Free Republic

Businesses have tad it with poor business conditions in two of the most dysfunctional states in the union, California and Illinois. In an editorial, the Orange County Register reports Even profitable firms fleeing California Democratic reaction to the news that Waste Connections, a $3.6-billion company and major Sacramento-area employer, is headed to Houston to seek a friendlier business climate tells other businesses all they need to know about the attitudes of those who run California's government. (Snip) The Chicago Tribune lists 10 companies with an eye in exiting the state in Illinois companies eyeing an exit

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pushing a campaign to act without Congress, President Barack Obama moved unilaterally Friday to boost private business. He signed executive orders aimed at spurring economic growth, capping a week in which Obama sought to employ the power of his office as he struggles to make headway on his jobs bill on Capitol Hill. Obama's orders direct government agencies to shorten the time it takes for federal research to turn into commercial products in the marketplace. The goal is to help startup companies and small businesses create jobs and expand their operations more quickly. On the other front,...

Unfortunately, many Americans have become inured to the trampling of freedom of association. You can work your fingers to the bone starting a business, and the government becomes a partner that contributes nothing but extracts much. It not only shares your profits and regulates you to death, but, more to the point here, dictates whom you must serve and the bases on which you may hire and fire people. And woe betide he who doesn’t bow before Leviathan. A recent example of this is the Wildflower Inn, a Vermont B&B. After devout Catholic owners Jim and Mary O’Reilly refused to...

“How can the government help me?” This seems to be a growing sentiment among the American middle class. “The land of opportunity” is quickly becoming the “nation of the needy.” Here’s a question I received from a reader just last week: “I am not happy with how things are going since the Bush Administration allowed tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy. These cuts were supposed to end for those who just keep earning more off the middle class. My question is: I am told that investors can invest as little as $1000.00 in real estate, and make a living...

Today on the 2:00 pm segment of CNN Newsroom, anchor Randi Kaye spoke with CNN political producer Shannon Travis about criticism directed at President Barack Obama: TRAVIS: Yes, really, really quickly, billionaire Steve Wynn, you've seen his resorts all over Las Vegas. He's blasting President Obama. I'm going to read this quote from a call, an earnings call yesterday. Quote, "I'm saying it bluntly that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business and progress and job creation in my lifetime". Those are from Steve Wynn. We know there are a lot of businesses who have been on a...

Bob Lutz, the former Vice Chairman of General Motors, is the most famous also-ran in the auto business. In the course of his 47-year rampage through the industry, he's been within swiping range of the brass ring at Ford, BMW, Chrysler and, most recently, GM, but he's never landed the top gig. It's because he "made the cars too well," he says. It might also have something to do with the fact that Maximum Bob, who could double as a character on Mad Men, is less an éminence grise than a pithy self-promoter who has a tendency to go off...

In an attempt to shame the Republicans into allowing the Debt Ceiling to be raised, Obama is trotting out the tried-and-true class warfare card. In his press conference this morning, Obama is scolding private jet owners who receive tax breaks on their purchases. Just one problem though, back in 2009, it was Obama's own stimulus package that he and the Democrats passed that gave these very same individuals the tax credits he is now attacking. I am beginning to think that Obama smoked too much dope in college, because his short term memory is terrible. Besides forgetting that he...

The US economy is just "bumbling along" and creating an uncertainty among business that is likely to stifle hiring and growth, investor Wilbur Ross said. Ross blamed Washington policies for much of the problems, from the lack of a housing recovery to the recent controversy in which the Obama administration is trying to block Boeing ...from building a plant in a right-to-work state. "This kind of thing is bad because it's unsettling to companies," he said. "Business has a terrible time adjusting to uncertainty. Good news they can adjust to, bad news they can adjust to. Uncertainty makes it very,...

The New Black Panther Party, the racist and radical black power group, has a big day ahead of it this coming Saturday. According to its website, it’s planning a massive 60-city “showdown.” And the day of rage will include a protest of “non-black” businesses. The group says it’s establishing a home base at an office building in Harlem, an area it’s modeling after revolutionary ground zero in Egypt. The site goes on to explain why its rallying: As in other revolutions, protests and uprisings going on around the earth, a showdown is looming for Saturday April 23rd as marchers with...

The U.S. has “raced” to control space exploration, nuclear arms and electronics. Since taking office, President Obama has introduced the idea that the U.S. is now battling China — the world’s largest polluter — in new race for world domination. A clean energy race. “The nation that leads in the creation of a clean-energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st-century global economy,” the president has said. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has repeated the message several times, creating a frenzy to “go green,” before China does. If America really is in such a race, the Energy and Commerce...

President Barack Obama says he wants to learn about the success and the failures of small business people to better understand what the federal government can do to help the private sector prosper. Obama is in Cleveland to promote his retooled economic pitch, which focuses on government initiatives that foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Obama was accompanied by various members of his Cabinet, who planned to lead breakout sessions with small business owners to discuss topics ranging from job training to clean energy and exports. He said he wanted the government to be a "good partner" to implement small business ideas....

Nothing Is Stable Anymore2-2-2011 The world is becoming a very unstable place, and the pace at which things are changing all around us has become absolutely mind-numbing. In fact, change has become one of the only constants in today's world. Once upon a time, people in the United States could actually make 20 or 30 year plans and feel confident about achieving them. But now, nothing is stable anymore. The financial crisis showed us that some of the biggest corporations on the globe can collapse in a single day. The events of the past few weeks have shown us that...

"Despite today's nearly double-digit unemployment rate, 4 in 10 unemployed Americans expect to get a job in the next four weeks and one in three underemployed have the same expectations with respect to obtaining a full-time job." That's the finding of a new Gallup poll released yesterday. I guess it's nice that so many Americans remain upbeat in the face of our economic challenges. But this goes beyond upbeat into pure delusion. As Mish points out, there are around 14.5 million unemployed people. In order to employ 40% of them, businesses would have to create 5.95 million jobs. In December...

President Obama's storytellers re cently launched a White House blog series called "Voices of Health Reform," where "readers can meet average Americans already benefiting from the health reform law." I propose a new series: "Voices of Health Reform Waivers," where taxpayers can meet all the politically connected unions benefiting from exclusive get-out-of-ObamaCare passes -- after squandering millions of their workers' dues to lobby for the law from which they are now exempt. At the end of last year, the Department of Health and Human Services had granted some 222 temporary waivers to businesses small and large, insurers, labor and other...

For two centuries, America's free market has not only been the source of dazzling ideas and path-breaking products, it has also been the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known. That vibrant entrepreneurialism is the key to our continued global leadership and the success of our people. But throughout our history, one of the reasons the free market has worked is that we have sought the proper balance. We have preserved freedom of commerce while applying those rules and regulations necessary to protect the public against threats to our health and safety and to safeguard people and businesses...

President Barack Obama Tuesday ordered a government-wide review of regulations with the goal of eliminating those that hurt job creation and make the U.S. economy less competitive. Photo by : Pete Souza President Barack Obama -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obama took action after unveiling his plan in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he said some rules have placed "unreasonable burdens on business — burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs." The executive order marked Obama's latest move to repair relations with U.S. business, which were frayed amid bitter debate over...

Irvine consultant Joe Vranich, who has been compiling a list of companies leaving California because of the state’s anti-business environment, is now up to 144 companies that have departed in 2010, including 34 in Orange County. In addition, he lists 51 companies (8 from Orange County) that left in 2009. That three-fold increase, Vranich says, is the tip of the iceberg that is California’s financial woes. “Quite clearly, the exodus of businesses out of California continues. It makes sense for companies to reduce their California footprint considering the ample supply of attractive, lower-cost alternative locations. Unless California reduces its hostility...

Despite a long and deep recession, the collective personal wealth of congressional members increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a study released Wednesday by the Center for Responsive Politics.The steady also indicates that a significant number of members owned shares of major players in the health-care and financial-services sectors, which were the subject of major reform legislation during the period. The findings—based on federal financial disclosure data released earlier this year—paint a wealthy bunch in Congress, with more than half of all members—261—were millionaires. About one in five of those had average calculated wealth...

If you could collect $100 for every claim a political candidate slings your way about Minnesota's business taxes, you probably could start a respectable small business. The political points are simple: Minnesota's business taxes are so onerous they drive companies and jobs to other states. Or, from another view, companies use loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of the costs of state and local services. Of course, the issue is not at all simple. More than any other, it offers proof that statistics can be manipulated to support almost any point.

One of the most influential U.S. business groups accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of neglecting job creation and sowing economic uncertainty with burdensome tax and regulatory policies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress to shift their approach to "unlock frozen capital and jolt our economy back to life."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some business groups, upset about budget and regulatory policies they say are costing jobs, are accusing President Barack Obama of pursuing an agenda that is hurting the U.S. economic recovery. The criticism comes amid a tepid pace of private-sector job creation and the White House is responding by saying a lack of regulations triggered the economic crisis and that a balance is needed to protect Americans. The issue could give Republicans a potent weapon in the November elections in which they hope to overturn the dominance in the Congress of Obama's Democrats. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce,...

May 3 (Bloomberg Government) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 12 other business groups asked members of President Obama’s cabinet including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for more leeway in implementing the health-care overhaul. The groups said they’re being forced to make contract, employee-benefit and other decisions without guidance on how to comply with provisions that take effect in September. The letter dated April 30 was sent to Geithner, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

SANTA CRUZ — Downtown business owners spent Sunday repairing shattered windows and doors after a May Day rally Saturday night turned into a riot with approximately 250 people marching along Pacific Avenue, some carrying makeshift torches, throwing large rocks and paint bombs, and spray-painting walls with graffiti. At least 18 businesses suffered damage during the rally in honor of international workers that began at 9 p.m. and escalated into mayhem around 10:30 p.m., police said. Investigators estimated damage at $100,000, though some business owners said it could be more. No injuries were reported.

Obama asks businesses to get behind climate bill WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama wants business leaders to push Congress to pass long-stalled climate legislation. Obama made the plug during a meeting Friday with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which includes the heads of General Electric, Caterpillar and Oracle, along with labor leaders and economists. He told the group that the climate bill - which would cap global warming emissions - is good for business. Obama said that individual members of Congress may be worried about the short-term implications of voting for the bill and that hearing from businesses would...

PHOENIX – Federal agents arrested nearly 50 shuttle operators and smugglers Thursday accused of using vans to transport thousands of illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix in what was billed as one of the government's largest-ever human smuggling busts. Investigators said the operators of four shuttle services in Tucson and a fifth in Phoenix created their businesses solely to help immigrant smugglers move their customers to Phoenix under a veil of legitimacy. The shuttle operators are accused of giving illegal immigrants fraudulent receipts to make the trips look legitimate and coaching them on what to say if the...

Friday, Walz toured Austin, talking with local business owners about their concerns regarding health care reform, regulatory agencies, availability of credit, pork barrel spending, energy and the cap-and-trade strategy, which allows facilities to buy and sell pollution credits in order to meet a national limit on greenhouse gas emissions. Walz stopped by Jim’s SuperFresh Produce, 2101 Fourth St. NW, Donker’s Appliance, 1107 First Ave. SW and Medicap Pharmacy, 1109 W. Oakland Ave., to talk with business owners before making his way to Main Street’s Town Center for a roundtable discussion Friday morning. Much of discussion was focused Friday on health...

Businesses are looking to revolutionise state education by bidding to run hundreds of schools, as politicians open the door to new education providers. Companies want to create national chains of state schools, eclipsing the current groups of charitable academy sponsors, which tend to be small and geographically based. Although both the Government and the Conservatives say that organisations driven by profit should not run schools, both have created a path for them to enter the sector. Governing bodies of new, or existing, schools can appoint a contractor to operate the school on their behalf — a model used widely in...

The cost to companies of the landmark U.S. health-care overhaul continued to mount Wednesday as Boeing Co. said it would take a $150 million charge against first-quarter earnings because of tax changes in the legislation. The Chicago-based aerospace firm became the sixth company to reveal charges tied to retiree prescription costs since President Obama signed the health bill into law last week. The mounting costs have prompted some lawmakers to call on the companies to detail how they are calculating the costs, which the administration has characterized as "premature."

The health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama signed into law will mean big changes for many small businesses. Through a combination of penalties, tax credits and purchasing pools, lawmakers aim to boost insurance coverage for U.S. workers. How this legislation will affect businesses depends in large part on their size. Beginning in 2014, organizations with more than 50 employees that don't offer affordable coverage will pay a penalty starting at $750 a year per full-time worker under the bill approved by the Senate and House of Representatives. A proposal approved separately by the House, which still requires Senate approval, would...

NASHUA, N.H. – President Barack Obama unleashed bare-knuckled criticism against opposition Republicans on Tuesday, using some of his toughest language yet to paint them as electoral opportunists willing to switch positions at will to score points with voters. The president's fellow Democrats have been pleading with him, as de facto leader of his party, to get tougher on Republicans leading into this fall's midterm congressional and gubernatorial elections. Those calls increased with the Democrats' stunning loss two weeks ago of a Senate seat in Massachusetts, seen as an indictment of Democratic leadership in Washington and a potential bellwether for the...

BALTIMORE (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday proposed $33 billion in tax credits to coax small businesses into hiring workers as he underscored his commitment to pushing job creation to the top of his agenda. With public frustration over double-digit unemployment eroding his popularity, Obama has begun rolling out initiatives aimed at backing up his jobs pledge made in his economy-focused State of the Union Address earlier this week. The latest proposal calls for a $5,000 tax credit for every net new worker hired in 2010. The amount would be capped at $500,000 per firm to make sure that...

PORTLAND, Ore. – A surge of last-minute ballots was expected Tuesday as Oregon voters decided whether to impose higher taxes on businesses and the wealthy. Polling in the special election suggested the results on Measures 66 and 67 will be close. The stakes in the struggle between business interests and public employee unions are high — the revenue from the two measures is expected to account for about 5.5 percent of the state's general fund budget over the next two years. Opponents of the taxes say draining the money from private hands would damage the state's economy, still hurting from...

Businesses operating in the city of Lancaster will be required to ensure that all their new hires are eligible to work in the United States by using an Internet-based federal program to check the immigration and employment eligibility of potential workers. The free online program, called E-Verify, allows participating employers to use federal databases to compare information provided by job seekers with millions of records kept by the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. “We are working to ensure that all available jobs in our city go to hard-working, law-abiding citizens,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said...

Note: The following news brief is a quote: Last Update: 12/25 9:52 pm Memphis Man Arrested: Accused of Making Bomb Threats & Threatening to Start "Holy War" MEMPHIS, TN – Tonight, Mohamed Ibrahim is out after posting $100 bond. Earlier in the day, he was arrested after police say he walked into several Memphis businesses and threatened to blow them up. Court records show Ibrahim was also telling people he was Muslim, and wanted to start a jihad, or holy war, in Memphis. Police say when they arrested him, he had a butcher knife hidden in one of his jacket...

As this page has long noted, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s goal of being revered as a global green giant has a potentially huge downside for California’s economy. The governor considers AB 32 – the landmark 2006 anti-global warming state law that forces increased use of cleaner but costlier forms of energy – his greatest achievement. But ever since the bill’s adoption, Schwarzenegger has found it increasingly difficult to reconcile his claims to support economic growth with his environmental policies, which add unique costs to California businesses not borne by their rivals in other states and nations. His cheerleading for ever-more-onerous regulations...

Short booking windows causing anxiety, uncertainty. Shorter booking windows have been the trend for over a year now, making it difficult for businesses in the lodging industry to predict vacancy rates even a few weeks in advance. this time of year, the week after Christmas should be completely sold out and the minimum stay required for a reservation is seven days. But because travelers are booking later and wanting shorter stays, most hotels still have vacancies. John Duvivier, director of sales and marketing for Park City Lodging, said his company has had to lower the minimum number of nights. "We've...

To the list of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and community health centers that have received limited allocations of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, you can now add some of New York's largest employers. In the past week or so 13 companies, including Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), have begun receiving small quantities of the vaccine, according to city health authorities.

In his speech to Congress two weeks ago, President Obama made a strong sell to small business owners that his health care reform plan would be blessing, not a curse, for them. Indeed, the President directly addressed "small businesses" no fewer than nine times in his speech. Now that small business owners have heard from the President, it's time for the President to finally listen to small business owners. The O'Leary Report recently teamed up with Zogby International to poll small business owners and officers to see what they think about various topics that are central to the health care...

More than one-in-ten British businesses are seriously considering a move abroad because of the Government's "punitive" tax regime, a damning new survey claims.

Four months ago, Californians were hit with the biggest tax increase in our state's history – more than $12 billion in new taxes on everything from income and sales to vehicle license fees. Since then, tax proponents have proposed 31 new taxes that they predict will generate more than $40 billion in the first year. On top of that, some legislators have singled out oil and tobacco products for massive new tax hikes. These are taxes that the people will pay, not just the corporations. The Neighborhood Market Association represents more than 1,800 independent grocers and small businesses in California...

Fed up with his congressman's vote on a sweeping climate-change bill that passed the House of Representatives in late June, the proprietor of McArthur's Bakery took to his street sign and posted a clear message to all passersby: "Russ Carnahan voted to ... close us and other ... small business." McArthur told FOXNews.com that every aspect of his business relies on the forms of energy targeted by the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and that his congressman, Carnahan, was supporting "a direct tax increase on small business" by voting for it. "We make (our product) with electricity, we bake...

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA, H.R. 1409, S. 560) does more than take away secret ballot elections: It empowers the federal government to impose contracts on newly organized companies. The government would set wages, benefits, work assignments, promotion procedures, and any major changes to business operations. Because EFCA has no meaningful small businesses exemption, it would authorize federal control of up to 4 million small businesses employing 39 million Americans. Consequently, bureaucrats with no management experience would effectively control these small businesses, says James Sherk, the Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy at the Heritage Foundation. The misnamed Employee Free...

SACRAMENTO — As the Legislature's latest attempt to fix the state's fiscal mess ended once again in a bout of partisan sniping and no visible progress, something surprising happened: Hints began to emerge of the possible contours of a compromise. All year, Republicans have refused to consider raising taxes, without which Democrats and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger insist the state's massive deficit — $28 billion through mid-2010 — can't possibly be closed. At least a handful of GOP votes are needed because California law requires a two-thirds supermajority to raise taxes. That opposition continued when the governor called lawmakers back...

State highway officials said Wednesday that the first step in carrying out their decision to build a controversial toll road along the present U.S. 59, and not through farm and ranch land, is to get federal approval. Although no federal funding has been sought for the Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor, the Texas Department of Transportation is bound by federal environmental law. The project has generated thick volumes about its likely impact on the natural environment and the communities in its path. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected to undergo public review late this year and then get sent to...

The U.S. Supreme Court created a huge political backlash when it ruled that local governments could use eminent domain to seize private property and transfer it to other private owners for "economic development." Since the Kelo ruling in 2005, 42 states have enacted limitations on eminent domain — not always effective ones. But like lawmakers in many other states, some California officials are trying to block real eminent domain reform. On June 3, Californians will vote on Proposition 99, a ballot initiative sponsored by groups representing cities, counties, redevelopment agencies and other pro-condemnation interests. It purports to protect property rights...

In the first such program in California, and perhaps the United States, Bay Area air pollution regulators are proposing to charge an annual fee to thousands of businesses based on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The fee - 4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide - would affect everything from oil refineries to power plants, and landfills, factories and small businesses like restaurants and bakeries. --snip-- After years of voluntary measures, the fees, proposed this week by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, set a precedent as the first time that businesses and government agencies would...

TIJUANA – With cross-border visits showing marked declines, business and Baja California tourism officials are going into full-scale damage control in hopes of regaining ground lost over the past year. “The image of the security problem has hit the state very badly,” said Baja California's tourism secretary, Oscar Escobedo Carignan. At a news conference Wednesday at state government offices in Tijuana, Escobedo described a new program aimed at luring visitors back to the region's tourist spots. The program, called “Get Your Passport,” offers discounts at hotels, restaurants bars and shops to those holding a U.S. passport. On the promotional posters...

California on Thursday became the first state in the nation to require oil refineries, electricity generating plants, cement kilns and other major polluters to report their annual greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2009. The mandatory reporting rule approved by state air regulators would affect 800 manufacturing facilities that account for about 95 percent of emissions from industrial sources in California. Through the end of the year, businesses can continue to voluntarily submit their carbon emissions to the California Climate Action Registry, a nonprofit created by the state in 2000 to encourage companies and government agencies to track and ultimately reduce...

Among the nation’s so-called megachurches — those usually Protestant congregations with average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more — ChangePoint’s appetite for expansion into many kinds of businesses is hardly unique. An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of just over 1,300 of these giant churches shows that their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and limousine service. At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some financially formidable congregations are adding residential developments to their holdings. In one such elaborate project, LifeBridge Christian Church, near Longmont, Colo.,...

Determining which industries aren't long for this world may seem easy enough. But some types of businesses, such as telemarketing, are surprisingly hard to kill. And then again, other industries, probably the ones you're sad to see go, can't find a way to survive. So start setting up your office pool, because here are our picks for 10 businesses facing extinction in 10 years. RECORD STORES: Record stores are closing in, well, record numbers. One of the most prominent music retailers, Tower Records, shut down all 89 stores last year after concluding it couldn't withstand the onslaught of online music...