In two days, many of us will gather with friends and family and celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  As we give thanks, I would like to share with you a piece I wrote & I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Small business women and men are thankful to live in a country where dreams shape reality, and where hard work is still appreciated and honored.

Small businesses annually create two-thirds of all new jobs, and contribute an astonishing one-half of the national Gross Domestic Product. America's small enterprises are finding new frontiers every day, and small business women and men still live, in modern ways, the dreams of the Pilgrims and the pioneers of old.

It's interesting how many people are surprised to learn how essential "mom and pop" entrepreneurs remain to broader achievement of the American dream.

In these times of economic uncertainty, it is important to preserve the American small business - a way of life that has endured since our country began.

This year, there may be small business owners who gather around the Thanksgiving table this year with a smaller turkey and fewer trimmings. They may even be working on the holiday.

Times are tough for many. However, it's appropriate to take some time to be thankful, even among the difficulties.

It is a blessing to live and work in America, where "the wealth of nations" has been most dramatically uplifted in ways that empower average people and improve the lives of millions.

But of course, there is still so much to be done. The bounty of the land and the genius of the people must combine so that every American willing to work is able to get a job, at a wage sufficient to support a decent standard of living.

America does it the best, for which we should be truly thankful. But in this land we dare to dream of doing even better. We should be thankful for that, too.

People in small business can certainly be thankful, but are still hopeful for more opportunity and better lives for themselves and the country.

For example, we praise tax cuts that, over the last few years, have allowed us to give raises to good employees, buy more equipment and become more efficient. But small businesses could use additional tax relief to do even more.

Small business people who have been surviving through the financial crises are thankful for community bankers who used sensible and sound policies to stay out of the sub-prime mess. But they would be grateful, as well, for reforms in health care, taxes and workplaces that reduce burdens on small businesses in challenging times. Small business needs access to capital and fewer regulatory burdens.

Some in small business are thankful that success has allowed them to provide good health insurance to employees, yet it would be nice if employers were allowed to purchase individually owned, portable health insurance with pre-tax dollars, and to pass on those benefits to employees.

There is so much that is good about our system and our economy. Yet still there remain corners of injustice and illogic.

Some Americans are grateful to have bosses who allow flexible work hours, but many more could benefit by greater flexibility in labor laws, allowing workers to attend a child's soccer game or take a parent to the doctor one week, and make up those hours the following week.

And shouts of thankfulness and joy would certainly arise if all benefits were taxed in such a way that they didn't raise marginal tax rates for two-income couples and avoided the earnings penalty for seniors who work.

At this time of Thanksgiving, small businesses and workers have much to be thankful for. But there remains work to be done. America needs policies that free small businesses to compete and that provide flexibility, portability and security for employees. The backbone of America is at stake.

Tomorrow is rushing in, bringing a world where the few constants will include fierce competition from abroad. But it will also bring gratitude for the chance to live free, and live well, in America.

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks to small business owners for taking the risks to reward others.

Written by Victoria Braden, CEO/President of Braden Benefits Strategies, Inc. "Experts in Small Business Healthcare Funding"    

Small businesses hold your wallet - again!

Government take-over of the healthcare system in the United States could be a disaster for small businesses as they struggle with a difficult economy and now add the concern of even higher healthcare costs.

Under the current government healthcare run system (Medicare, Medicaid and Civil Servants & Military personnel retirement benefits) our government has an unfunded liability of $33.4 trillion for Medicare and Medicaid and another $23 trillion for Civil and Military personnel.[1]  Let me repeat, $56,400,000,000 unfunded liability or $184,499 per citizen.[2]

Are we willing to turn over our entire healthcare system to a government that has proven they cannot provide for the current healthcare system and balance their books?

The State of Hawaii offered Universal Healthcare to children, the only State with such a program, and is dropping the program after just 7 months.  The reason - COST.[3]

How is our government going to both manage and pay for Universal healthcare?  What will the cost be? Are we willing to let government take over 16% of our GNP?  With this track record?

Does the system need a major overhaul?  Yes.  Is the answer getting individuals even farther away from the cost of their medical care? No.  The answer lies in basic American principals - The Free Market System.

[1] Financial Times 1/11/2008

[2] U.S. Census Bureau Current Population 11/19/2008

[3] Fox News 10/17/2008

I recently spoke at the Sumner's Public Policy Conference in Dallas, TX where some of the brightest young men and women engaged in public policy discussions.  To name just some of the attendees:  students from the University of Dallas, University of N. Texas, Howard Payne, Schreiner University, and Austin College all responded during Q&A with intelligent and insightful dialogue.  I lectured about the work I am currently doing with the Family Policy Center. 

During the panel discussion with Dr. Betty Spence, President of the National Association of Female Executives, the discussion turned to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Dr. Spence informed the students that the Obama Administration wants to expand the act to cover businesses with 25 or more employees and she believes this is a great move (the FMLA to date, applies to all private-sector employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and who engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce, and public agencies, including: state, local, & federal employers, local education agencies-schools).  The act provides employees with 12 weeks of unpaid family or medical leave during any 12 month period.

Obama desires to expand the FMLA and make some modifications to include:  allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities at school; allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault. 

President-Elect Obama wants to expand paid sick days.  Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.  Finally, Betty informed the students that Obama wants to encourage states to adopt paid leave.  As president, Barack Obama will Read the rest of this entry »

Some of you are happy today and some of you are sad. Whatever your feeling, the sun came up this morning!

The American people were in a "firing" mood this election season.  I often say in my Power Tools training that "we can get you hired or we can get you fired-it happens at the ballot box."  People wanted to "hire" new staff in Washington and turned out in droves to make those decisions.  It is an Obama phenomenon. 

The Democrats will now own the White House and the U.S. House and Senate.  They will have to deliver.  As of this writing, the Democrats have 54 of the 100 seats in the Senate with Oregon and Alaska still counting votes.  In the House, the Democrats have 248 of the 435 seats. 

A good friend of mine, Elizabeth Dole, lost her seat in the Senate.  Let's talk about the "women's vote" in this election.  After much conversation about the Hillary women being upset and going over to support McCain, that just didn't happen.  They went home and voted for Obama in the end.  The outreach to the women business owner community from the McCain campaign was not effective and not organized.  The Obama campaign was masterfully orchestrated.

Sixty percent of the country voted in this election and that is a good thing! It is now time for all of us to come together and work to turn our economy around and balance our efforts around the world.  To that end, over the past few weeks, I started building a network of men and women to work with me over the next few years on free-market alternatives to government.  Please consider joining the team!  We will focus on small business issues and offer policy ideas to Congress and the new administration.  We WILL have a seat at the table.  Our focus will be on health care, taxes, access to capital and government regulation.  I really want your help—go to my blog and post your thoughts and let me know if you want to join the "network"-no money asked, just your time and brain!  Hope to hear from you soon-time is of the essence.