Small-business owners applauded when the Small Business Administration unveiled a lending program in May. But ... no surprise here ... the program is off to a slow start. With $255 million, the program is prepared to make about 10,000 loans of up to $35,000 each. As of Monday, the agency…
August 12 is Cost of Government Day (COGD), the day of the calendar on which most the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his share of government spending and services including regulatory costs imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels.According to Americans…
The Obama Administration is considering additional assistance for struggling small businesses. A large part of the focus is on creating additional liquidity for small businesses. Among the ideas is a direct underwriting program to support loans to small business. You can read more about it here.
In our CEO Round Table meetings, we have discussed on several occasions the Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance program available through the California Economic Development Dept., which provides a temporary and practical alternative to layoffs. In short, the program allows for the payment of benefits to individuals whose wages and hours…
Today is a special day devoted to the memory of our fallen heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. No matter your political or personal proclivities, the willingness of young men and women to put themselves in harm's way to defend our nation is an unquestioned personal…
For almost two years, I have been writing a regular column for the North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.
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Article References
Article published – April 13, 2009
by Lary Kirchenbauer
I can’t help myself this week. The mounting encroachment by the federal government across the terrain of American enterprise is very troubling, so I hope you’ll join me as we take a slight detour to address a few of these issues.
I understand the outrage over the egregious pay packages, bailout bonuses and inscrutable investment products of many of the nations’ major financial institutions. I also understand the unsettling power of the lender of last resort. Yet, to ignore the federal government’s track record is like overlooking a cliff when climbing the Matterhorn. Two recent and provocative reports serve as vivid reminders of the federal government’s woeful track record and ineptitude at managing large-scale enterprises. (more…)
I overlooked posting this article earlier, entitled After the Fall. It was written by Michael Lewis of Liar's Poker fame and published in the Dec/Jan 09 issue of Portfolio magazine. It is an fascinating exposé of the sub-prime loan market, the Credit Default Obligation (CDO) securities that embraced it and…
CFO Magazine reports a glimmer of hope that we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the layoff craze since only one U.S. company announced a four-figure layoff count last week.
Many of us wonder if the Administration's new Small Business program will work, or be too little too late? It's a wonder that it's taken so long to focus on the source of the largest job creation engine we have, the source of more than 70% of new jobs. $15B…