepresentations by Gov. Chris Gregoire when she claimed Washington has slashed $10.8 billion from the state budget in the last three years. The cuts were her justification for proposing a sales tax increase to balance the budget.

My hope in the budget debate is that the Legislature will read such Seattle media headlines, as they meet in a special session this week to debate the budget deficit.

(Actually, the story appeared in the Seattle PI an hour after it first appeared in the Seattle Times. But, inexplicably, the Seattle Times deleted the story less than an hour after the PI story appeared.)

Reporter Mike Baker documented how the hundreds of so-called cuts are really spending increases that haven’t been implemented.

For example, the alleged cuts include:

• $682 million in cost-of- living increases for education employees
• $344 million in cost-of-living hikes for pensions
• $1 billion in education cuts, but it hasn’t really been slashed because of student tuition increases
• $128 million for an education apportionment payment, but the payment has actually been doled out
• $69 million for state parks, but in reality the state took in that amount from user fees

Mr. Baker also reminded us that the state is ready to spend around $30 billion from the general fund budget. That’s more money than was spent in the more-recent budget cycle.

Because it was an Associate Press story, it soon appeared on 54 media sites.

The sales tax proposal is controversial for good reason, and why the sales tax debate erupted in Washington state.

Public officials have long violated good government standards on transparency and in spending. On multiple occasions, this column has called for reform and wondered why not transparency for good, open government in Washington state?

We need better public policy – here are a couple of examples:

• Proposing to cut $160 million from state colleges and universities is unconscionable.
• Special interests such as the Washington Federation of State Employees should be reasonable and agree to renegotiate labor contracts.

It’s easy to conclude from the Associated Press story that Washington state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. For example, the State Auditor revealed state government spends $1.8 million for nearly 6,700 unused cell phones is only one example. We need more public officials to create a favorable economic environment.

Given the economy and continuous budget crises, Washington legislators should finally start compromising, stop the longtime practice of shell games and launch legitimate reform. Only then, will thoughtful businesspeople and voters trust Washington state government and consider a sales tax increase.

So, in the budget debate: Will the Legislature read the Seattle news media headlines? It’s time for good government.

From the Coach’s Corner, furthermore, the state can create more tax revenue if it encourages entrepreneurship to create jobs. Here’s What Small Business Owners Need from Washington State Policymakers.

Here’s another no-brainer: How Washington Fails in Filmmaking for Economic Development.

“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

-George Washington

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Columnist Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

How Washington Fails in Filmmaking for Economic Development

 

Updated Feb. 4, 2012

Film-production workers, actors, and movie fans are suffering the same fate as many businesspeople in Washington state. They are sleepless in Seattle now that the Legislature has canceled its successful program of incentives for production studios in filmmaking.

In 2009, this space congratulated the state for offering a 30-percent tax incentive. During this year’s legislative session, I received almost daily updates from Washington Filmworks regarding its lobbying activities. I never dreamed the Legislature would kill the incentives. It was a stellar approach to economic development. This stunned me.

After all, the state has a troubled economy. Filmmaking creates jobs while enhancing the state’s image. Movies entertain and inspire moviegoers. And the incentives didn’t hurt the state’s treasury – canceling them would.

But effective in 2011, the Legislature killed the incentive program. You can almost envision planeloads of filmmakers flying over the state to make movies in Canada. Enlightened Vancouver still offers advantageous tax breaks to attract film projects. So does Oregon.

For economic development, it doesn’t take a study for me to realize the benefits of filmmaking to the state. Ostensibly, lawmakers see it differently. They think the state will benefit more from by providing incentives for startups in other industries.

Lawmakers fail to understand that the state would not lose anything by continuing the incentives and everything to gain. Published reports of Washington Filmworks’ data indicate some $5.4 million in incentives produced 23 projects last year and $18 million in spending. So consider the multiplier effects.

Nor do lawmakers understand a salient, intangible return on the investments.

Consider: The misery index in Washington is high. The morale among residents in many quarters of the state is low. However, the presence of a film crew on location inspires interest. Movie star sightings are invigorating for movie fans and TV watchers. It’s a mini-fantasy, a vacation from financial woes.

During a downturn in the late 1970s from my office window on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, I witnessed a most-astonishing site: Waves of excited people – thousands of office workers – flooded the street to watch Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers act in front of cameras for an episode of the hit TV show, “Hart to Hart.”

Incalculable image value

It was 35 years ago this month as a radio news director, I covered an event that drew scores of reporters from all over the world to Rancho Mirage, Calif. Frank Sinatra was marrying Barbara Marx. All those reporters waited outside in scorching 118-degree weather for hours just to witness the wedding party of stars and dignitaries leave the ceremony. National media, including the NBC/NIS radio network, eagerly welcomed my freelance reports.

So for me today, any thought of revoking film tax incentives prompts me to react this way: “What a revolting development this is.”

You might recall it was the signature phrase of the character, Chester A. Riley in “The Life of Riley” in a radio show from 1944-1951 and TV show from 1949-1950 and 1953-1958. William Bendix acted as Chester Riley, whom I happily met and to whom I once served food as a teenage bus boy in Palm Springs.

My sense is that all states should keep the tax incentives in place. (Admittedly, I’m predisposed to understand the benefits. In addition to my journalism background, I’ve produced and voiced hundreds of TV commercials.)

For the first time in California’s history, state lawmakers approved a $500 million incentive plan starting in 2009. It included tax credits ranging from 20 to 25 percent. But even that was a bit paltry compared to other states. But California lawmakers knew they had to compete.

As a kid growing up in Palm Springs, it was common to see movie stars such as Mr. Bendix, Lucille Ball and Dean Martin. Although I come from a middle class family, Bob Hope and James Stewart maintained homes less than a block away. It was quite an experience watching Mr. Hope wash his Chrysler. Once, I nearly hyperventilated when he spoke to my brother and me when we were playing in the street after a rainstorm – sailing Popsicle sticks in a puddle.

Later, as an 11-year-old newspaper boy delivering The Desert Sun newspaper, my customers included impresario Billy Rose, comedian Jack Benny, and movie mogul Darryl Zanuck. Each month, it was fun standing outside waiting to be paid by Mr. Zanuck – he threw frequent pool parties with a bevy of starlets.

Serious business

Aside from the fun and glamour of filmmaking, it’s a serious business.

The Washington Filmworks’ program worked this way:

• Washington Filmworks is a private non-profit that offered cash back in a 30 day-incentive.
• Washington state businesspeople received business and occupation tax deductions and a source for passive income from their investments.
• Productions were required to spend $500,000 for feature films, $300,000 for TV shows per episode, and $150,000 for commercials.
• Filmmakers had to apply with a script, line item budget, proof of funding, a finance plan, and a producer’s letter of intent.
• Washington Filmworks’ board would either approve or reject the project.

In addition, the Seattle Office of Film + Music offered $25 a day permits when using city owned property. The filmmakers were exempt from sales and use taxes on rental of production equipment, and sales tax on the purchase of production services, unless the production equipment was purchased.

But now, we are sleepless in Seattle for dubious reasons.

We are telling filmmakers we no longer welcome their business. It reminds me of a line in “Rocky IV” during Rocky Balboa’s patented comeback against a superior opponent. Sportscaster Barry Tompkins asserted: “It’s a question of who wants it most.”

In real life, Mr. Tompkins still works as a sportscaster. His line is apropos today. Washington state lawmakers are throwing in the towel. Let’s hope Washington Filmworks is more successful telling their story at the next legislative session.

From the Coach’s Corner, for more information on filmmaking see these helpful Web sites:

• Washington Filmworks, www.washingtonfilmworks.org
• Seattle Film Office, www.seattle.gov/filmoffice
• California’s visionary approach: www.entertainmentpartners.com

“A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.”
-Groucho Marx

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

I-1098’s Impact on Economic Development in Washington?

 

Sep. 22, 2010

You’ve heard the rhetoric. Initiative 1098 , the controversial income-tax proposal, has become one of the most divisive issues in Washington state.

It would impose a 5 percent tax rate of $200,000 on individuals and $400,000 on couples with a 9 percent tax rate on $500,000 for one person and $1 million on families. The state’s share of the property tax would be lowered by 20 percent and the business and occupational tax would exempt 118,000 more companies.

Bill Gates, the c0-founder of Microsoft, joined his father Bill Gates Sr. in advocating passage of I-1098. Notable opponents include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.  

Ironically, as an economic development tool, the state’s Department of Commerce has a Web site (www.chooseWashington.com) that states Washington has a “Favorable Business Environment.” One of the advantages: “No income tax in Washington.”

So what’s the impact of I-1098?

 The Citizens’ Guide to Initiative 1098 is a policy brief by written by Paul Guppy. He’s the vice president for research at the highly respected think tank, Washington Policy Center. It’s voluminous and thought-provoking with heavy documentation.

To summarize, here are Mr. Guppy’s 10 salient conclusions:

1. Initiative 1098 Creates a New Way to Tax. Essentially he believes it does nothing to fix the inequities of the state sales tax, which is regressive for businesses and low-income families.

2. The Income Tax would Likely be Extended to More People. Is this a surprise? No.

“Unlike past efforts, Initiative 1098 is drafted as an ordinary law, not as an amendment to the state constitution, Mr. Guppy writes. “This makes it easier for the income tax to be extended to more people in the future. The legislature could change Initiative 1098 in the short-term with a two-thirds vote, and after two years could change it by a simple majority vote, just like any other part of the legal code.”

3. Income Tax Revenue May Not Go to Promised Purposes. He cites Washington Secretary of State’s data that indicates the Legislature has over-ridden 30 voter-approved initiatives.

“Lawmakers often divert tax revenues from their intended purposes,” he explains. “This year the legislature transferred tax revenue totaling more than $1 billion from 33 dedicated trust accounts, some created by voter initiative, and spent those funds on general programs.” 

4. More Money Will Not Help Public Schools. He points out school children will not learn more.

“Taxpayers contribute over $10 billion per year toward the education of slightly less than one million public school students in Washington,” he writes. “Public school districts currently spend an average of $10,100 per student per year, the highest level in state history. 

“The largest budget item, comprising 83 percent of spending, is devoted to salaries and benefits. The statewide average for teacher pay with benefits is $79,200,” he asserts. “Average pay with benefits for school administrators is $117,000.”

He adds Seattle’s school spending of $12,746 per student annually has increased more than a third since 2005.

“In Seattle average teacher pay with benefits is $92,100. Average administrator pay with benefits is $106,900,” he adds.

5. Initiative 1098 and the State Economy. He lists numerous examples how the initiative would hinder the state’s economic climate.

“By enacting an income tax, Washington would be giving up a significant competitive advantage in relation to other states,” he advises. “Washington has a high sales tax. Adding an income tax means Washington would join the states that impose all the major forms of tax on their citizens.”

6. Some Residents would Leave Washington to Avoid the Income Tax. He points out a new income tax would be the fourth-highest in the U.S.

“High-earners targeted by the tax would suddenly have a strong financial incentive to move out of state,” he writes. “A change in residence would include pulling investments out of the state as well, since Initiative 1098 would tax non-residents who derive income from Washington businesses. In a survey of business owners and their views of Initiative 1098, 1.8 percent of respondents said they planned to leave Washington if the income tax measure passes, even though this was not one of the survey questions.”

He cites New Jersey and Minnesota as examples where high-income residents felt compelled to leave for greener pastures.

7. Initiative 1098 would Reduce Charitable Giving. Because the controversial proposal would be higher than the federal tax and would be applied to adjusted gross income, he writes the affluent would fewer funds for charity.

“Adjusted gross income includes wages, salaries, tips, interest income, rental income, capital gains, income from pensions and retirement accounts, and alimony payments received by divorced spouses,” he suggests. “Adjusted gross income is calculated before the taxpayer is allowed to lower his reported income by claiming deductions such as the federal standard deduction, the child tax credit, the dependent care credit, local property taxes, motor vehicle taxes, mortgage interest payments, contributions to retirement accounts and donations to charity.”

That means that $2.2 billion next year and $11.1 billion over the next five years would not be available for nonprofit giving.

8. Initiative 1098 and Tax Fairness. He writes, contrary to proponents’ claims, the proposal is unfair – 98 percent of the state’s population would escape an income tax.

“Initiative 1098 is not unbiased or impartial in its treatment of Washington citizens,” he explains. “It specifically targets a minority, as defined in economic terms, to shoulder the full cost of a new tax, while using state power to redistribute the benefits to others.”

9. State Income Taxes Do Not Lead to Fiscal Stability. He points out Oregon, New Jersey and California all have major budget woes despite an income tax.

“Oregon’s personal income taxes – based on 2009 returns due on April 15, 2010, were down by $472.3 million, or 16.4 percent less than the previous year,” he writes.

“During the strong economy lawmakers increased state spending by over 33 percent in a single four-year period,” he reminds us. “Access to a new revenue stream would likely encourage Washington lawmakers to return to enacting large, permanent spending increases in each budget cycle. When economic activity slows or declines in recessionary years, personal incomes fall accordingly, and leave income tax states like Oregon and California with far less revenue than officials expected to receive.”

10. Initiative 1098 is Unconstitutional under Current Case Law. Opponents argue passage of I-1098 would be thrown out by the courts.

From the Coach’s Corner, you can visit the Defeat 1098 campaign here.

Why 3 Washington Banks See Red, Not Green on St. Patrick’s Day

 

March 17, 2010

It was wasn’t a happy St. Patrick’s Day for three banks in Washington state – they lost ground on Wall Street after they released bad news 24 hours earlier.

The three closely watched banks: City Bank, Frontier Financial Corp. and Sterling Financial Corp.

City Bank (NASDAQ: CTBK) shares dropped almost 18 percent – 22 cents and closed at $1.03. This was just 24 hours after the Lynnwood bank was given a deadline by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. – 3o days to raise cash or it will have to find a buyer for its assets.

Frontier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FTBK) shares fell nearly a third. It dropped $1.35 and closed at $2.89. That’s a loss of $70.2 million – $14.89 a share for the Everett Bank. On Tuesday, Frontier announced its Q4 loss had actually ballooned more than two-fold. Originally, the bank indicated it lost $33.9 million or $7.19 a share. The FDIC reportedly has given Frontier an unsatisfactory in capitalization.

Sterling Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: STSA) shares plummeted almost 17 percent – down 13 cents and closed at 64 cents. The Spokane bank acknowledged it was facing obstacles in raising $300 million.

From the Coach’s Corner, not to pick on Sterling but it’s a candidate as a case study for poor marketing. After watching its countless TV commercials during broadcasts of the Seattle Mariners in the 2009 season, the bank’s problems are understandable.

It spent considerable sums of money on dubious advertising. The TV ads showed a consumer on his deck talking on the phone to someone at his new, out-of-state bank. The actor seemed frustrated in trying to explain where Washington is located – a dig at big banks domiciled elsewhere.

If Sterling had any hope of attracting depositors, the proper strategy would have been to broadcast the benefits of being a Sterling customer.

For related reading, see Marketing: Why One Bank Fails, Another Succeeds. One of the nation’s 2009 bank failures costing the FDIC $298 million was the result of economic conditions, to be sure. But Venture Bank’s collapse was exacerbated by poor management decisions typified by branding.

How Enterprise Washington Helps State’s Businesses

Feb. 28, 2010

In trying to solve a $2.8 billion budget shortfall, Washington state lawmakers have been debating the wrong issues. Instead of debating whether to increase the sales tax or to eliminate tax exemptions for industries, lawmakers would better serve voters if they dealt with the core issue.

The core issue: Developing a healthy economic climate with public policies that help – not hinder creation of private-sector jobs.

Most businesses have had to significantly cut payroll – 175,000 jobs were lost in two years. However, instead of being good stewards of taxpayer assets, many public officials are frantically looking to spend money and generate more tax revenue. The only jobs the state helps to create are government jobs that exacerbate the economic climate.

Worse, state pensions are 74 percent higher per person compared to the private sector. And the Legislature has failed to fund at least $7.9 billion in healthcare and pension liabilities – a financial time bomb set to explode.

Thirty percent or more of your business headaches are caused by onerous government regulations and taxes.

These and countless other issues hurt the economy.

However, there is hope. At the grass roots level, Enterprise Washington (EW) is an organization effectively clearing the air. They know a strong economy will create jobs in a way that helps the environment.

In essence, the EW folks understand the core issue, and they are recruiting and helping business-friendly candidates get elected to office. I recently met with the group’s principles at their Issaquah office and walked away with favorable impressions. And what’s really neat is that they understand it’s important to be open-minded. They recruit both Democrats and Republicans.

It was refreshing to hear the insights of EW President Erin McCallum.

My sense is that you’ll want to know more about EW. Here are Ms. McCallum’s answers to my questions:

Q: What is your success rate?

A: Since EW’s formation in 2007, there are seven more business-friendly lawmakers in Olympia.  

Five GOP include: Sen. Randi Becker, Reps. Kevin Parker, Jan Angel, Bruce Dammeier and Terry Nealey.

Two Democrats: Reps. Reuven Carlyle and Scott White.

EW was instrumental in five of the seven victories (Becker, Parker, Angel, Nealey and Carlyle).  

In each of these races, EW either identified and recruited the business person or ran a significant independent expenditure campaign that helped educate voters about the candidate who was the stronger champion of the economy and the health and sustainability of Washington’s private sector.

Q: How would you describe your mission?

A: Recruiting, training and electing business-minded state lawmakers. 

Q: You have different organizations under your wing?  

A: Yes we do. EW, the mission is described above and EW’s Jobs PAC which is a 527 political action committee.   There is also a legally separate 501 (C)(3), charitable organization called Business Institute of Washington. It is an educational resource for our communities that helps Washingtonians gain a stronger understanding of the significant role our lawmakers play in establishing laws that govern our state. 

Q: Please describe how they’re structured cohesively.

A: EW is legally organized to influence the outcome of elections in key districts (C-6, membership organization, and a 527 political action committee). EW has established these separate entities to accommodate the different reporting requirements for various political expenditures.

As a result of the economic downturn and what a majority of the public sees as government spending run amok, the current political climate is favorable for pro-business/anti-tax candidates.  Business has an opportunity to capitalize on this shifting political climate during the 2010 election cycle.

Q: Briefly, what is the history of your organization?

A: EW grew out of an old business political action committee, United for Washington. We developed our business model using best practices from business communities in other states, and taking examples from currently successful players in Washington state politics. 

Our research has unveiled that successful special interest groups in Washington state have not been friendly to private sector business for some time.

Q: How would you describe the state of politics in Washington?

A: The political stage was set many years ago for what’s happening in Olympia and state government today. For decades, special interest groups outside of the business community have worked tirelessly in recruiting candidates who will champion their issues and helped get them elected.  Our state’s current political climate augurs opportunity for pro-business candidates – Democrat and Republican, alike. And with the new top two primary, business-friendly Democrats are viable again.

Here are some examples of how other special interest groups operate in our state, and how the private sector community has assisted in bringing them to power:  

Organized labor has done an incredible job in helping to elect candidates to champion their issues in Olympia. Organized labor, with SEIU largely driving the effort, has been effective in politics by winning one race at a time. Their efforts have paid dividends for them on shaping public policy.

Other special interest groups such as the Trial Lawyer Bar, WEA, Firefighters, etc., make sure contributions get funneled to close races, usually to Democrat candidates. When business contributes to both parties (often to gain political access) a significant portion of contributions made to Democrat leaders are transferred to competitive races and used against pro-business candidates. Organized labor has been able to rely on a pro-union majority in both the House and Senate to protect its interests.

Q: How many members or supporters does your organization have?

A: EW currently has about 250 members representing businesses from all across the state in a broad range of industries. This year, we are currently in a drive to double our membership.  Any of you who are business owners and who care about the future of our state, please join us by visiting www.enterprisewashington.org and become a member.

Q: A lot of voters think of business-oriented people as Republicans-only, but you have the vision to be nonpartisan.  Please describe how and why you decided on the nonpartisan approach.

A: Business issues do not necessarily cut clearly across political party lines. Also, given our state’s demographics and increase in population, we recognize that voters in this state are fiscally conservative, socially progressive. With Washington state’s two political parties tending to lean more to the extreme we look for balance and middle ground.

Q: What’s your criterion for a political candidate? 

A: Our state is quite diverse, so the ideal candidate can vary quite a lot depending on the location of the district. Having said that we are looking for business people, both employers and more likely employees, who have strong experience in the private sector and can bring their expertise to the state lawmaking process.

Q: What’s on tap for your association?

A: We are in the midst of a $1.6 million campaign for Washington’s private sector and invite everyone in business in this state to get engaged through EW membership. Unlike public employee unions that can collect political contributions through the monthly dues process, EW must appeal to the greater business community, those who have the most at stake, to make our programs succeed.

Please go to www.enterprisewashington.org and become a member today! Through membership, you can help elect more business minded state lawmakers who will understand and support public policy that supports private sector jobs.

Q: What else would you like to add?  

A: The business community has a choice to make: either get involved and help elect more business friendly lawmakers or face steeply higher taxes. EW is the only organization in Washington state that is tackling the political landscape with the goal of making significant positive changes to the makeup of our state legislature.  Democracy is not a spectator sport so join EW today! Having strong elected lawmakers who understand that it’s the private sector that creates jobs and turn builds healthy and happy communities.

From the Coach’s Corner, here’s more on upcoming state-government developments:

To identify state efficiencies and savings, Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag has announced his performance audit work plan.

Sen. Cantwell Is Right to Question Risky Derivative Dangers, Geithner

 

Updated July 15, 2010 – 3 p.m.

An influential U.S. senator, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), worked to regulate the perilous use of derivatives by Wall Street bankers, and criticized the Obama Administration in the process. But her derivative strategy worked. The sweeping financial reform legislation will regulate the risky, intangible instruments.

This means derivative trading now faces regulation, and financial institutions will have to set up a fire wall by moving their derivative departments elsewhere.

“This isn’t about poking the White House, it’s about getting capital flowing to small businesses,” Sen. Cantwell said in an interview with Les Blumenthal, a reporter for McClatchy’s Washington state newspapers.

She helped lead the fight against investment bankers, who were bailed out by taxpayers only to shell out big bonuses and who are at it again. Instead of extending credit to business, Wall Street is back to the old tricks of playing risky derivative games that helped lead to Wall Street’s meltdown and the global-financial disaster.

She’s also had a testy exchange with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner over the failed efforts to bail out community banks and the associated credit issues faced by her Washington state constituents and other American businesses and consumers.

“We are trying to keep the focus on what needs to be done to get credit flowing and avoid another bubble,” Sen. Cantwell also said. “Do I wish the White House team was more attuned to these issues? Yes.”

 Yes is right. It’s commendable that she’s become outspoken about regulating Wall Street’s behavior.

If she’s successful, we’ll see job creation – the only way out of this mess. I’ve been harping about this and asking for answers to questions for an extended period of time starting with this column, “Is it Time to Police Pay at Wall Street Banks?”

And she was right about voting against the reappointment of Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. Few in Congress seem to understand Main Street issues and his tardy, tepid handling of the Great Recession at the Fed.

Firewall partnership

Sen. Cantwell partnered with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the former GOP presidential candidate, to bring back the commercial/investment banking firewall. This will prevent risk-taking by commercial banks that exacerbated two downturns in the 1930s and the most-recent  financial chaos. The two worked together on the Senate Commerce Committee.

Cash flow and credit are critical for operating a business. With too-few funds available in loans, businesses have been failing or, at least, suffering from bad credit as a result of not having access to capital.

Efforts by the Obama Administration and Small Business Administration to provide more loans are to be commended. However, they are way too-little and too late. Most afflicted small businesses now have poor credit because of the cash cutoffs and they won’t qualify for any the funding.

Credit card regulations were too late, too.

Nothing has been done to help repair the credit of the millions of small businesspeople and consumers who were victimized by the credit card companies – domiciled in a handful of states that permit predatory behavior – their rapacious interest rate hikes for bogus reasons and slashed credit lines.

Sen. Cantwell also indicated her disappointment that the Obama Administration twice reneged on promises for action on the proposed firewall between commercial and investment banks.

“Their economic team is not living up to what they said they would,” she explained to Mr. Blumenthal.

Hmm. Broken promises? That’s not what America needs, but we can appreciate Sen. Cantwell’s candor and successful efforts.

From the Coach’s Corner, on another somber note regarding credit: Customers of the hospitality industry are ostensibly the No. 1 target of hackers, here’s the article.

Authorized Fund to Benefit Family of Fallen Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Mundell

 

TAPCO Credit Union has established a fund for the family of 44-year-old Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Kent Mundell, who died from wounds sustained while responding to a domestic-violence call near Eatonville in Washington state.

Deputy Mundell was one of two deputies who were shot in the tragic incident on Dec. 21.

The 10-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputy leaves behind his wife, Lisa, and two children, aged 16 and 10. They reside in the Spanaway area of Pierce County.

The fund was established at the request of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Guild.

If you wish to donate to the fund, donations are being accepted three ways:

• Online at www.tapcocu.org.
•  In-person at six branch locations:  6312 19th Street W. in Fircrest; 2802 6th Avenue in Tacoma; 933 Tacoma Ave. in Tacoma; 5303 112th Street E. the Puyallup/Summit area; 4827 Pt. Fosdick Drive N.W. in Gig Harbor; and 13505 Pacific Ave. in Parkland.
•  Via the post office, c/o TAPCO Credit Union, Attn: Kent Mundell Fund, P.O. BOX 64369, Tacoma, WA 98464.

PRESS RELEASE: No.1 Topic at Biz Coach Site is ‘quite a Surprise’

Press Release Celebrating The Biz Coach’s First Month Anniversary: Economic, political liberties are surprising No. 1 topic of visitors

 

Sept. 9, 2009

Yes, users are reading the performance-enhancing strategies at this new business-coaching Web site. Informative articles range from planning to technology. However, data shows the overwhelming visitor preference is public policy – and how it affects economic and political liberties.

Based in the greater Seattle area, Biz Coach Terry Corbell knows what to write for readers at The Biz Coach: www.bizcoachinfo.com, “Proven Solutions for Maximum Profits.” After analyzing the first month’s results of the site formally launched on July 29, he is happy with the reader response.

“But it is quite a surprise to learn the extent of the popularity of the first column dealing with economic policy, and economic and political liberties,” Mr. Corbell said. “I’m also surprised to learn where those readers live.”

The most-popular column suggests that governments at all levels in Washington state can help create jobs and set a leadership example for the rest of the nation – if they take new actions for economic development. The No. 1 column has a clear lead over the others – 20 times more readers than the second-place column.

“Sixty-five percent of the public-policy-minded readers are from the U.S. Five percent of them live in Washington, but 19 percent live in Michigan and 16 percent in California (70 percent of California readers live in the Silicon Valley),” Mr. Corbell added.

The most-popular column is entitled, “Analysis: Steps for Economic Success in Washington State.” It was the kickoff column to launch the site and the column continued to gain in popularity even though the site is updated every other day with a new column.

The Web site’s other 10 most-popular columns:

1. Case Study: Mistakes Companies Make When Losing Profits

2. Airbus-Boeing Rivalry: Lessons in Strategic Planning

3. 5 Safety Measures to Thwart Mounting Social-Network Attacks

4. Need a Job? Recession and Offshoring Don’t Have to Be Obstacles

5. Planning an Event? Consider 25 Emergency Preparedness Tips

6. What No One Tells You about Raising Investment Capital

7. New Strategies for International Trade

8. How Can Micro Businesses Position Themselves to Win?

9. Cause-Related Marketing Can Increase Sales by Double Digits

10. Web Security Checklist, Warning about Mobile Banking

As a business-performance consultant and profit professional, Mr. Corbell’s Web site provides proven solutions for maximum profits on eight topics:

• Planning

• Operations

• Marketing/Sales

• Finance

• HR

• Tech

• Public Policy

• Wall Street

The site also provides late-breaking video reports on each hour’s featured business story. Other news-video categories include:

• Economy

• Regulatory Compliance

• Personal Finance

• Sci-Tech

• Health

• Press Releases

The average Biz Coach visitor returns twice, reads more than six pages, and reads for more than six minutes each visit.

The top 10 countries in visitors:

• U.S. (80 percent)

• Canada

• Austria

• China

• Philippines

• Great Britain

• Sweden

• France

• Australia

As one of the Northwest’s longest-running columnists, Mr. Corbell has written 450+ business-coaching columns since 2001 for several media Web sites. He currently writes an Internet business-coaching column, The Biz Coach, for the Money News page at Seattle’s KIRO (www.kirotv.com), the “2009 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winner for Overall Excellence.”

Many of Mr. Corbell’s business-coaching columns are updated and archived on The Biz Coach Web site, which was developed by Solid Technology, www.solidtechnology.com, “Trusted Experts, Solid Results.” in Portland, OR.

He is a member of Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW). 

The New York Times featured Mr. Corbell twice in 2008. For some his business tips, simply Google each of these headlines:

• Been There… Done That… Here’s How

• Advice on Taking an Entrepreneurial Leap

As a profit professional, he developed The CMS Approach. To relieve a company’s financial stress, The CMS Approach includes a financial turnaround program on a pay-for-performance basis. Mr. Corbell provides complete solutions for a small retainer and one percent of the net-profit increase.

For external challenges, he provides a full marketing program from public relations to advertising and guarantees a 10 to 55 percent higher return on clients’ investments. He has deep media relationships and includes strategies such as social networking to newsworthy senior-executive videos, and TV commercials.

His firm, CMS Associates LLC, www.cmsassociatesllc.com, has been long-known for providing “Solutions to Increase Revenue.” CMS is an excellent company with an outstanding record of success since 1992. The firm has insights, systems and strategies to save companies time and money while increasing revenue.

Mr. Corbell is also focusing on economic development. He and KIRO are partnering to promote the economic climate of Western Washington communities.

He’s writing a book tentatively entitled, “How to Watch Your Back in the Jungle – Avoiding Business Predators.”

Space for banner advertising on The Biz Coach Web site is still available at reasonable Charter membership prices. In addition to the Web site, advertising for The Biz Coach concept will soon be available on Seattle radio, “The Biz Coach Roundtable.”  

Charter sponsors for The Biz Coach Web site and radio program will receive special incentives and priority red-carpet benefits. For details, visit “Our Services” page: http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/our-services.