Baby boomers out, ‘Cuspers’ in (those born roughly 1954-1965)

From the 8-PAC Editor – WE are now changing the conversation in small business politics. We are no longer interested in hearing from those timely opportunist who speak with silver tongues and write with eloquent emptiness. With the wind at our backs from the commitment of accountability from the new Administration to help are cause; [...]

Stimulus package could be boon for businesses of all types

By Kent Hoover
For many businesses, Christmas may come in January, when Congress is expected to pass an economic stimulus package containing billions of dollars in new spending and tax breaks.
Construction companies could benefit from massive investment in roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects.
High-tech companies stand to gain from expansion of broadband services to rural areas, [...]

SBA blasts Obama transition leader

The Small Business Administration blasted President-elect Barack Obama’s SBA transition team leader for writing a “largely inaccurate, outdated and misleading” analysis of the agency’s record during the Bush administration.
Fred Hochberg, an SBA deputy administrator during the Clinton administration, analyzed the agency in a chapter submitted for Change for America, a compilation of advice for the [...]

A Small Business Perspective on the “Troubled Asset Relief Program” (TARP) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

By Samuel D. Bornstein
Introduction
The survey, conducted by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) in coordination with Prof. Samuel D. Bornstein and Jung I. Song, CPA of Bornstein & Song, CPAs and Consultants, is the first to provide dramatic evidence of small business involvement in the “toxic” mortgage crisis.  One key goal of this survey [...]

2009 SBA Agenda: Office of Minority Small Business Development

(Senator John Kerry)… All Americans deserve to be given an equal opportunity to pursue the American dream and a top priority for the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is to foster entrepreneurship across all sectors of our society. However, while Hispanics are opening businesses at three times the national average and entrepreneurship has spurred [...]

Green Small Business Opportunties: Car Battery Technology

(San Jose Business Journal) A group of 14 U.S. companies has reportedly formed a coalition that is seeking $1 billion in federal funds to help them make new kinds of batteries for electric cars.
Calling themselves the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, the group includes industry giants like 3M Corp. (NYSE:MMM) and Johnson [...]

Ranking Modern Political Scandals

By Chris Cillizza
(Washington Post) The arrest of Rod Blagojevich has sparked a furious debate on the Fix about where the Illinois governor’s blatant attempt to sell a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder ranks in the annals of modern political scandals.
In order to determine Blagojevich’s place in this (un)distinguished lineage, we thought it necessary [...]

How Much Does a Senate Seat Cost?

By Andrew Roth
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning on federal corruption charges. One of the charges was that he tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Obama. As governor, Blagojevich is responsible for filling it through appointment.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, some of the ideas that he floated in exchange for [...]

The First New Foreign Crisis

By Marc Ambinder
(The Atlantic) It’s quite unsettling to talk to members of Barack Obama’s transition teams these days, especially those who are helping with the economics portfolio. Without going into details, the sense I get from them is that they are very worried that the economy will get a lot worse before it gets better. [...]

Quote of 2008:Capitalism at its absolute worst – the full story

“I want to make money.”
– Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to trade his state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat for personal benefits.
The Full Story
Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges [...]

NEWS FLASH: Blagojevich Taken Into Custody

December 9, 2008
The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was taken into federal custody at his home this morning. The governor’s chief of staff was also arrested.
Both men were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Obama in [...]

Mark Penn: The man who blew the presidency

By Cole Moreton
Hillary Clinton was going to be president. She knew it. So did her chief strategist, Mark Penn, the man who had once delivered victory for her husband Bill. Barack Obama was “unelectable”, Penn declared early in her campaign, “except perhaps against Attila the Hun”. How wrong can you be?
As Hillary accepts the consolation [...]

No. 44: Weekly Radio Address – Dec. 06, 2008