Blogs

It has been my experience lately that there is a disconnect between the rhetoric and headlines out Washington and the regulatory front lines in the bank crisis. Go figure?!?

We have begun unraveling the consequences of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Healthcare reform will be paid for through taxes and fees on the health care sector and employers, as well as through additional taxes on upper-income individuals. So let's touch on the small business community implications of Healthcare reform and the impending expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts.

Healthcare employer penalties and subsidies

We all know that Shakespeare quote, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!" and we may have various opinion on such a radical proposition. But, one thing is for sure, while lawyers bring a technical expertise that can keep you out of trouble, that same technical expertise of all things legal than can sometimes get in the way of doing a deal that would otherwise be simple and straightforward.

In the May 25, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Obama Urges Congress on Small-Business Proposal, we see the role of "Main Street" clearly coming to the forefront of the economic recovery. Until now the media has focused its attention on big banks and their performance. Who hasn't read in the news the implications that bailout moneys are being used as the means or the justifications to continue Wall Street compensation practices?

The Topic of the Month for Cathedral’s board services is "Performance Reviews." As criticism of the practice abounds, are we hopelessly behind the times or once again reminding our clients of an important discipline of business that must be done well in order to see success?

The recent Wall Street Journal article, "When Interns Make Sense", provides insight on how small businesses can get the most out of implementing an internship program within their company. The article suggests in order for the internship experience to be productive, that small businesses should do the following:

• Set expectations up at the beginning (dress code, performance evaluations.)

A report in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal Online reveals that bank loans to small businesses are down 9%. That in itself is probably not news, especially to small businesses owners. The real news is that while small business lending is down 9%, overall lending is down only 4%. It seems the big banks are the real grinches.

We've touched on some opportunities health care reform presents, keeping in mind the resourcefulness of our small business community. Many of the provisions of the $940 billion legislation won't kick in until 2014 and the IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman has recently stated that much of the agencies’ time will be devoted to further clarification on the implications and enforcement of the HealthCare Reforms the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Today we’ll briefly look at some of the immediate reactions and impacts on large businesses and ‘high income’ earners.

Last week we started our discussion with the question, "what do the new healthcare reform regulations mean to me as a business owner, non-profit, or entrepreneur?" We also concluded one thing is certain: small business owners will need careful planning to successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by health reform.

Cathedral assists business owners and non-profits in outcompeting bigger firms that may not be able manage challenges in healthcare reform. So let’s address some of the good news we know about the upcoming healthcare regulations:

So what do the new healthcare reform regulations mean to me as a business owner and entrepreneur? One thing is certain: small business owners will need careful planning to successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by health reform.