Small businesses are the invisible engine that drives both our local and our national economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated $730 million to support small businesses. That is 0.05% (yes, I do mean 5/10 of a percent) of the combined bailout total ($700 billion from the Bush administration and $787 billion… Continue reading A Drop in the Bucket
Tag: economic stimulus
Caveat Emptor
When a business registers on a government’s procurement website to bid on government projects, all of that information becomes part of the public domain. It is then perfectly legal for other businesses to either directly harvest that data, or pay the jurisdiction a fee for access to the data. Every time I have registered any… Continue reading Caveat Emptor
Simplicity isn’t that Simple
This evening I went to the first of several public information meetings for small business trying to participate in the Go Oregon! program. Don’t know what I am talking about? Well, you are not alone. I consider myself to be more web-savvy than the average bear, and I know I am much more comfortable wading… Continue reading Simplicity isn’t that Simple
Transparency
Whenever I would walk in front of the tv as a child (and I mean from when I started walking onwards), my father would voice his objection by reminding me that I was not transparent. Which means I probably learned the word “transparent” before the average kid. I have also known for a long time… Continue reading Transparency
Cutting off Portlandia’s Nose to Spite our Face
We interrupt our regularly scheduled stimulus bill translation for an update on an issue that refuses to die. I was at City Hall this morning for an early morning meeting. As I was leaving at about 9am, I saw abut 10 people gathered outside with signs advocating for removing Sam Adams from office. I am… Continue reading Cutting off Portlandia’s Nose to Spite our Face
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Now in English.
Yesterday I read through the entire text of the of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is a very long and challenging document to slog through, and I wouldn’t recommend it to many people. However, as a policy wonk, it was important to me to read text of the legislation myself. Since… Continue reading The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Now in English.
Think Globally, Act Locally
While he was still President-Elect, Barak Obama made it abundantly clear that he wanted no earmarks to be part of the economic stimulus package. While often perceived as a synonym to “Pork-Barrel spending,” earmarks can serve a useful role. They are a way that congress can designate funding for specific work. They are also a… Continue reading Think Globally, Act Locally
Recessions = New Businesses=Confusion
I have spent the last three years (give or take) working as, with and along-side microbusinesses, and we all sing a variant of the same song: I know there is help out there, and I know some of it is great and some of it is crap. But, as there is no single point of… Continue reading Recessions = New Businesses=Confusion
The World we live in 