• ANTI-family- Does not allow parents to pass their hard work and wealth on to their children
• ANTI-farm- Farms are especially vulnerable because they hold vast amounts of land which are subject to the estate tax as they are passed from generation to generation
• ANTI-small business- Hurts small businesses that don’t enjoy the same tax shelters and benefits as large corporations

Small business owners and family farmers have large investments in infrastructure and many don’t have the large capital assets they need to pay the tax, and many times are forced to sell the business just to meet their financial obligations. 

Our small businesses are struggling.  They are struggling to keep their doors open, their employees paid and access to capital flowing.  They don’t need any more taxes – not now and not when they die.   What do you think?

• Recognizes the importance of balancing work and family to job productivity and healthy families;
• Recognizes that an important job characteristic is a work schedule that allows employees to spend time with families;
• Supports the goals and ideals of `National Work and Family Month’, and urges public officials, employers, employees, and the general public to work together to achieve more balance between work and family; and
• Requests that the President issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe `National Work and Family Month’ with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Nearly everyone understands that our work force is dramatically different than it was decades ago.  The findings included in the House Resolution also make the point that “85 percent of United States wage and salaried workers have immediate, day-to-day family responsibilities outside their jobs and job flexibility allows parents to be more involved in their children’s lives.”

Unfortunately House Resolutions have little teeth – they are good talking points and certainly help to bring attention to important issues.  But Congress needs to take this resolution one step further and actually support and pass policies that back up these ideas, without imposing new mandates on our businesses.

For one, we need more flexible work arrangements – as the Resolution suggests.  Many families struggle to balance work and family, making sure they have enough time off to care for a sick child or attend a soccer game.  We need to give private sector hourly employees the option to take time off in lieu of overtime wages, a benefit that our federal government employees have enjoyed for three decades. 

Working families, men and women, will continue to re-shape and re-define our workforce.  We need to make sure that our laws can keep up with the changes.  What do you think?

While in the District, I met with the media, congressional aides, and academia.  They asked me on several occasions, "what do small business owners want and why aren't small business owners using their voices more to articulate their needs and wants."  I told them that most small business owners I speak to want to be left alone to build their businesses and innovate and create new jobs.  Their response to me?  Then, why aren't they using their voices more on these critical issues that congress is discussing which will have a profound effect on their businesses?  I have always believed that change can happen if 24 million small business owners come together with one voice!  But that is a tough coalition to organize.  If you run a business and you're not involved in public policy; then public policy will run your business.  There are a lot of issues being pushed right now.  Small business owners need to weigh in on these issues and voice their opinion.  They have enough clout to make a difference!

July is going to be very busy on Capitol Hill.  Health care is the topic of the day and here is what is happening:

Health Care Reform

Many in Congress are pushing for universal coverage through a government run program, including mandating that employers pay for health care coverage for their employees and fining them if they don't.  Others are working to preserve the system we enjoy now that includes competition and choice.

Much of the focus right now is around how to reform the system with little information on how the government will pay for a massive new spending bill.  Some ideas being discussed include reducing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid, taxing employee health benefits, increasing taxes on soda pop and even some policy makers have suggested a Value Added Tax (VAT) which would tax products at various stages of production.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs need to make their voice heard in the debate.  We need a reform package that will reduce costs for small businesses, enable us to create more jobs, pay better wages and invest more in our companies.  We need to make health care more affordable for employers, but we can't saddle our businesses with the cost of a trillion dollar program.

We are in a health care crisis because doctors, patients, employers and employees are trapped in a wasteful, broken system that is often only a little better than government-run health care in Canada.  Check out this new petition to free the doctor, the patient, the employee, the employer, the workplace, the uninsured, the kids, the parents, the chronically ill, and the retiree.  http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/  If you agree with these principles, send this petition to everyone you know.  The signatures will be presented to congress and the administration in July.  

The Senate is going to continue consideration of their bill in July and the House of Representatives continues to work on its proposal.  The President has indicated he wants to sign a health care reform bill by mid October of this year.  What will be in that legislation?  YOU DECIDE! 

Mandating Paid Sick Leave

The Healthy Family Act was introduced in June and would mandate employers to give workers seven paid sick days a year.  The bill has over 100 co-sponsors and last week the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the legislation, the first step to legislation becoming law.  There are rumors that this bill may be folded into the health care reform package that the President wants to sign this year. 

The proposal is the wrong solution – increasing costs and mandates on our small businesses won't help grow our economy.  Instead, we need to give more flexibility to employers to offer benefits that their employees need.  Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) was right when he said at the hearing, "It represents the intrusion of the federal government into employee benefit policies of millions of companies, large and small."  What will happen?  YOU DECIDE!

 The CHOICE Act

The Democrat and Republican leaders of the U.S. House Small Business Committee recently introduced the CHOICE Act to encourage the development of small business cooperatives for healthcare options to improve coverage for employees (CHOICE) including through a small business CHOICE tax credit.

This legislation works to provide help to small employers who are struggling with the high cost of providing comprehensive health insurance and the volatility of insurance premiums.   The goal of the Act is to give small businesses more options to provide affordable health insurance to their employees by encouraging the formation of voluntary small business health insurance purchasing pools and mitigating the risk of high cost insurance claims that drive up premiums for small employers.

The Act offers refundable tax credits to small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) that choose to join a health insurance cooperative.  The employer must provide a small business wellness program in order to receive the tax credit.

These are some good ideas that will make health care more affordable to our small businesses, but there is no indication these ideas will be part of the final health care reform package the President wants to sign later this year.  What will happen?  YOU DECIDE!  

You can make a difference in how these important pieces of legislation move forward or don't move forward!  Your voice is one of the most important ones in this dialogue.  If no one hears from you, you don't exist.  Or, as my Grandmother and Mom use to say, "Squeaky wheel gets the grease!"   

Who is this going to hurt?  Most small businesses who are struggling to keep their doors open during the current economic downturn.  And, it will have a devastating impact on our non-profit sector, many of who can least afford these new mandates.

There are roughly 1.7 million non-profit organizations in the United States.  Only a handful are as big as the United Way or American Red Cross, most are small community based groups who work hard to ensure that as much of the money they raise goes to advance the cause and not to administrative costs.  Forcing them to comply with the FMLA will only take away from their mission.   

The FMLA was enacted with good intentions: to help employees strike the right balance between their per­sonal lives and careers without being penalized. Unfortunately, it adds to the cost of employment, reduces the ability of employers and employees to make flexible workplace arrange­ments, and makes our non-profits and small businesses less competitive in the marketplace. Expanding the FMLA will have many unintended consequences that will hurt, not help, working families.

Government should avoid imposing costly mandates on our non-profits and small businesses, especially at a time when they can least afford it.

Instead, the Family Policy Center believes we can encourage a family friendly workplace by providing families with more flexible work arrangements by offering private sector employees the option to take time off in lieu of overtime pay, a unique perk that government employees have enjoyed for 30 years.

On another note, access to affordable health care is the number one issue for small business owners.  Congress and the Obama Administration are pushing for health care reform that will move the US health care system closer to that of Canada or the UK.  You can help stop a government takeover of health care from happening.  Send a message to the White House and Congress by signing the "Free Our Health Care Now" petition.  Go to http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/ and sign the petition today!     

Currently, federal employees are guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.  HR 626 would allow federal employees to substitute 4 weeks of paid leave and expands coverage to foster children as well.  It is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that this bill will cost roughly $1 billion over the next five years.  This bill pertains ONLY TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.  At a time when all families are struggling to find and keep jobs, should the private sector be asked to pick up the tab for a benefit that many of them do not have?  This bill now heads to the Senate. 

At the NCPA Family Policy Center we believe that families need greater flexibility to care for a new born child or take care of a sick relative.   But mandating leave whether it is in the private sector or public sector is the wrong way to go.  These federal government workers are paid by us-the tax payers! If 4 weeks of paid leave is such a good idea, why don't federal bureaucrats subsidize that right for regular workers?  Instead, taxpayers are subsidizing that new right for federal workers.   What say you?  Please post a comment.

Whether you work in the government, help at a non-profit or own your own small business – we are all looking for ways to balance the demands of work and family. Instead of creating new mandates for one sector of our economy, let's pass laws that work for working families. 

For example, right now only federal government employees have the ability to take additional time off in lieu of overtime pay, a benefit they have had for over three decades.  Doesn't it make more sense to say no to more mandates and give workers in all sectors of our economy, more flexible work arrangements?   Maybe we can convince Representative Maloney to help private sector hourly workers by giving them the choice between comp time in lieu of overtime pay. 

The same bill has been introduced in the United States Senate but no action has yet taken place, President Obama has indicated he supports the legislation.

Thank you for commenting on my article. Another story from my personal experience – when IRAs were first introduced in the 70’s I was a homemaker.  I could only put aside $1,250.00 per year.  The $2,500.00 had to be split between Husband and Wife.  Homemakers are much devalued in society even though they are tackling the toughest job – preparing their children for the world.

As my article and your website point out, women are in and out of the workplace because of family responsibilities.  This certainly remains true today, and today’s mothers are under pressure to earn money for their families as well as their household responsibilities. 

Often they later find themselves divorced through no fault of their own, and totally lacking adequate retirement funds.  This all needs to be considered when planning their estates.

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 initiate a 50 state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama and Biden will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.

My response during the Sumners lecture to Betty was noted in this way:  At a time when the country’s economic stability and financial institutions stability is in question and unemployment is rising, the last thing small business owners need to face from government is more cost to their bottom line.  I believe MOST EMPLOYERS want to do what is right for their employees.  They want the flexibility to negotiate time off with their employees AND they want to allow their employees some of the same benefits that federal government workers enjoy…for example, allowing the private sector workers the choice to choose between compensatory time off in lieu of overtime wages.  If the FMLA is expanded to include a business with 25 employees, we will become the 24 Society.  Small employers will hire up to 24 workers and utilize temporary employees to cover the work load or spread the load on two or three employees.  This causes stress in the workplace and allows for minimum flexibility.   

How do you feel about being required to pay employees 7 days of sick leave?  Any predictions about what modifications of FMLA will have on small business?  Please share your thoughts…Your voice matters!!!

Tomorrow, I will head to Dallas for the Atlas Economic Research Foundation International Conference and NCPA's 25^th Anniversary Celebration.  Luckily on this trip, I am able to take my husband,  Earl.  We recently celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary at the Grand Canyon.  It will be exciting to celebrate the NCPA's great work over the last 25 years.  Their free market, economic freedom agenda has provided years of progress for this country.

While I was in DC, I did three or four radio interviews (brain can't remember at this point) and a TV interview.  All of the interviews were focused on what the Family Policy Center is doing on family friendly policies and helping small businesses with less government intervention.  On Wednesday morning just prior to the congressional briefing, I did an interview on the National Small Biz Advocate Show with Jim Blasingame.   Jim is a long time friend of mine and great supporter of my work with the NCPA.  I was able to share about the NCPA Family Center initiative, as well as discuss small business as it relates to the Presidential candidates.   
 

Some other highlights from my DC trip:  We had a wonderful dinner at Filomena in Georgetown.  It was a terrific "get acquainted" dinner with about 10 women from California to Florida to New York and Texas!  The following morning we had breakfast and walked to the Capitol for the congressional briefing.  The briefing room was packed with congressional staffers and women from around the country and in fact the world.  Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers spoke about her Family Friendly legislation; Bonnie Erbé host of To the Contrary, spoke about her efforts over the past 30 years working on family friendly workplaces. There were lots of questions, some suggestions, and much follow up work to do.   

After the briefing, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers hosted a lunch the Members Dining Hall for the NCPA supporters and several international women business leaders.  After lunch, I left for an interview with a Fox producer and the rest of our delegation attended meetings with Congresswoman Kay Granger, Rep. Pete Sessions. &  Rep. Sam Graves.  There was a tour of the Capitol later that afternoon that some of the NCPA supporters experienced. 

Lou Anne Jensen and Marti Carlin and I had dinner at Union Station Wednesday evening and started discussing the memories of 9/11.  Thursday morning found us leaving EARLY for the airport as dozens of roads and highways were closing for the Pentagon Memorial 9/11 dedication. 

Whew, all that in just a little over 24 hour period of time.  I would love to hear about your thoughts on the DC briefing and events surrounding, so, post a comment on the blog-let's hear it from you! 

https://exch.ncpa.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://newsletter.ncpa.org/podcast/090108_TN_WBAP_Mark_Davis.mp3

WHO IS MARK DAVIS? He's the host of the most popular local talk show in Dallas/Ft. Worth that has recently launched national syndication.  Mark Davis took the Metroplex by storm in March, 1994 when he arrived at WBAP.  After eight years as a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Mark joined the op-ed page of the Dallas Morning News in 2004. He is a regular guest discussing current events on KDFW Fox 4's "Good Day," and is invited often to discuss news events on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.