Neil deMause: The Website

I check in on the state of microlending projects in Haiti, and how they will fare in the post-earthquake economy:

As Haiti continues to dig out from the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, local microlenders are gearing up to begin rebuilding the country’s shattered economy.

International aid groups have been “focusing on supplying food and shelter,” says Daniel Jean-Louis, a business professor at the State University of Haiti and Quisqueya University who also works as a consultant for local business groups in Port-au-Prince. “Nobody has talked yet about businesses resuming and people getting back to work.”… [read more]

It’s swine flu season, which means all thoughts turn to what to do when your job won’t let you call in sick:

As the H1N1 swine flu virus starts its second major sweep through the U.S., business owners are bracing for the impact of a worse-than-usual flu season on their workforces. That’s reviving debate on a contentious issue: What kind of sick leave should companies offer employees — and should it be mandated by law?

“On the one hand, you have all of our top officials saying, ‘Do the responsible thing. If you’re sick, stay home,’” says Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that is pushing for paid sick leave laws. “You have advice from the Centers for Disease Control on exactly how many days you should stay home, and how many days we need to keep kids at home. And at the same time, we have a country where almost half the workforce doesn’t have a single paid sick day.”… [read more]

Health Savings Accounts, the Bush-spawned health insurance plans that have been derided as a mere tax dodge for the rich, are either in danger of being phased out under health reform, or likely to carry on unimpeded. You make the call:

While Washington wrangles over health care, the nation’s last big reform innovation faces an uncertain future. Health Savings Accounts, the hybrid of flex spending accounts and IRAs that President Bush created in 2003, are an afterthought in the current proposals on Capitol Hill — with strenuous debate over whether their demise would be a disaster or a welcome end to a program that never lived up to its promise…. [read more]

The new law that President Obama is signing today doesn’t actually leave all small business owners out, but it does exclude some of them from its credit-card protections:

When the Senate passed its credit-card reform bill on Tuesday, Senator Christopher Dodd called it “a great day for consumers.” But what will it mean for small business owners who’ve been struggling with inflated rates and unexpected fees on their credit cards?

That depends on how your small business is incorporated, and what kind of card you have… [read more]

I tackle the plague of stores closing their doors and what can be done about it. (Once again, not my headline; “shuttered stores” are already beyond help…)

Now that tent cities are out of fashion — or at least consigned to unfashionable places like Sacramento — the surest sign of hard times is shuttered stores. There are the glaring examples, like the Union Square building that chose as its anchor tenants Virgin Megastore and Circuit City (whoops!), but the rows of rolled-down gates are visible in every neighborhood: Entire blogs are now devoted to chronicling the devastation, and wondering where to turn for their free-WiFi fix… [read more]

…and as a companion piece on the web, a look at how insurance pools are supposed to work, and why so far they haven’t:

One of the keys to the various health reform plans kicking around Washington is “pooling.” The proposal floated by President Obama during the campaign, for instance, would establish a National Health Insurance Exchange designed to help small businesses and individuals reduce their premiums.

Pooling is a great idea in theory. But historically, it hasn’t succeeded at significantly expanding affordable coverage… [read more]

My latest assessment of likely health care reform plans in Congress is out in Fortune Small Business, and on the web at CNNMoney.com:

Barack Obama made health-care reform a central promise of his presidential campaign. But the shape any change takes will probably depend as much on Congress as on the new president’s plans.

“Unlike in 1993, Congress will own this debate,” predicts Len Nichols, director of health policy for the New America Foundation, based in Washington, D.C…. [read more]

With America on the cusp of a historic change in leadership, I know what you want to hear about: the latest developments in credit card reform:

With last week’s re-introduction in Congress of a bill to rein in what critics say are abusive credit card practices, the stage is set for a Washington battle that will determine whether entrepreneurs and other credit card users get relief soon from soaring rates and fees… [read more]

Geared toward small-business owners, but a worthwhile overview of coming legislation for the general public as well. I tackle health care, taxes, and credit cards:

Health care: Still on the critical list

Last year: The cost of providing health insurance to employees continued to skyrocket, jumping by an average of 5.7% per employee after a 6.1% hike in 2007, according to a study by consulting firm Mercer. A survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that health care was the number-one concern of small business owners, prompting the NFIB to become a major backer of an advertising campaign calling on the presidential candidates to make health reform a priority.

This year: President-elect Obama has endorsed a sweeping reform plan that would create a new National Health Insurance Exchange to allow more businesses access to insurance pools…[read more]

The short answer: Only if your business is netting more than a quarter-mil a year. Which pretty much rules out any American businesses this year.

Joe the Plumber must be pleased: President-elect Barack Obama has recently hinted he’ll delay his plan to raise taxes on individuals earning more than $250,000 a year. But what will this reprieve really mean for small business owners - should they prepare for an eventual tax hike?

That depends, say tax experts, on how your business is incorporated, and how much money it makes… [read more]