Corporations don't speak for small business | OregonLive.com

Last week marked National Small Business Week, a yearly event hosted by the United States Small Business Administration recognizing the special impact made by outstanding entrepreneurs and small-business owners. As small-business owners and co-chairs of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon, a statewide grass roots coalition of small-business owners, we support any event that highlights the hard work of small business. However, there is something odd about this year's event. If you head over to the website promoting the event, you will see a list of sponsors for the week. Some names that will jump out to you are Sam's Club, a subsidiary of Walmart; VISA, AT&T, Raytheon, Google, Microsoft and so on. Not one of these businesses can be categorized as a "small business." Last we checked, this wasn't National Corporation Week. So why are they being recognized?

We always hear that politicians are looking out for us small-business owners, but at the end of the day, corporate lobbyists muscle out the small-business voice to ensure that legislation that largely benefits corporations over small-business prevails. The Main Street Alliance of Oregon continues to change that by giving small-business owners a powerful voice at the table when it comes to legislation that impacts them and their businesses.

With National Small Business Week, the Main Street Alliance of Oregon is taking the opportunity to tell corporations and corporate lobbyists that they don't speak for us, and we are taking a stand to push true pro-small-business legislation here in Oregon and nationally.

Right now the Oregon Legislature is debating the creation of a health insurance exchange that will help small-business owners shop for better and more affordable health insurance for themselves and their employees. However, at every step in the process this session, legislators have ignored the concerns of small-business owners and have developed an exchange that continues to allow health insurance companies to drive up premiums year after year. The Main Street Alliance has been fighting for an exchange that will negotiate for the lowest rate, and we continue to lose out to the money and influence large insurance companies can throw around in Salem.

Another issue being debated in Salem is the tightening of credit and the lack of small-business lending. The Main Street Alliance of Oregon has been involved in the push to create a state bank, because we want to end Wall Street's grip on Oregon's economic development. We believe that our money should stay in Oregon, helping community banks invest in local small businesses. This may sound like a great idea to many, but lobbyists from big Wall Street banks, the same banks that crashed our economy, have been trying to water down this legislation so they can continue to control Oregon's finances.

Small businesses have spoken for and been ignored for far too long, and it's time we fight back and change that. We are asking Gov. Kitzhaber and the Legislature to listen to the true economic drivers of Oregon's economy -- small businesses. We do the majority of hiring in this state, and because of that, our voice should be heard louder than any corporate lobbyist in the state Capitol. To this point in the session, we have been ignored. With National Small Business Week, the question must be asked: Who stands with small business, and who stands against? We hope our elected officials do the right thing for Oregon and stand with small business.

Jim Houser, co-owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic, Southeast Portland
Mark Kellenbeck, managing principal of Cascade Management Inc., Grants Pass
(Houser and Kellenbeck serve as co-chairs of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon.)

Source: http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2011/05/corporations_dont_speak_for_sm.html

nascar schedule pittsburgh pirates may 21 judgement day earthquakes today earthquake map family radio may 21 rapture may 21 2011