Neil deMause: The Website

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]

The headline pretty much says it all: Obama’s and McCain’s health care proposals have gotten plenty of ink, but whatever health reform we get isn’t likely to look much like either once Congress gets done with it.

In his Democratic convention acceptance speech sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton declared that as one of the first initiatives of his administration, he would “take on the health care profiteers and make health care affordable for every family.”

Two years later, his “Health Security Act” was dead, never having gotten even as far as a vote in Congress.

Nearly two decades of soaring premiums and reduced coverage later, health care is again at the top of the reform agenda in Washington… [read more]

The “Geoffrey Loophole” is not only a way that big corporations get out of paying taxes that their small-business competitors have to, it’s also the only tax dodge named after a cartoon giraffe:

When the Massachusetts passed its much-delayed state budget last week, it included an obscure tax-law change that could be crucial for small-business owners concerned about unfair competition. By becoming the 22nd state to adopt “combined reporting” legislation, Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to put a stop to a longstanding practice that, they say, gives large corporate chains an unfair advantage over their smaller competitors at tax time… [read more]

The D.C. sick-leave bill saga finally reaches its denouement, I hope:

Details of Washington, D.C’s. new law requiring all city businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees were finally released this week, clarifying the last-minute amendments to the legislation that will exempt recent hires and certain classes of workers, as well as allowing hardship exceptions for employers… [read more]

For those interested in the issue, it’s also worth checking out the FSB discussion page on sick-leave legislation, which is surprisingly thoughtful as online forums go.

In which I examine the business tax breaks in the final version of the economic stimulus bill signed by President Bush, and whether they’ll actually, you know, help stimulate the economy:

The economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Bush today included one tax break for small businesses added by the Senate, but lost another as Congressional leaders bowed to White House pressure to move quickly without adding too many amendments.

The key addition affecting small businesses is an expansion of “bonus depreciation,” which allows investments in tangible property, computer software, or improvements to leased property to be more speedily depreciated, adding to a business’ tax savings. Businesses of all sizes will be allowed to depreciate in this tax year 50% of the cost of an asset put into use in 2008.

The Senate Finance Committee estimates that this amendment will funnel $43.9 billion in federal tax savings to businesses over the next two years… [read more]