TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 IS ELECTION DAY PLEASE VOTE
The Virginia Main Street Alliance will be presenting a 1 hour seminar on health care reform in Virginia on the morning of Thursday November 10 in Norfolk. The event will be at Harbour Place Condominiums, 215 Brooke Ave starting at 8:00 am. A breakfast will be provided. The seminar is limited to the first 40 people so email bob@bobbecker.org if you wish to attend.
The Virginia General Assembly will be making some important decision about health care reform in its session that will start January 10. For information about the General Assembly, or to find out who your legislators are go to http://legis.virginia.gov/
One topic that the General Assembly will be debating is the creation of a Health Benefits Exchange. A Health Benefit Exchange (HBE) is a co-op or buyers club that will allow small businesses from all over the state to join one big pool to purchase health insurance. The HBE should have an easy to use website where small businesses can compare and buy insurance plans. The HBE will be voluntary and will start operating in January, 2014. The Commonwealth Institute has a good article on the HBE at http://thecommonwealthinstitute.org/Portals/16/Health/healthexchanges.jan.10.v3.lowres.pdf
The Small Business Majority will be hosting a seminar for small businesses on health care reform the morning of Thursday, November 10 in Richmond. The session will be from 8-10 am at Virginia Housing Development Authority, 4224 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA 23020. To register go to: http://www.aarp.org/states/va/stateeventdetails.eventId=NA&stateCode=VA/
When Congress passed health care reform last year they built in a couple years of implementation. The new law will not be fully in effect until January of 2014. At that time the new health insurance exchanges will start operating. See http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8060.pdf for a more detailed timeline.
Saturday, November 26 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) is being promoted as SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY. The website http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/ is a guide to how to join the national effort to get people to shop at small, local businesses. The site includes details on the day, marketing advice and even offers for free online advertising.
The national Main Street Alliance is asking businesses to sign onto a statement about corporate money in politics. The statement is at http://mainstreetalliance.org/5190/its-time-to-unstack-the-deck/ . The national Main Street Alliance is worried that large corporate donors will drown out the voices of small businesses.
Virginia Organizing has been working to reform predatory lending practices in Virginia. Information at http://www.virginia-organizing.org/category/issues/predatory-lending . In Chesapeake, Virginia, the group is trying to get more zoning restriction placed on the businesses. Email Teresa Stanley at teresastanleyobx@gmail.com for more information.
The national Main Street Alliance has produced a couple of posters linking small business and the Occupy Wall Street movement. The poster says “Small Business: We Are the 99%. This business stands with Occupy Wall Street”. The free posters are available by emailing bob@bobbecker.org
At the University of Richmond, multiple options exist for small businesses seeking assistance. First, formal internships (paid and/or unpaid) with an undergraduate can be explored through the Career Development Center. Second, it is possible that a MBA student may be able to assist with a longer-term project. Third, some professors are open to enabling students within their classes to become involved in assisting businesses as a part of coursework. For more information, please email a description of your business, and in what areas you’d like assistance, to Dr. Jeff Pollack at jpollack@richmond.edu .
