The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
The NFIB has recently released a FREE online game for young entreprenuers called Johnny Money. The game is a small business simulation that engages students as they explore the risks and rewards of business ownership.
-John Phillips wrote a good article last month on the impact (or lack of) John McCain and Barack Obama would have on our immigration issues.
Take a look:
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While the two candidates will undoubtedly pick at each other about the issue, there’s little difference between what McCain and Obama believe about the immigration issue. Both want to see immigration reform passed by Congress. How badly they want it remains to be seen. Immigration is a dicey issue. It’s not strictly liberal-conservative, red-blue, Democratic-Republican. Some present members of Congress will continue to oppose it. It’s my guess that some new members of the next Congress will oppose it. The next president will have to spend a fair amount of political capital to get immigration reform enacted.
Also, if McCain and Obama stick to their rhetoric that the borders must be secure before immigration reform can be had, then it’s unlikely to occur anyway. We’ve proved again and again that we can’t keep illegals out. They get jobs. Some of them get caught and are deported. Some aren’t and work illegally. In order for reform to work, there must be something built in to deal with this imperfect situation.
My guess is that either McCain or Obama will work with Congress to pass something called immigration reform. It’s likely to be a tepid attempt to deal with a complicated, controversial issue, which means that what the states have already started doing will carry the day, which means that immigration will remain a mess.
The fact that McCain and Obama have started talking about the issue again doesn’t mean much from a substantive standpoint. Both are simply courting the Hispanic vote right now and trying simultaneously to avoid alienating the anti-immigration vote. Quite a high wire act. It’ll be a while before we know whether their words are ultimately converted into action.
A group of supermarket employees attempt to slingshot a co-worker sitting in
a shopping cart off of a ramp in a new video entry, called “Shopping Cart
Bungee” on the Montana State Fund’s No-Jack Website. Just before the
launch, an employee bystander states, “This has got to be the dumbest thing
I’ve ever seen.” Instead of hitting the ramp and soaring as planned, the
cart careens into a parked car with the
“less-than-the-brightest-bulb-on-the-block” daredevil flying over the hood
and the co-workers scattering in all directions. The clip ends with the
message, “Don’t be a jackass at work.”
Other video entries on the website include sword fights with
cattle prods and rolling down a hill in a tractor tire. A play on the MTV
Network’s show “Jackass,” the state workers compensation insurer late last
month launched the “Don’t Be a Jackass at Work” safety campaign. In
addition to submitting and watching videos, Montana residents can take a
quiz and enter a contest to win one of four Nintendo Wii videogame consoles.
“Being safe in your workplace starts with being smart,” says the Website at www.nojack.net.” “And being smart starts here. Sorta.”
The U.S. could be looking at lean times until we get our oil situation under control. If you’re looking for a recession-proof career consider the following industries:
1. Health Care
2. Energy
3. Education
4. Utilities
5. International Business
6. Public Safety
7. Funerals
8. Accounting
9. Federal Government
10. Pharmaceuticals
11. Sales
12. Military
13. Gambling
14. Alcohol
15. Politics
16. Skilled Services
17. Debt Management
18. Consulting
19. Bankruptcy Law
20. Government Contracting
I’ve found that most small businesses owners understand the need to be in compliance with all state and federal employment laws. However they can have difficulty deciding the best course of action to obtaining full compliance.
To help clearify the HR options that are available to small businesses, I’ve laid out the three most common choices, their associated costs and the subsequent impact on a business. -
Here are 7 questions Professional Employment Organizations NEVER ask (and neither should you)!
1. How old are you?
2. Are you married or divorced?
3. Do you have, or plan to have, children?
4. What church do you attend?
5. Do you belong to any social or political groups?
6. Do you have any debts?
7. Do you suffer from an illness or disability?
“You have to take a hard line against sexual harassment before it occurs. Verbally informing your employees about your company’s position on sexual harassment is a good start. But ultimately a written sexual harassment policy is the most effective thing you can do to protect your employees and your business.
Many small businesses neglect to adopt written sexual harassment policies because they think they are not “large enough” to require such a document. But NO business is immune from sexual harassment or from the litigation that follows. That reason alone should convince you to create a written policy sooner, rather than later.”
I’m a big advocate for outsourcing. In fact, I think small businesses should outsource just about every non-core business function. However, I am NOT an advocate for outsourcing American jobs to foreign countries. Yes, I do understand we operate in a global economy and many corporations must make difficult choices to compete in the global arena. However I believe American business owners should consider offshore outsourcing a last resort!
There are many outsourcing opportunities right here in our own back yard. Of course we do have those pesky human rights organizations and that bureaucratic red-tape to deal with, but isn’t that to ensure business is done humanely and with integrity? Call me an idealist, but if you’re willing to do business without a conscience just to increase your bottom line then I’m not interested in your product or service.
Here’s a (SHORT) list of major corporations who either directly or through subsidiaries outsource some part of their business to foreign countries. I’m not calling for a boycott but I am requesting you to please write letters, send emails or call these companies to encourage them to bring American jobs home.
COMPANY
OUTSOURCING LOCATION
Allstate Insurance
Chennai
Amazon
Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune & Manila
American Family Insurance
Chennai
AOL
Bangalore
American Express
Mumbai
AT&T
Chennai
Bank Of America
Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai
BB&T
Chennai, Bangalore, and Pune
Best Buy
Mumbai
Caterpillar
Bangalore
Citibank
Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai
CNBC
India
CNN
Pormona
Compaq
Chennai and Hyderabad
Countrywide
Mumbai.
DELL
Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai and Hyderabad
D-Link
Mumbai
Dish-Network
Ahmedabad
Dun & Bradstreet
Chennai
Ebay
Delhi
Fidelity Investments
Gurgaon
Ford
Chennai
GE Capital Service
Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, and Kolkota
Hewlett Packard
Bangalore and Chennai
Honeywell
Bangalore
IBM
Bangalore
Intuit
Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune & Manila
JP Morgan
Mumbai
John Deere
Chennai, Bangalore, and Pune
Lexis Nexis
Chennai
Microsoft
Pune
Morgan Stanley
Mumbai
Nationwide Insurance
Chennai
Nextel
Trivandrum
Oracle
Bangalore
Palm
Chennai and Hyderabad
PayPal
Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune & Manila
Pfizer
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
A group of supermarket employees attempt to slingshot a co-worker sitting in
Here are 7 questions Professional Employment Organizations NEVER ask (and neither should you)!
