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Guest Post: Why Small Business Isn't Hiring And Won't Be Hiring
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds
Why Small Business Isn't Hiring and Won't Be Hiring
Pundits and politicos promote a magical myth: a coming small business hiring boom. That fantasy is completely disconnected from the harsh realities of private enterprise.
Regardless of their ideological persuasion, pundits and politicos reliably repeat the mantra that "small business is the engine of jobs growth." The mantra is followed by the pundit-politico's belief that a "small business jobs boom is right around the corner."
I have news for the pundits and politicos: ain't gonna happen. Why? The answer cannot be found in the manipulated and massaged Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers (have any real jobs been created, net of jobs lost, in the past year? Who knows?) or in the punditry's Cargo-Cult-like belief in a mythical "small business jobs machine" that they have never experienced and know nothing about.
While a handful of the new crop of politicos are entrepreneurs, most Washington denizens are attorneys, the offspring of wealthy or politically connected families or people who have lived off the government at some level their entire lives. Most have never had a customer or client or had to borrow off a credit card to make payroll. (I have; any pundits who can honestly raise their hands for that one?)
Pundits come in two flavors: the academics, happily making mud pies in the moat surrounding their secure Ivory Tower, and the loud-mouths who have screeched louder and longer than the other media-monkeys. All know less than zero about actual small business.
To understand why small business isn't hiring and won't be hiring, you need to understand the psychology of this era and the systemic pressures on all small businesses which don't live off Federal government contracts. In a very powerful sense, those businesses which live from one government contract to the next are not private businesses at all: they are merely proxies or extensions of the government. Their non-governmental work is either trivial or non-existent.
So when some government set-aside program sanctions $40 million or whatever for "small business," it's no different than opening another government office: the only difference is the employees are not Civil Service. The competition is not between private-sector and government, it's only between rival government contractors.
What pundits and politicos don't get is small business knows the "recovery" is totally bogus. Why hire somebody who you'll have to lay off a few months from now? Laying people off is emotionally painful--you dread it, tire of it, are wearied by it. This is a real human being who is losing their job, not some ginned-up statistic hyped by some think-tank-pundit pulling down $15K a month for dishing whatever flavor of propaganda he/she is paid to churn out.
The Washington establishment--the Fed, the Treasury, Congress, the Obama Administration-- seem to believe they've successfully pulled the propaganda wool over Americans' eyes, and that the yokels actually believe "things are getting better and better every day and in every way."
Only the yokels without clients, customers and payrolls can believe the propaganda.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, small business income is down 5%. Small Business: Still Waiting for Recovery.
According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Proprietors' income-- the profits of unincorporated businesses such as partnerships or individuals who work for themselves--is down nearly 5 percent from two years ago, while corporate profits have jumped 21 percent in that period.
About 19.9 million partnerships and sole proprietorships with no employees existed in 2008, the latest year for which U.S. Census Bureau data are available. That number fell almost 2 percent from the previous year.
In a private-sector workforce of about 106 million, that's about 19% of all people with a job. Recall that the BLS counts you as employed if you work one hour a week or if you're "self-employed," even if you aren't making a dime.
Only in the Fantasyland of propaganda does nobody notice that self-employed people who are seeing revenues and profits fall do not need to hire someone: they're sinking all on their own.
Only in the Fantasyland of propaganda does nobody seem to notice that for every celebrity-chef restaurant opening to gushing hype in Manahattan, West L.A. or San Francisco, two other restaurants quietly closed.
Small business understands uncertainty is now permanent. That's why 26% of all new private-sector hires are temporary--and if we subtract the bogus phantom jobs created by the BLS "birth-death model," then the number is probably more like a third or even half.
Small business understands that the "recovery" is merely a Federal towel stuffed in the gaping hole in the rowboat's leaky planks, and that it's literally insane to hire workers when your revenues could evaporate next month.
Small business re-discovered it could do more with less. Once businesses trimmed payrolls to survive, they discovered they could make more money for themselves and do so with fewer people. Why add to staff when all that means is transferring your own paycheck to someone else?
Small businesses are closing, not opening. Rents have barely dipped, local government taxes and junk fees have skyrocketed, and the complexities and costs of the new healthcare bill have all added systemic pressures on every small business: it's either adapt quickly and successfully or perish, and many are choosing to close down and quit working so hard for so little payoff.
When leases expire, the doors close, and no one leaps in to pay boomtime-level rents, and heavy business licence and permit fees. The only people insane enough to hire anyone are three guys working in a living room somewhere, trying to hire a few Javascript programmers to finish their app so they can cash out by selling the "company" to some larger enterprise.
The programmers are independent contractors who have to take care of their own healthcare and taxes, or they're young and single so the healthcare insurance costs are modest--if they even bother with buying insurance.
Nobody's hiring for the long-term for the simple reason that there is no long-term: we're either selling the company as soon as we can, or we're waiting for the next dip in revenues to close down before we lose everything.
Local government has grown accustomed to small business being uncomplaining tax-donkeys, silently paying every junk fee and every additional tax the government levies. Only a funny thing happened on the way to local government's plan to fill the shortfalls in its own revenues by taxing small businesses even more: they're closing down.
The reason is simple: why work for free? This is incomprehensible to both local governments, who expect all those "filthy-rich small-business Capitalists" to pay higher taxes and fees, and the safely remote-from-the-real-world pundits and politicos.
These members of the academia-think-tank-media-politico Cargo Cult have a magical belief in a mythical "small business" which is anxious to get out there and create new jobs because "to get rich is glorious," as if "getting rich" is even an option for 90% of real small businesses.
In the real world, small businesses aren't getting rich, they're going broke and closing down to save whatever remains of their sanity and assets. You want high-tech and "clean energy" jobs? Well, how about MySpace laying off half its 1,000-person staff? How about Evergreen Solar closing its Devens, MA plant, laying off 800 workers and moving production to China? Did the pundits honestly think that globalization was over?
Memo to pundits and politicos: you worship at the altar of Capitalist profits driving small business--get real. People will do whatever they have to in order not to go broke.
That's why the three guys or gals aren't renting an office--who needs the overhead? They also don't have health insurance: who can afford $1,000 a month for crappy, confusing "care" young people rarely even need? Better to pay cash.
And they aren't hiring "employees": they're paying their friends with equity shares, or cash, and paying their own taxes is up to each free-lancer.
That is the new model of American entrepreneurship: no office, no overhead, no employees, no health insurance, no business travel. That's the only way any new enterprise can survive.
Everyone who buys into the myth and pays absurdly high rents, junk fees and healthcare insurance will be ground down and bled dry. The only exception are those well-connected enough to run a pipe into the limitless lake of Federal money. Yes, 40% of the lake is borrowed from our kids, but no matter--the "recovery" is real, and this stone with a crudely painted radio dial is in fact a working radio. It's magic. You just have to believe.
Small business can't afford to believe in myths and fantasies. They are dealing with the harsh reality of adapt or die.
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More chickenshit legislation from the poultry executive staff.
Thanks..., I needed the laugh.
Yup. I was recently stunned when a friend of mine who runs three day care bizzes tried to convert a closed restaurant into a new child care center. She gave up the idea, because, upfront, before anything was spent on the actual biz, the city bldg codes/planning dept wanted $144,000 in "development fees" (on an already developed property in a city)! More than her potential profit for multiple years. Insane!
I have been "disinvesting" in my small biz for two years now. Tired of working to death to earn money that is confiscated by everyone but me. Not worth it. Cut out health insurance long ago, have catastrophic ins and pay cash for day to day stuff for my employees. Has saved tens of thousands. I have not laid off or hired in two years, but one of the only reasons I still stay in biz is to keep my employees, who are more like family, in jobs.
I agree, if you are not slashing overhead and employee costs, you will not survive.
I talked with a local hardware shop. He let two part timers go and is working with his son. His son works so that he can eat, sleep and be safe from the streets.
With that said, Obama care threatens to make him say "Ya know? Screw this all of it."
Lock up, go home and enjoy fishing and hunting freely without the stress.
That means I have to find sources for this and that elsewhere but as long as farming is strong in my area it is not a issue.
Fishing and hunting freely? Yeah. Last time I checked you need to be licensed by your Gubmint to do either. And they dictate what you can and cannot catch, where you can and cannot catch it, when you can and cannot catch it, how much you can catch, which ones are to big too keep, which are too small to keep, what you can and cannot use to catch it, that you need a special stamp to catch it here but not there, how many you can eat without ingesting too much mercury. And these same shitheads will soon force you to use expensive, crappy light bulbs that release mercury when they crack.
+++
They are closely looking for any and all loopholes, the slaves will not be allowed to live off the fat of the Kings' land.
**APPLAUSE.
Very good both of you. You reminded me of Medieval times when trees larger than two feet in diameter belonged to the Crown and no wildlife may be taken etc.
Poison on everyones ceilings and a snitch in every house. Oh, what a wonderful world
This, too is fun: Try it!
Start a small business. Or don't! Regardless, go to your local city hall or county courthouse and ask for a business permit. They will slide a sheaf of papers across the counter for you to fill out. Shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. When you get to the part where it asks for the number of employees you will be hiring, stop and say:
"Why does it want to know how many employees I will be hiring? Is it because if I hire more amployees, and stimulate the local economy, then it gives me a break in fees?"
Not many Zero Hedgers will be suprised at the response.
Retail is dead like buy and hold investing which is also what's killing small business.
It's living room businesses, ebay businesses, and the large online retailers like Amazon, Asos etc who are braining the retailers.
Forget high rent, rent all together is no longer something the customer is willing to pay for in the price of their clothing for example and in fact most things. Asos you can order 3 things to your home with free delivery, try them on, keep what you like and send the other things you don't like back in the supplied return satchel for free also. Why would you go to a store when you can do this? No crowds, no smelly f$%^s smoking on the street, no using public transport, car parking, fuel and of course the time it takes!
Small business will NEVER recover in its previous form. All you babyboomers need to try seeing past the end of your noses and realize that a fundamental shift has already taken place whilst you've all been so self absorbed in your own world of self entitlement.
Here's a way to create jobs. Make eating out 30% tax deductible for EVERYONE. If it's cheaper to eat out than go to the supermarket the little guy/teenager has a chance again at waiting tables. Also high speed rail from Manhattan where the banksters are so they can at least be whisked off to the country to part with some of their cash in regional centres.
Only a small idea but it's possible.
Also, take half of the remaining QE2 and make it available directly through a failed lender so you aren't giving it to the banksters. Get VC people in there, pay them well and get them lending to viable business ideas. Surely pissing 100k into an idea for a shop that sells fur hammocks, or glass hammers is better spent than funnelling it uselessly into the BS markets.
Create priority processing for new manufacturing businesses and give these businesses tax relief for their first 5 years. F%$& the government owns that many buildings they can even provide people with free premises to get started.
Anything is better than pumping up the Dow surely?
Sure anyone can troll me but I am pretty sure even a herion addict could spend the QE money with more effect.
Retail is a time that is dead.
Take Computer games. The only time to buy one or two is near the holidays. Other than that, the Retail store is good for the rest of the year waiting until I visit during the holidays one time.
Why bother going that far to get something?
Call newegg, get free shipping and it will deliver by air next day very fast.
No taxes either.
But the big problem is Personal computers are finished. They are dead and don't know it yet. The rise of the Droid, IPhone and other devices ensure that.
Retail just got arrogant. It's not just that online stores have more variety, but that retail has opted for so much less that you're lucky to find two whole brands of anything. The endless greed and outright deceptiveness of rentiers and conglomerates hasn't helped either.
I used to buy alot of computer games, but at some point I got sick of DRM and poor quality. Now I don't even know how many games you can buy that aren't online-only subscription treadmills. Some of them won't even let you manage your own save games off the cloud. Heck, I used to buy computer parts at stores too, but they don't carry them anymore so I have to shop online.
I never thought I'd do so much shopping online. I wanted to support local jobs and well-run stores, I really did. But when the internet is the only way to get an American-made desk, or a movie older than last week, or some interesting toy, well, so be it.
When will they start shipping Droids and iPhones with a 22" LCD monitor?
Ultimately, your phone will be the PC, and your big screen television will be the monitor.
Sorry, Rabbi. You lost me at "all you baby boomers."
Here's an amazing fact. All you baby boomers is a whole bunch of individuals who are most likely a lot more individual than people whose mindset is so calcified that they can ascribe ANY characteristics to tens of millions of total strangers.
seems I found a boomer... of course the generation is made up of individuals however name another generation that have consumed more, saved less and have a greater expectation that the coming generations will pay for their comfortable retirements, pensions and healthcare.
When things get tough in the coming decade or two there will be a lot of these old squirrels wishing they had saved a few more nuts for their hole in the tree. Of course there are many people who have made great decisions and contributed to society however nett nett as a generation you guys are in trouble.
What amazes me is that the same people who had such strong political inclinations and broke so much ground early, got so complacent and apathetic as they got older. It's this voter apathy that has allowed much of what's gone on recently to occur.
Say it ain't so.
Of course us younger folk will be doing our best to keep our boomer parent's/relatives out of harms way however the current ranks of the political elite born in that generation are the majority in power and are still stuck in yester-year. We'll do our best but we are going to need an awakening to occur amongst the boomer ranks to help us out.
We're probably more or less on the same page.
As I look around, I can tell you honestly that as the wheels stop turning, many of my "contemporaries" are just going to lie down and wait to die. So they won't be a long term drain on the system. They'll simply go away quietly. Of course, too many of them will drag their asses through the medical racket on the way to the cemetary, which is totally unfortunate and unnecessary. But maybe they earned it, maybe they didn't. But nobody should have to spend their final months in and out of the hospital/hospice scam.
Me, I'm just biding my time. Putting a few more nuts away for when it's time to start rebuilding the system on a local level. And I'm hoping like hell that younger people will join me when it's time to put things back together.
Kids have energy and imagination, and not much wealth yet. Yeah, I was there too!
Oldsters have resources and some valuable non-technical and organizational skills that come from not dying young.
In the actual words of Rodney King before he was edited for TV: "Can't we all just, you know, get along?" Because we're really going to have to get along if we want to make it through the current "setbacks."
And when I'm too fucked up and feeble to have any more fun, I'll turn over my share and take that long stroll into the forest all on my own.
I've got too much pride to be a COMPLETE sack of shit as the "World's Oldest Living Person." The next generations deserve their shot at whatever resources I was hogging much more than I need one final, horrifying year in and out of the ICU.
Good points! Particularly regarding non-technical and organizational skills. The thing that probably surprises me most at present is how little appreciation industry in general has for "experience" that many senior staff have when companies are succession planning. I think the latest group of aspiring leaders have been brought up to slash costs, "find synergies - whatever that really means" and outsource their problems overseas. Not great when a period of self sufficiency is around the corner.
I understand the frustration that people feel with younger folk having a "know it all" attitude and this is born I am sure of the ease of access to information the internet has brought about. What most of us young lot don't know though is the reason a person is good at their game is more commonly not because they know what to do, but rather what not to and how to solve a problem in a crisis situation.
Wikipedia doesn't have answers for real life problems that need solutions and many companies don't seem to realise it's sitting there in the heads of their senior staff. Who are heading for the door and retirement. No good having a company pension plan or hoping to rely off a company share dividend if the place falls down once you leave... I think generational goals and challenges need to be addressed and aligned sooner rather than later.
An example of my point - from 2005-2009 a 70+ y/o maintenance guy was employed by one of the largest power stations in Australia to come in for 6 weeks per year to help management oversee and document the process for how to complete the annual maintenance shut down. Succession planning and cost cutting meant that no one on the payroll of a "power station" knew how to run maintenance after old mate had retired. Half his luck as he was paid 150k+ each year for his efforts (said he was sacrificing valuable fishing time) but if that is indicative of where we are at the moment then things could be interesting...
i say just kill'm; one big fuck'n genocide; instead of race. age. never been done before.
In my mind, it's a sin to steal from the young so you can stay doped up and not feel
the pain of death; cowards. don't get me wrong; my father and mother are boomers, special forces vet/hippie; still lost the war, still talked shit about change (like obama)
still did nothing except be the spoiled little brats raised by my grand parents generations; the ones that went through the depression, and WWII.
I guess you'd better catch me before I catch you.
And remember, the older you are, the more likely you've already somehow seriously injured or killed somebody, which makes you less likely to flinch in the clinch.
game on.
60, but completely share your view. This sheep never had credit,grateful now.
I'm almost a boomer. Let me make a suggestion: we are all in this together unless the elites can split us apart. Divide and conquer.
Your enemy is not the boomer or any other gen title, it is the elites that run the system.
Recent figures show that boomers will be spending trillions saved for their retirements over the next twenty years. SS? I remember paying in a few bucks over the years. The only reason you would be supporting them, is because the elites have spent it all and left promissory notes instead.
The boomers knowledge of the workings of the elites has been just as slow in coming as it has been heaped upon the internet babies. We have discovered the collusion and criminality at the same time.
If you would take the time to examine the workings of government, you would know that voting is useless. There is no difference between the voting records of the two parties. The candidates must be approved by the various levels of party organization before they will get funding. It is a scam. Voting apathy may be one of the best ways to withdraw legitimacy from the system.
We have the choice of two futures: one where we continue to squabble amongst ourselves- blaming and name calling to the elites delight. Two: working together to starve the elites through the establishment of an alternative economy and social governance structure- one that abhors police power and taxation.
It will require all of us, interested?
I'm interested and as someone planning a family myself it scares the jesus out of me. I am most concerns that the elites are already printing away the years of payments as we speak. The fact there is talk of 50yr and 100yr USTs suggests they are now making a grab for the earnings of the unborn. Very frightening.
Maybe it's going to take the newest batch of retirees to test out unplugging from the system and create a new model the we can sustainably support. Hell, you guys founded free love, the beatles and free education so it's not like there's a lack of creativity!
One thing I think we'll see though is a revival of family ties (metaphorical not that horrid '80s sit com) and the strength of communities as people are brought together to tackle the larger issues. This extended period without major conflict seems to have disolved many of these relationships as working longer hours eat up more of people's day. Another elite control measure, stealing people's time - probably the one thing we can all afford least to lose...
For a punk, you make a lot of sense, kid. Maybe we can forge some kind of rocky, mutually beneficial relationship like in a John Wayne movie.
Whoever the fuck John Wayne is.
John Wayne - US Savings Bonds 1976
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A57SzNu1vU
Thanks for the youtube vidoe. Please check it again as it does not work with me.
It scares the bejesus out of all of us, but you have found a good forum for information and you have an open mind and a grasp of what we face. I'm sure you will be making a good contribution in the future- not just to SS.
+1984
Great post!!!! Thank you very much!
All you collectivists blaming boomers need to read and understand the above post.
+1000
Some people are just so full of it...
Recovery is Charlie Sheen these days and he's not even buying it.
(although I will say gold and silver are recovering nicely today)
Gold and Silver WANT TO RECOVER. I don't think Charlie Sheen has any real problem with who Charlie Sheen is, other than a PR nightmare.
$1000/month for health coverage? Really? I am a 43-year old man who pays $369/mo. for a Kaiser gold policy + prescription. A young person could expect to pay half that. Anyone who believes health care is overpriced or unaffordable is simply hoping the government will force someone else will pay his medical bills.
Good luck finding a "state approved" health insurance policy in the People's Republic of MA for under $1K/mo. (Thanks for that, Mitt Romney.)
Thanks to QE2 I have High Blood Pressure and "suddenly" don't qualify for traditional insurance. I applied for and qualified for "Obama Care" through www.pciplan.gov.
For $400 a month it carries a $2,000 deductible and a $5950 Out of Pocket max (OOP). http://www.pciplan.com/forms/pdfs/2011BenefitsSummary.pdf
So, from Year to Year, I can expect to pay $4800 in premium and $2,000 deductible equaling $6,800 before coverage begins and then I'll pay 20% of the next $19,750 before the OOP max is reached.
It was hard for me to fathom why I would chose (or in 2014 be forced) to accept such terms rather than just pay cash in the hopes that no one annual bill would amount to more than $10,750 (Premium + OOP) until I looked at the cost of random things like an appendectomy or a ER visit for a broken bone, each of which can easily cross $20,000 in expense because of the way hospitals, and health care in general, "upcharge" and "unbundle" their charges. Apparently, no one pays the listed price, so why all the confusion? I have no idea but is it possible that for tax purposes the difference can somehow be applied as a taxable loss as a business expense?
"Talk about what a tangled web we weave"
If all this info is accurate, and you're not happy with the "Obamacare" option, why not just skip the health-insurance and pay the fuckin' tax penalty?
Who in the world even wants health-insurance?
It's the ultimate definition of a sucker bet: insurance against shit you could *never* want to happen in the first place. If it pays off, you lose. If it doesn't, you lose.
I *know* some of these folks, and I'd predict: if something horrible happens to you and fucks your world, you're really not going to give a shit whether you can pay your bills for the emergency surgery.
Once you get on the actuarial bad side of 55, the odds look a lot different.
You can stiff the hospital and all the various hangers-on for the first visit. But you're screwed if you ever have to go back there and don't have cash or credit card in your drooping paw.
Yes, I do actually appreciate that, which is why I say "IF" it looks like a bad deal, fuck it.
What I can't get over is listening to folks bitching about health-insurance costs on the one hand, taxes on the other hand, and outrageous health care expenses on the third hand. No one HAS TO take BP medicine. No one HAS TO have dialysis (or their kidneys replaced) after a decade of *not* taking BP medicine.
The money either has to come from somewhere or it doesn't--if it doesn't, just stop paying and die already. It's no one's fault that people get old and die, right? Your health is going to fail you no matter who you are or what you've done. If you don't want to pay for health-care, DON'T.
Just don't whine about it if you choose to pay. And don't blame government for the fact that you want the best possible care available and "money is no object" as soon as you reach that point, but it's a waste of your tax dollars as long as you feel ok.
Most people I know are completely infantile on this subject. It's no wonder no one's happy with our "policies."
Blunderdog, under current law you must pay for health insurance or the IRS will fine your ass..or have you been trapped in mine shaft for the last 2 yrs..what a dip wad.
You need to work on the reading skills, chump. See first post. I quote: "why not just skip the health-insurance and pay the fuckin' tax penalty?"
Idiot.
don't feed trolls don't feed trolls gotta remember.
You are sadly incapable of raising a coherent objection, and the best you can do is to call me a troll? Thanks for trying, I guess. Keep raising that level of discourse, and whatever you do, stay away from the facts. You'll hurt yourself.
I understand. You're embarrassed at mocking me for your error. Just be an adult and own up.
dude, get more sex, or haven't you heard?
be unconstitutional under current law.
- Ned
The IRS can't fine your ass. The courts can't put your ass in jail for civil matters. Discover your strawman. Destroy the illusion of authority. When a cop turns on his lights and you're not presently wanted for murder or any other serious offense. Just keep driving. A police stop is a 4th amendment affair. A temporary seizure. If you do not willingly submit to it, it doesn't happen. You're very act of pulling over gives them the authority to "be suspicious" of you.
Destroy maritime law. Stop taking the place of your strawman. Destroy government and destroy the volutneerism to be a good citizen becoming hijacked to meet the needs of a corporate business model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xep0Z3J8lF0
Same here. I'm an independent contractor mid-40's and pay about $400/mo. for great coverage. I'm always perplexed by the people who scream about health care being too expensive.
Sure, you can get insurance for $250/mo (assuming you can afford that - many cannot) but it doesn't do you any damn good for the sort of routine medical care someone my age actually uses. I typically get a huge cash discount, so my bill is essentially the same as if I were paying for the services with insurance... and without the monthly overhead.
Even at 250 a month, I'd be paying about 10x as much per year for medical and dental expenses. Even with the occasional serious injury every 3-4 years (about $3k a pop) I'm still coming out ahead.
Complaints about "freeloading" are going to fall on deaf ears - two words: Social Security.
This article is spot on; the system exists to fuck us and empty our pockets, why the hell would be participate in it?
+1
It would've been interesting for you to provide a salary for comparison, because to someone making $30K and taking home less than $2K per month, $400 right off the top actually _is_ expensive. And it's even worse if your employer doesn't offer coverage and you have to pay even more on the individual market.
And, as people seem to keep forgetting, median individual income is somewhere around $26K
I know one retired dentist who endured 1200 dollars coverage per month for the wife. The moment the wife hit 65, medicare kicked in and he pockets the 1200 dollars per month.
HOORAY!
And if anything happens beyond what medicare pays, cash paid to billing all done.
The acid test isn't whether or not your premium checks get cashed but whether or not you get what you need when you blow a gasket.
Exactly. My company changed insurance this year and I went to the dentist for a regular checkup+x-rays. The insurance only covered half of the cost! This policy was the same price (to me) as the older one.
I would hate to see what happens if I were to actually have to go to the doctor or have some surgery.
I'm happy to fill you in on those details. As a 40 yo with reasonably priced coverage who had to face 2 unexpected, unrelated surgeries in as many years, I can tell you how bad things really are. I'll leave the country for future surgeries and pay cash. Even with airfare and lodging costs, it would be cheaper than having the work done in the US.
I had two insurance policies.
Both of them fought over a 16,000 dollar Ride in a MRI machine some time ago. They paid it. Then they fight over several surgeries I have had. They paid that too.
The moment Obamacare became law, I canceled both insurance companies and go to cash. If my doctor can fix a boo boo, great! Otherwise I make do.
I learned a month after cancelling for myself and spouse, our premiums would have gone up from about 870 a month to 1450 a month and some services cut back or disallowed.
Sorry. I am not putting money after a company that is cutting back.
Oh the small details about hospice, burial, cremations and all of that is already prepaid and arranged. One phone call does it all.
See, here's a disconnect. Insurance is to cover the cost of expensive, unexpected-type events that have a small chance of occuring. If you are going to the Dentist for a "regular" check-up, that doesn't meet the criteria of what "insurance" is designed to cover. Many insurers have found a way to earn additional premium by expanding the boundaries of what they will "insure". That doesn't mean it is such a great deal for the insured; it just means the company can earn additional premium. If you work to keep the insurance for large, unlikley, and calamitious expenses, you'll probably find it very affordable. Pay cash for the rest.
Agreed. I have been with Kaiser for years, and I can say that the service has been great. I have no complaints whatsoever with the medical treatment. I plan to stay with them for as long as I possibly can, at least until private health providers are eliminated in the United States and all of us are waiting in line down at the Post Office to get our health care.
I'm covering a family of four in the great state of Illinois--$20,000/yr not including dental.
Thunder you are doing better than me. (by $18 dollars) I pay $1718.00 for a Blue Cross Blue Shield Policy in Illinois. (it includes dental) That is for 3 people that are healthy.
I am looking into a major medical policy with a large deductable as I will pay for the regular medical expenses out of my pocket.
The medical sham put forth by Bamy raised all the prices. Now that they have the prices up over the rainbow they now want to repeal it. !
Prepare yourselves peeps as this running financial shit-train is pulling into the station.
I believe that $1000 referred to the employer portion of a group plan for perhaps 5 employees.
And btw, I would guess you don't have family coverage at your quoted price.
That's not the way I read it. The author is not referring to employer contribution or a group plan. He writes, "the three guys or gals aren't renting an office .... They also don't have health insurance: who can afford $1,000 a month for crappy, confusing 'care' young people rarely even need?" He's talking about individuals who deliberately forgo the purchase of health coverage because they are young and healthy and it is supposedly too expensive. Fact is, that decent health coverage for a "young person" is not even close to $1000/mo. More like $200/month. I'm not making this stuff up. My provider's rate card is right here:
http://buykp.org/plans/OR/60047101_2011_Rates%20Brochure_OR.pdf
Yes, full family coverage (for me) is closer to $1000/mo., but that's not what the author is referring to here.
Of course, none of this detracts from the overall message of the article, which I do not disagree with.
If you are in New York or anywhere in the Northeast, go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and try to buy a policy as a single worker, or as a couple, not part of a group plan. You will pay at least 700 per month for basic coverage and a high deductable. We have been self-employed (and we buy our own insurance from private companies) for over 20 years. Employees of companies have no idea how expensive insurance is... they complain when they have to pay 100 per pay period out of their pockets, while the company has to pay 500 on top of their payments. My wife is a bookkeeper and has to deal with the insurance companies, the payments, and the complaints. One of her clients is a family of three, and they pay $1400 per month to Oxford, with a 1000 deductable.
my business small business insurance under 20 employees, 4 elective, was 1240 a month in 08. 1820 a month in 09. 2490 a month in 10. and now 3380 a month. through wellpath.
500 deduct./ 20/80 up to 2000. 10/30/40 pharmacy. 20/40 copay. and vision.
Your numbers are on the money for New York policies. $ 700 / month for a crappy plan with no dental , no optical, and a freakin huge deductible. All because of New York's extra special rules /regulations /requirements.
What state? Kaiser is not in VA. Insurance here is outrageous. I'd like to see Big Health Insurance go away completely (except for catastrophic policies) but the next best thing would be to open up competition across state lines.
I'ld check that policy mighty carefully. Your policy might be as "gold plated" as those tungsten bars sitting in the LBMA.
deductables? rehab care? long term disable? name brand or generics? widely accepted or PPO list? transport costs? alot of loopholes in those fine prints
This problem seems pretty simple: put the HMOs and BigPharma out of business instead of bailing them out.
We had 'Death Panels' long before the fake healthcare debate: they're called HMOs. Down with these crooked gangsters.
The answer is more simple than that. Force doctors and hospitals to compete on price. Cosmetic surgery, which is not covered by insurance, has decreased in price in real terms over the past two decades, while insured surgery has increased tenfold.
Perhaps - I'm not sure about the mechanics here (except that HMOs get big discounts for virtually all procedures). But I do know that doctors and hospitals provide a useful service, whereas Death Panels/HMOs make money by denying care and watching people die.
I am in the same age group and pay $182/mo. So what?
Rumors have it some people have kids they want to insure as well...
one kilobuck is not at all outside the experience for two people- 60YOmale/55YO femme.
I wish that it was that low.
FWIW, I have not ever met the deductible
Well said. I've been delaying a semi-retirement business, a small publishing house, for a couple of years now. All the reasons cited above apply, plus one.
I don't have a clue what this country will look like two years from now, not a fucking clue.
"I don't have a clue what this country will look like two years from now, not a fucking clue"
wow - I spent a whole paragraph (see below) to say what you put so succinctly in a single sentence
good on ya', mate!
Read the Police Blotter in your news paper and see several calls per month to your local ER for Domestics, battery and other disorderly conduct as angry people fight about who is gonna pay for a bleeding owie?
The last time I was in one, a young mother leaned on a wall coughing up a lung while her 3 kids ran about all over. Talk about infectious disease control problems.
"...And they aren't hiring "employees": they're paying their friends with equity shares, or cash, and paying their own taxes is up to each free-lancer.
That is the new model of American entrepreneurship: no office, no overhead, no employees, no health insurance, no business travel. That's the only way any new enterprise can survive..."
Last two of three business ventures that I have done, that was exactly the model.
I do see an opportunity though. A takedown of an industry similar to the Netflix takedown of Blockbuster:
I believe that local newspapers, stuck in the brick and mortar organizational structure, are doomed to fail and will be replaced by the following biz model:
Local papers on the web throughout the U.S., work from home editors and freelance writers to cover particular geographies and/or topics. Writers will be paid rev share from the ad revenue that their articles generate.
That model also works for independent TV news channels which I am tipping will eventually pop up when people eventually tire of watching the complete rubbish served up each day
As a disgruntled media type, I can assure you that this new model will only catch on when you can figure out a way to make these cheap bastards (the public) pay you for your work. If it costs more than free, they don't go there much. And it's damned hard to monetize "free."
The media's ALWAYS been a honeypot racket.
Whomever junked me, well, don't shoot the messenger.
I am reminded of a Simpson's episode where Nelson yells to a newspaper reporter, "Ha. Ha. Your med-i-um is dy-ing."
Principle Skinner then yells, "Nelson!"
Nelson looks up at principle Skinner and says, "Well, it's true?"
Principle Skinner replies "Well there's being right and there's being nice."
ES
Wolfe Wave target of 1300.
http://99ercharts.blogspot.com/2011/02/es_08.html
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/99er-charts-0
Don't you eventually get embarrassed looking in the mirror after a day of pimping your blog on someone else's?
+1 day in, day out. shameless.
Edit: That is both the crappiest blog and worst chart I have ever seen.
You know, guys, if you're not interested in my charts, don't click on the link. There's really no need to make insulting remarks.
Edit:
Hey, buzzsaw99. Are you the government goon based in Bartlett, Illinois? I've got your IP address. I'm flattered that you would want to shit on me. Fuck you!
Spot On - I am a small business "survivor". Refreshing to know someone understands the life I live. It's really a peasants life, although in some ways I cherish it. I come from a long line of independant minded peasants.
From the Seven Samurai.
What do you think of peasants? You think they're saints? Hah! They're foxy beasts! They say, "We've got no rice, we've no wheat. We've got nothing!" But they have! They have everything! Dig under the floors! Or search the barns! You'll find plenty! Beans, salt, rice, sake! Look in the valleys, they've got hidden warehouses! They pose as saints but are full of lies! If they smell a battle, they hunt the defeated! They're nothing but stingy, greedy, blubbering, foxy, and mean! God damn it all! But then . . . who made them such beasts? You did! You samurai did it! You burn their villages! Destroy their farms! Steal their food! Force them to labour! Take their women! And kill them if they resist! So what should peasants do?
Building a honest business is not worth it, why register and pay all taxes when you can work out of a garage and not report anything
People are finally realizing how badly they are getting screwed and that all those taxes only go to their government sponsored competition
Any young person with an idea will quickly learn that if you want to go the official way you'll spend the majority of your time and money just navigating the bureaucracy jungle, you'll spend all your start-up capital on lawyers and accountants and fees and if you do make a profit you'll only keep a small fraction of it
..
From Porter Stansberry in the S&A Digest:
I'd like to make you a business offer. Seriously. This is a real offer. In fact, you really can't turn me down, as you'll come to understand in a moment...
Here's the deal. You're going to start a business or expand the one you've got now. It doesn't really matter what you do or what you're going to do. I'll partner with you no matter what business you're in – as long as it's legal. But I can't give you any capital – you have to come up with that on your own. I won't give you any labor – that's definitely up to you. What I will do, however, is demand you follow all sorts of rules about what products and services you can offer, how much (and how often) you pay your employees, and where and when you're allowed to operate your business. That's my role in the affair: to tell you what to do.
Now in return for my rules, I'm going to take roughly half of whatever you make in the business, each year. Half seems fair, doesn't it? I think so. Of course, that's half of your profits. You're also going to have to pay me about 12% of whatever you decide to pay your employees because you've got to cover my expenses for promulgating all of the rules about who you can employ, when, where, and how. Come on, you're my partner. It's only "fair."
Now... after you've put your hard-earned savings at risk to start this business and after you've worked hard at it for a few decades (paying me my 50% or a bit more along the way each year), you might decide you'd like to cash out – to finally live the good life.
Whether or not this is "fair" – some people never can afford to retire – is a different argument. As your partner, I'm happy for you to sell whenever you'd like... because our agreement says, if you sell, you have to pay me an additional 20% of whatever the capitalized value of the business is at that time.
I know... I know... you put up all the original capital. You took all the risks. You put in all of the labor. That's all true. But I've done my part, too. I've collected 50% of the profits each year. And I've always come up with more rules for you to follow each year. Therefore, I deserve another, final 20% slice of the business. Oh... and one more thing...
Even after you've sold the business and paid all of my fees... I'd recommend buying lots of life insurance. You see, even after you've been retired for years, when you die, you'll have to pay me 50% of whatever your estate is worth. After all, I've got lots of partners and not all of them are as successful as you and your family. We don't think it's "fair" for your kids to have such a big advantage. But if you buy enough life insurance, you can finance this expense for your children. All in all, if you're a very successful entrepreneur... if you're one of the rare, lucky, and hard-working people who can create a new company, employ lots of people, and satisfy the public... you'll end up paying me more than 75% of your income over your life. Thanks so much.
I'm sure you'll think my offer is reasonable and happily partner with me... but it doesn't really matter how you feel about it because if you ever try to stiff me – or cheat me on any of my fees or rules – I'll break down your door in the middle of the night, threaten you and your family with heavy, automatic weapons, and throw you in jail. That's how civil society is supposed to work, right? This is Amerika, isn't it?
That's the offer Amerika gives its entrepreneurs. And the idiots in Washington wonder why there are no new jobs...
Porter Stansberry not only runs a scam website but has been done for fraud by the SEC.
Understand the point but the source removes a lot of credibility.
Take away the name of the author, and it's the same problem. The point is that the TSA isn't the only government agency with its hands in your crotch...
Um. OK. The SEC is a clown show run by incompetents in service of the venal. And you condemn Porter Stansberry's thoughts strictly because he was convicted by those douchebags?
Really?
Let me get this straight. You don't trust Porter Stansberry because the SEC has investigated him for fraud. This would be the same SEC that refused to investigate Bernie Madoff for almost a decade because they found nothing unusual in his activities?
Or are you just posting to be pedantic?
If the man's words make sense, who the hell are you to be mentioning that his mother never married?
A buddy an I are in a "startup".
We are it. Two of us, I'm the coder and he does marketing. We will never hire another soul. I build out the infrastructure for single-point management, over a smart phone. Everything runs on the cloud, I never touch a physical server. I need more machines I clone a virtual machine and spin it up. 10 lines of config changes, bam. I could have a thousand nodes running and anything gives me trouble, I shut it down and spin up another one.
We've no choice. No other model has a chance of working. And as it happens, it just works.
Rock on! Go 'Cougs.
I like your style, Coug
>>when some government set-aside program sanctions $40 million or whatever for "small business," it's no different than opening another government office: the only difference is the employees are not Civil Service. The competition is not between private-sector and government, it's only between rival government contractors.
This is exactly what I've heard from my clients - the best they can hope for is to land a piece of a subcontract from the rival government contractors.
The government contract set-asides for "small businesses" are, in a terrible twist, actually a support for the largest contractors. The issue is that the largest contractors have lists of dedicated "small businesses" (which often have informal connections to the large contractor in question, e.g., are former employees of that contractor) which they can include in bids in order to meet "small business", "women-owned business", and "minority-owned business" requirements. Other, smaller contractors don't have those connections, and thus do not qualify for the largest contracts, and therefore get shut out of major bids on a regular basis, and are forced to beg for scraps from the larger contractors. In short, the provision that was supposed to advantage small businesses has the exact opposite effect. It's a cruel joke, but it's enormously beneficial to the politically connected, so it stays in place.
I think the term is "Kiretsu".
I mothballed my plans and zero'd out my income. How can you build a small business while simultaneously plotting exit strategies out of the USA?
You don't. And you know what? Doing just enough to keep the lights on and the refrigerator stocked with delicacies has turned out to be most enjoyable.
Enjoy that rat race and those W2 forms folks. Fewer trades is also working.
I also went from having dream of my own company to just stockpiling silver/gold and constantly looking at a best exit strategy
Me three.
Peru putaz!
Hey, let's form a club.
Maybe we can meet at a coffee shop somewhere and plot a new startup.
I have a great concept. It's called "Alternative Government." We hire a few guys who dress alike to regularly visit businesses, telling them how to run their operations. When they visit each business, they collect an "Alternative Tax." This tax allows them to keep operating according to our rules until the next visit.
No actual startup costs. Just hire freelancers who get to keep a nice commission on the taxes they collect. We pocket the rest.
Yeah, I know it's an old idea, but if Al Capone could do it during the last Depression, it probably has legs!
<gruff, deep Brooklyn accent> "Nice place you gotch hea, be a shame if somptin woulda happen to it."
So, Meat Man, you looking for some part time, off the payroll work? Good hours, and we have a 'retirement plan' of sorts.
Got a nice looking, shiny suit?
on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 14:58
#943849 I like your style, tough, direct, no nonsense. I'm your man (... er ... piglet). They tell me that they are going to get me all cleaned up and shiny just before the State Fair. Maybe I'll take that Rusty guy up on his offer for a smoke at his place. - Ned
Anytime New_Meat!
;-)
and it looks like 3/8 went on a pump and ended up in OEF. I hate hangin' around in grey boats.
Gov. Patrick in regards to Evergreen Solar was pure tragic comedy here. When pressed, he played dumb and passed the responsibility onto one of his minions. Municipal government here just started submitting their budgets, and so far, they all involve cuts. However, like the article states, there's been no shortage of fees and no shortage of maxing out our property tax rates in a depressed market.
Just now listening to Howie on this and the Georgia "pine chips to ethanol 'refinery.' " that went bust.
I'm going to twig Leo K. about this, since Evergreen Solar packed up their remainder of $58MM and went to ... <drumroll> ... China!
- Ned
Good stuff as usual, Charles.
You speak from the perspective of a responsible small business owner who wishes to stay in business and out of debt. In other words, a real small businessman.
The ignored aspect of this romanticized notion of small business is that most fail, leaving smoking craters of unpaid debt behind them. So most small businesses are less like engines, and more like waterwheels - they function as long as somebody is pouring money into them. The salaries paid today are the uncollectable debts of tomorrow.
I'm hearby offering to run a bustling small business, as long as you give me non-recourse loans.
Another thing: How can a government that bends over backwards to help big business (Fun fact: GE paid no federal tax in 2009), even claim to give a rat's ass about small business? Their own policies doomed the small business from the start,.
Non recourse loans. Now that is funny !
I've started numerous businesses including metrology, publishing, LMS, polyurethane insulation. A few were sweetly successful, the others... abject failures. All outcomes had to do with my acumen (or lack thereof). My entrepreneurial forays have provided a living to many.
But now...I, and most individuals who I know who are similar in temperament and ability cannot, do not, will not, see ourselves EVER starting a business in this country again until .gov stops picking our pocket to sponsor my competitors, devalue our efforts through currency depreciation, and support the banks that steal from our f'n acct every week with numerous scams. We won't employ a soul until we get some REAL tort reform. We won't start a business until the laws are changed (or eliminated) so that the very act of staying in business breaks the law at every corner as we navigate the regulations.
I could go on, but screw it. We all know what needs to be done. Eventually, it will have to, or we're heading straight into a new dark ages.
A new dark ages is probably your solution. I'm not even joking. People are actually fairly honest, government has no actual role in daily interactions and for the larger part exists solely for the sake of existing. Something like a return to simpler (in some sense) times is in order and about 30 years over due.
Good perspective to view it. It likely is the solution, at least partially to my above stated grievances.
"People are actually fairly honest"
But as William Black points out, it was only the 10% who _weren't_ honest who caused the Savings and Loan crisis and, presumably, it's about the same percentage for this one. Thus the adage, one bad/rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel/bushel/bunch.
Back then, over 1000 rotten apples were federally prosecuted. But, not now. The rot now extends to those who would prosecute them.
Actually, government exists to help people with wealth extract more.
That's the 500 year story of this wretched economic system that is thankfully, finally, in terminal decay.
What do you propose in regards to tort reform?
My peeve is the necessity to limit damages. I'd also like to see those pursuing liability suits to have to cover all court costs AND my legal expenses if unsuccessful. I would happily play both sides plaintiff and defendant in such a world.
In addition, with today's shakedown society, it's constant madness trying to operate a company while you're in court. The last year of my most recent company I spent so much time in court that it was the MAIN reason for me to shut the doors and layoff 18 people. Candidly, I was honestly liable in one, that's 1 case (and would have worked in out in arbitration if it was contractually agreed prior). The other 6 cases...pure shake-down. Disgusting.
And when some wretched corporation poisons the water supply, lies about it, and contaminates millions of people, their charter should be revoked, their assets liquidated, and their board of directors hung from a fucking yard-arm in the public square.
No need for a trial.
Corporate brigands bring about the need for Torts because they're lying thieves.
In what I guess to be the majority if not the vast majority of states, there has already been tort reform and limits to punitive damages, i.e. hard caps or ceilings, have been implemented. In general, the only way the ceiling is lifted is if you intended to commit harm... not that you were negligent or grossly negligent, but that you actually intended to cause the harm on the victim.
That said, I am actually planning on overturning my state's limitations on jury awards because the limitation is patently unconstitutional (state constitution).... among a myriad of other reasons. I am confident in my ability to do so and I am currently involved in a couple cases where the ceiling acts to limit my clients' recoveries.
As a quick history lesson, most all of the tort reform was passed as a knee jerk reaction to rising med mal cases. At the time, it was a cointoss as to whether there were actual increases required for insurance companies or if they were just trying to cover their asses for investment losses... It is my opinion at this point, after the dust has settled, it was much more so the latter. Rates are still increasing... go figure...
As for the attorneys fees, this is a state specific issue (as a result, your prayers may have been already answered in multiple jurisdictions... this is certainly the case for contract law generally)... but, as a matter of general course, we in america have branched from the english model of attorneys fees. Essentially, we have made it a policy decision that we would prefer for plaintiffs to have their day in court and let the court hear the matter on the merits as compared to dissuading them from bringing suit in the first place by imposing attorneys fees in the event they lose.
My suggestion to you is that if you are going to spend multiple days in court, etc., and this is going to cause you to close up your operation, then you either need to settle or close up shop anyway. I'm not going to second guess your decisions nor that of your attorneys, but if you were my client, we would have had a heart to heart about your chances of success and, if liability was all but certain, we would have sought settlement (and not some lowball bullshit that is only going to infuriate the other side, unless of course they're amateurs). My guess is that an insurance company tied your hands, but who knows.
In the end, I find it a strange position for people who commit wrongs on others to complain about the system unfairly treating them. I think the best policy is to not only abstain from commiting torts against others, but also have a good bed side manner. We defending a local doctor on literally twenty malpractice suits and were successful on each and every suit. Simply put, the doctor never committed malpractice. However, he had a terrible bed side manner that simply put people off and made them want to sue him. If you find yourself up against numerous lawsuits like this, I'll also suggest adjusting your bed side manner... it's far cheaper than the alternative.
If a "shakedown" is filed upon you, then you need to have your attorney seek sanctions against the other attorney for filing the suit... if it is frivolous then you need to draw the court's attention to this fact. There are methods of redress for you if what you say is true...
One other item I did not see mentioned: larger companies have lower cost of capital, and therefore are able to crowd small businesses out. Anyone looking to open a supermarket has the likes of Wal-mart and Costco to compete with, who have deep financing at low rates, while local small businesses rely on cash in hand and very high credit rates (often from credit cards). That uneven playing field makes it very difficult for small businesses to compete, because if one of the "big boys" even thinks about moving in to a given market, there is no way they can compete.
We have a local chain of grocery stores that will fight to the bone if Walmart super center moved to our area. Sometimes we would pray it would and finally bury that POS grocery store for good.
Then realized the only people going to that POS grocery store are those who are too poor to escape the town to get to a nice walmart super center 10 miles down the road.
I counted the number of people one afternoon for 4 hours. The average age was about 49 or so. I give that store about 400 people in a town of 7000 and I think in 20 years it will no longer exist.
The only reason it exists anyway is because of the college nearby. Always fresh bright young meat ready to be hired to the cash register.
May the beatings continue until moral improves. The Author is correct since 1972 IMO. I still have my Corporate work until the overall implosion accurs since I shut down the other endeavors down I was working on some years ago as innovation exploded in segement's that Corporate interests consumed. Corporate insists no other ventures to inpede your focus in there supply chain march to oblivion it appears for some markets as we see self evident. The local disconnect ingrained is no more than total domination labeled innovation. All they need is time to construct new Consumer er serf's. As we already know the war is between the ears. Last time I checked your food traveled 1400 miles on average to get to your plate. True, we have more people so tell me what is new under the Sun and economics is not all togeather the dismal Science. Old enough to know better and in a few more years it will be your turn to manage scarce resources since we know the horsemen are real anyway so you are not excused from seeking the good fight.
Totally agree with the author:
That is the new model of American entrepreneurship: no office, no overhead, no employees, no health insurance, no business travel. That's the only way any new enterprise can survive.
I run a small business and this is how I survived, got rid of the office and employees, if I need help I partner up with another small business.
When I had an office the tax collector would come by once a year to tax me on my furniture and equipment?? "intangible tax" on my own property...WTF.
To get rid of the government you have to go virtual and that is what small businesses are doing and forget hiring any employees...ain't happening.
+14,127,946,701,136
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Yet another pleasure to read by Mr. Smith.
PS: Speaking of bullshit propaganda...get a load of this nonsense:
Small-business confidence hits three-year high
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/small-business-confidence-hits-three-ye...
"He said that manufacturing and exporting were leading the recovery, but noted that these are not labor-intensive sectors."
Partly due to dollar devaluation.
"The report also showed that the index of higher selling prices remained negative in January."
Input costs up due to commodity speculation due to easy money, margin/profits down.
"On credit, 92% of the small business owners reported that their credit needs were met or they were not interested in borrowing."
Could be nearly the same thing, no? "My needs are nearly non-existent so, yes, my credit needs are being met."
Not hiring? NO SHIT SHERLOCK.
I mean, come on. I dont need a thermometer to know it's fucking freezing outside today.
In addition to the usual shit spewed on this topic, it's the simple math.
Employer pays employee say 50k/yr.
Employer's total labor cost? 90k/yr
< or >.....this is shit we learned in 1st grade.
1+1 will never equal 3.
This Fed and Govt. want to jam it in her without even spitting on the damn thing!
I'm surprised Harry hasn't weighed in yet. Harry's 'hanging auomobile air freshener' business (not dildos) certainly counters this. Harry?
"Harry's 'hanging auomobile air freshener' business (not dildos) certainly counters this."
his business is in the 'discretionary consumables' category - ie, internet porn
Point taken.
"When leases expire, the doors close, and no one leaps in to pay boomtime-level rents, and heavy business licence and permit fees."
I have a fondness for real estate and I pay attention to my local market - the 'For Lease' signs have been increasing for at least the last two years - another trend: the 'For Lease' signs start as temporary signs in empty store windows and along the street frontage - over the months the 'For Lease' signs become bigger and more permanent since the stores are staying empty
This article addresses why small businesses are going out of business and why new businesses aren't starting up - it fails to point out the uncertainty of the current business climate - even if a small business has a viable business model and could make a profit with the current level of expenses (rent, taxes, health care, etc) there is no way to predict what the NEXT change will be from govt - will govt increase the contribution required for income tax or unemployment? - will local taxes increase? - will govt changes cause mandatory health coverage costs to increase? - in this climate of uncertainty a smart business person is better off putting his seed money into physical silver and gold and waiting for the business environment to improve / stabilize
A bank has a for lease on the second floor in our area. And they are one of the top regional banks in the multistate area.
Stores did show up with good things to sell, but did not generate the sales needed to stay open. They finally closed after about a year and a year after that, finally put up for sale on the open market for anyone who would like a nice newer building, slightly used to try again in retail.
The Dollar store down the road will probably vacate it's own money pit store that is aging, obselete and vacumns revenue like a drug snorting addict each day into the slightly newer, slightly used store.
Bet someone does a build-to-suit for Dollar Store. Lots of yield starved investors looking for single-tenant NNN- or NN-leased properties.
As a microbusinessman, yes healthcare is sadly a business and if.you dont operate like a business you will be crushed or at the least completely marginalized, but as a microbusiness man I have to pay 15 an hour to a hs graduate to make sure they dont quit and to make sure they come to work even if they have to crawl up icey slopes on hands and knees. I am in a low wage market too. I cant imagine what it costs to run a healthcare office in a big city. When you add thr additional ss plus workmans comp plus insurance and just a very basic 3500 per year ira contribution it really works out to close 25 per hour. Needless to say i have learned to contract out just about everything. We are all free lancers now. Healthcare is the real killer of business profits, even for healthcare entities!
Put it this way: it costs a lot less than it requires to break even.
Otherwise, why would these insurance brigands make the profits they do.
They steal it from somewhere - gotta be their workers and their 'customers', whose 'accounts' they 'service' all day long.
I learned this lesson back in 1990. I was an engineering consultant, and my best client would hire me as his structural guy on a project basis. I would quote a fee, and he would pay at the end of the job, and I would move on. No permanent position. I worked with him for 10 years, until I retired. I never hired anyone on a regular basis. If I needed help, I called on other consultants that I worked with on a regular basis, and we traded off gigs as needed. No muss, no fuss.
My wife is a bookkeeper. She works for four companies, each one day a week. They don't have permanent bookkeepers, they hire her for a little more per hour, but then it's only a one-day a week gig for each of them. She keeps the books on Quickbooks, she can access info if questions come up on her off days, and everyone is happy. She hasn't had a full-time job for over 20 years, but she has earned full-time wages. Plus, we have three-day weekends every week.
I am now a private chef, and I work on the same basis. Adequate income, but no permanent job. I have lots of ideas for new businesses, but I will never act on any of them until the government drops all of the red tape and restrictions and taxes on startups and truly small businesses.
As a small business owner, the article reflects my sentiments precisely! Thank you!
I watched my parents sell off a Food/Bar that they had for decades. Why? The good times were coming to the end as deaths started to increase in that post WW2 neighborhood that supported that business for 45 years.
They did sell and get out of it. Just in time too.
"Everyone who buys into the myth and pays absurdly high rents, junk fees and healthcare insurance will be ground down and bled dry. The only exception are those well-connected enough to run a pipe into the limitless lake of Federal money. Yes, 40% of the lake is borrowed from our kids, but no matter--the "recovery" is real, and this stone with a crudely painted radio dial is in fact a working radio. It's magic. You just have to believe."
Is this lake bottomless as well?
Ships sink and people drown in lakes, you know.
Man the lifeboats.
Sink the FED.
http://republicoftheunitedstates.org
I have to let 3 to 5 people go this week AND cut compensation by an add'l 10%. Maybe it is worse here in Arizona, but EVERY small business owner I know is either cutting staff, pay or benefits. We all have "fun" meetings planned for later this week (yes, we could do it today, but we procrastinate when it comes to delivering this news).
Ask a dentist how it is going. Most in Arizona spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, building beautiful offices. Today, business is down over 70% for most (who cares about teeth whitening with gas at $3.25 a gallon, health care premiums up 26%, and housing prices accelerating their decline).
Oh, and the "home sales" that we are seeing here are families buying a property across the street from their current property, moving in, and letting the other property go to foreclosure....the good ol' "buy and bail". This doesn't help the inventory numbers.
I don't know how much longer "they" can keep the illusion going, but I really can't see how we make it past May without a severe correction.
Thanks to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and ZeroHedge for helping me maintain my sanity.
I don't weep for dentists. I've never met a single one that was completely honest. And I have had some do downright unethical things that cost me a lot of money.
I go to one dentist for the last twelve years, I had one hygenist clean teeth for the same period. Everything is in order and stable.
A few years ago in a attempt to shave costs, I tried a local dentist. His hygenist shoved the gas at level 6 in 4 minutes on me and I was unable to respond to anything except pain simulation and the last thought and sight I saw before going out was the hygenst was having a cold and coughing on her hands while watching Judge Judy on the TV set up in the room ceiling.
No more.
But I dont understand how in the world THIS dentist finally moved out of that crappy office and opened/build a NICE new place with more people working for him. Most of them ladies under 25.
I should leave it well alone and stay with my regular dentist.
Isn't it interesting that dental care hasn't skyrocketed like health care over the last 30 years?
Perfect example of what the price of health care would be if the govt and insurance companies got out of the way of a doctor and his patients.
Here in Northern Nevada the builders are still building new houses. Never mine that the prices have dropped 65% from the highs and on my 4 year old sub-division block 40% of the homes are vacant from Foreclosure action. And one has been that way for 3 years!
A national builder here with access to FEDERAL zero cost money is finishing 12 homes and 2008 prices 290K and NObody is buying and down the street the local builder with NO access to FREE money is building 4 homes at 190K and he has a flys chance in a Furnance of selling those!, Now down the street from these two is the BIG Federally SPonsored Friend of Obama National Builder with FREE loans selling houses at 140K
Guess which ones will sell! (Federal dollars lent to the builder)
I started a small business in 1988, it was not good, so I closed it two years later.
I tried again in 1990, closed that one in 1999, no good either.
I only blame myself for the above. I did not go bankrupt.
...
I tried yet again with my Peruvian in-laws in 1991, an import business there in Peru. Success!
I would NEVER, EVER start another business here in the USA!!! No, no, no! Bust my ass with these uncertainties, bad .gov, bad economy, etc. And most of that going to .gov.
No way. I wish the best of luck to all entrepreneurs, they will need good luck, hard work, stamina and a tough stomach to put up with all the crap you have to.
Resist the man every way you can. The only solution is to starve the beast. We've tried the ballot box but they just stuff it with illegal votes from the dead and non citizens.
Small business is going to cure Cancer? Nope
Small business is going to cure Alzheimer Nope
Small business will create liquid fuels? Nope
Small business will create nuke reactors? Nope
Small business will do sci research? Nope
on and on...
All small business does is burn oil...INEFFICIENTLY
So I guess small business on the net is Weed for Sale at Corner.
small business starting in a garage? meh, right Mr. Packard?
small business starting in a garage? 'Steve, you want to build WHAT?' (hey Woz, can I borrow a smoke?'
What can you build in a garage now even without regulation if you have no access to funds? Online scams, "for the cloud", thats about it. The bulk of small business is a guy with a truck doing service. Problem is, oil is at the heart of everything he/she does.
look up-thread and see s/w + marketing 2x partnership
read 'home shop machinist'
or starve, or, better yet, adapt.
- Ned
Big business is going to cure cancer? Nope, but it seems to be quite adept at causing it.
Big business going to cure alzheimers? Nope, but then the medical community cannot cure the common cold.
Small business will create liquid fuels? Biodiesel.
Small business will do sci research? Absolutely, small labs, farms, etc.
Big business will do research? Not without government grants or profit guarantees by restricting the market so they can charge huge premiums for their products- fuck 'em.
All small businesses do is provide the majority of jobs, services and products in America and they often do it with NO government handouts. They are producers, not parasites like GE who pay next to zero taxes and yet demand government contracts while producing crappy goods in other countries.
What a troll...
Trolling lol?
Here is a paper for you to read on effectiveness of large research institutions vs. inpedendant researchers:
http://www.constructal.org/en/art/DN-83.pdf
Another point is that Pfizer etc. usually buy small bio/pharm companies for their IP. It is cheaper for the small companies to innovate and creates staggering individual rewards for those who acutally know how to innovate outside of a big corporation. Look at ARWR...
Basically what I am saying is that you are an ingnoramous.