IBAW January 2014 Magazine

JANUARY 2014 January 17th: Cynthia LaConte CEO, Dohmen

February 21st: Legislative Update Robin Vos Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 2014 State Legislative Priorities

STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES - Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks - Pro Growth Tax Reform

1- Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks 2 - Pro Growth Tax Reform 3 - Address the Structural Deficit of WI DOT

- Address the Structural Deficit of WI DOT - Predictable Sand Mining Regulation

4 - Predictable Sand Mining Regulation

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Hi-Crush Partners LP

- Delay of the Affordable Care Act - Support the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage - National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths - Pro Growth Tax Reform - Increase Access VISAS for Immigrants with 2014 National Legislative Priorities

1- Delay of the Affordable Care Act 2 - Support the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage 3 - National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths 4 - Pro Growth Tax Reform 5 - Increase Access VISAS for Immigrants with Advanced Degrees & Start Ups

Advanced Degrees & Start Ups

KEATING: CONSENSUS IS GROWING: EXCESSIVE REGULATIONS HURTS BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

no business is small At AT&T a storefront is as important as a skyscraper.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.

They are the engines of new opportunity and growth. Having access to innovative technologies drives success. And we’re here to make sure you’re connected. Always.

AT&T is proud to support the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin.

© 2012 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.

IBAW MEDIA LINKS Executive Director Steve Kohlmann President Steve Van Lieshout K & S Technologies .

President Elect 2014 Membership / Sponsorship John Weber Hypneumat

Are Government regulations crushing the American dream?

Karen Kerrigan from the Small Business Entrepreneurship Council in Washington D.C. is interviewed on Fox News.

To view, click here.

VP. State & National Programs Jeff Hoffman Judson & Assoc.

Treasurer Casey Malek Sikich Directors Bart Adams Sikch Ann Barry Hanneman Simandl Law Group S.C Heather Baylor Park Bank Richard Blomquist Blomquist Benefits Jason Kuwayama Godfrey & Kahn

MacIver Institute Looks Back at 2013 with Legislators To view, click here.

Tom Boelkow BSI Design, Build, Furnish Dave Drumel Staff Electric

IBAW Mission: To advance business prosperity through insightful programming, executive networking and member-driven public policy and advocacy.

Business Presentation Series 2012, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year January 17th Cynthia LaConte,CEO, Dohmen

2011, Woman Executive of the Year, Biz Times Media ®

for the Upper Midwest

Cynthia LaConte is the CEO of Dohmen, a life science services trusted partner with 600 drug and device companies. Dohmen processes $9 billion in transactions annually touching 16 million consumers & 16% of Rx’s in the US. Ms. LaConte is a recognized leader in business development and adopts a “Know Thy Audience” approach to communicating with high level people.

Join us for an insightful discussion on innovation, change and long-term strategies sure to help you start the new year right.

Click here to register.

LOCATION! !

THE WISCONSIN CLUB ! 900 W. WISCONSIN AVE. MILWAUKEE

7:00 AM !

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REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

7:30 AM !

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BREAKFAST & PROGRAM

9:00 AM !

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PROGRAM ENDS

February 21st LEGISLATIVE UPDATE State Representative Robin Vos Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly To register, click here.

IBAW Legislative Updates are your opportunity to learn the direction of the state and voice your concerns regarding: - Workforce issues - Energy cost - Policy direction for manufacturing - Tax regulation Register now!

New Year Optimism Steve Kohlmann, IBAW Executive Director

You have to love going into a new year. First of all, you get to leave baggage of the old year behind. Like driving to work after you’ve put out the recycling bin for pick up in the morning, those items aways look better in a review mirror. Done and gone.

A new year is a like an automatic reset. Growing up if things weren’t going your way on the playground one could proudly proclaim a “do over”. A unilateral option to just start over if you didn’t like the results. As business people, it’s not that easy to just fold up your tent and make such a proclamation. Although admittedly , some do.

The real key to a new year is the optimism that comes with it. Losing weight, getting in shape, saving money and other life changing goals are among the personal favorites. A sense of optimism and a better future is a given when a new year starts. You never hear anyone say, “I’m going to get in worse shape, gain weight and get further in debt.”

We call them resolutions but most of the time we don’t follow through with them so maybe they should be called “advisories” instead. At any rate, the amount of optimism we have when a new year approaches is a good thing and we could use more of it throughout the year, not just at the start.

My own personal new year “advisories” for 2014 include enjoying my motorcycle more in 2014. I barely put any miles on last year and found I really missed it. Last summer was a blur with no vacation but this year there’s a 3 day national BMW rally taking place in Minneapolis in July and I’m already plotting the “Make Up for the Lost Summer” tour.

But my main advisory for 2014 is to enjoy the company of people I come in contact with more. As I’m getting older, the time is really moving. I get caught up in the hustle of a day and can overlook the company of family, friends and business associates when we get together. Interactions with people are very valuable and it seems as though we’re emailing, texting or leaving messages without regard to spending time with each other to share stories, experiences and laughs. Everything is at breakneck speeds these days and that really needs to be altered - especially true on my end.

So I plan to slow down when in the company of people and enjoy the interaction with them. Taking time to learn what’s on their mind, what they are planning in 2014 and how I (and the IBAW) might be able to help them.

A good start for the new year of 2014 and one easily achievable.

Have a happy & prosperous New Year filled with optimism!

IBAW BIG EVENT Meeting Wrap Up! A large crowd filled the Wisconsin Club ballroom on December 20th as IBAW ended the year with it’s BIG EVENT “The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Wisconsin” featuring Gov. Walker, Craig Culver, CEO of Culver’s Restaurants and Rep. Dale Kooyenga, IBAW’s Legislator of the Year for 2014.

Above: Bart Adams, Craig Culver, Steve Kohlmann and Rep. Kooyenga meet with Gov. Walker to hear his thoughts on state income tax and other timely topics prior to the event.

Left: With the entire ballroom filled meeting new contacts and networking was very easy.

Right: Steve Kohlmann presents IBAW’s Legislator of the Year Award to Rep. Kooyenga for his hard work this past year. Rep. Kooyenga was part of the “CPA Caucus” that uncovered almost a billion dollars in surplus at the UW System.

Left: The Wisconsin Club was decked out in full holiday spirit for our event which filled the ballroom.

Right: Gov. Walker discusses the impact of Wisconsin’s business climate and its importance on the economic on families.

To paraphrase ‘Business works best when government gets out of the way and doesn’t prohibit you from doing what you do best; Creating jobs.

Left: Craig Culver talks about the history of Culver’s and it’s modest beginnings.

“We thought we had a plan that wouldn’t fail...but that first year...we almost failed. Everyone in our family worked hard and those early morning drives with my Dad to open the store were sometimes uncomfortable as we struggled. We worked hard with a lot of hours and stuck with it. It wasn’t easy, but we persevered. Today we are approaching our 500th restaurant. Wisconsin snowbirds who live down south attended our recent opening in Florida wearing Cheese Heads and Packer shirts.”

“Happy, friendly employees are key to our success.”

Right: Craig Culver poses with one of his first franchisees who worked with him at his first restaurant.

Culver recalled, “I was shocked when he told me he didn’t want to work for me anymore but ecstatic when he told me he wanted to open a Culver’s franchise.”

IBAW Facilitates State Meeting At a recent IBAW meeting, speaker Joe Knilans from the Wisconsin Department of Administration gave a presentation regarding his department’s mission to help remove policy & regulations obstacles that may be outdated or useless and asked for help in identifying issues. Such a meeting took place with IBAW member Staff Electric of Menomonee Falls in October as they brought forward several issues the construction industry faces which adds to red tape and lengthy and unnecessary accounting hoops to jump through.

Joe Knilans (left) of the Wisconsin Department of Administration meets with David Drumel (center) and Heather Wrasman (right) of Staff Electric.

All of us at the IBAW wish you, your family and your employees a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

IBAW Member, Hypneumat, featured on Fox Business Network IBAW member, Hypneumat Inc. was the featured company on Manufacturing Marvels速 which aired on Monday, December 2, 2013 on the Fox Business Network. Click the link to view.

These segments are produced by award winning producers Bob and Jerry May and award winning director Bryan McCullough. The 2 minute pods spotlight American manufacturers, their products, as well as the companies' processes and customers.

X

This segment was shot on location at Hypneumat's Franklin WI manufacturing facility in HD broadcast format, and narrated by nationally acclaimed voice talent John Criswell. John has been a news anchor for CBS and ABC for over 40 years.

"This is certainly an exciting opportunity for Hypneumat to highlight its exceptional products and services," says Hypneumat's President John Weber.

Hypneumat, Inc. has been a leader in the industry for over 60 years providing a full line of drilling units, tapping units and multi-spindle heads under the Hypneumat, Commander and Snow brands. Additionally, Hypneumat offers contract machining services.

Longterm Labor Stats Released from BLS The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released an overview of hiring sectors since 1980.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics and Harvard Business Review.

2014 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES On the following pages you will find the IBAW’s State and National Priorities for 2014. These issues range from tax reform to energy policies to workforce development issues as well as other important policy and regulation issues effecting Wisconsin small business owners and their employees.

Both the State and National priorities are available from the IBAW in hard copy and electronic format for you. Please contact the IBAW office if you would like either of these formats.

The IBAW would like to thank Jeff Hoffman for his time and effort into researching these topics and for advising the Board and membership on their impact.

2014 State Legislative Priorities

1- Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks 2 - Pro Growth Tax Reform 3 - Address the Structural Deficit of WI DOT 4 - Predictable Sand Mining Regulation

Hi-Crush Partners LP

Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks A consistent complaint from IBAW members is the inability to find & hire skilled workers. The 2013-2015 biennial budget invested a substantial sum of $100 million dollars which included apprenticeship training programs, assistance for the unemployed to transition careers, vocational rehab for people with special needs and the creation of the new Labor Market Information System that is designed to better reflect a real time jobs picture within the State. There was also an increase of $5 million dollars in State Aid to the Technical College system which serves 360,000 + students and growing.

Moving forward, the State has established a solid platform to address the skills gap, but like many issues this can not be solved by simply spending money. Creating performance based enforcement benchmarks to drive ongoing annual funding for individual programs, ensuring the Labor Market Information System is successfully launched, and marketing the States Technical Schools to high school students are ideas that need to be further embraced.

With an aging manufacturing and skilled trades demographic throughout the State, the Skills Gap will continue to be one of Wisconsin’s most critical challenges on an annual basis.

Pro Growth Tax Reform Despite recent progress, the Tax Foundation ranked Wisconsin in the bottom 10 States in the U.S. for business Tax structure in its 2013 survey. Comprehensive tax reform is long overdue for the State of Wisconsin. The Manufacturing Tax credit that is being phased in through 2016 is a critical piece of reform designed to help the manufacturing community and this piece of reform can be leveraged into an even more effective tool.

IBAW supports the elimination of the State Corporate Income tax of 7.9% which is the 17th highest in the country.

Many pro-business States are already moving to reduce the corporate income tax and Wisconsin needs to follow suit.

With a graying population the State of Wisconsin also needs to start looking at different alternatives to its’ heavy reliance on the Property Tax. Wisconsin is presently ranked #32 in terms of Property tax which disproportionately affects people on fixed incomes such as the senior community. This is a rapidly growing demographic in the State and without reform we will continue to lose our retirees to States such as Florida. There are multiple decision making points in determining where to expand a business and one of the most tangible factors in a State by State comparison is the Tax climate.

Wisconsin residents have come to appreciate a high level of government services, but this does not mean that Wisconsin needs to consistently rank in the bottom 20% of Tax rankings.

Addressing the Structural Deficit of WIS DOT In early 2013 WIS DOT Secretary Gottleib forecasted that the department of transportation will be facing a $700 million dollar structural deficit beginning in 2016. He also estimated Wisconsin will need an additional $6.8 billion over the next decade just to maintain the current road conditions within the State. Given historically low interest rates, the State was able to utilize the bond market to increase the transportation budget by 11.6% in the 2013-15 bi-ennium budget to fund critical projects such as the Zoo Interchange reconstruction. The utilization of the bond market to fund transportation is not a sustainable model and the State faces the following structural issues moving forward: •

The Highway Trust Fund tax of $.184 cents per gallon has been fixed since 1993

•

The Highway Trust Fund allocation to the State is not enough to fulfill current obligations and a shortfall of $15 billion dollars annually will have to be backfilled by General State Tax Revenue

•

The State Gas tax of $.309 cents per gallon and the $75 vehicle registration fee raises $1.6 billion dollars annually. Given much greater fuel efficiency of vehicles and a subpar economy these funding mechanisms are not keeping up with funding demand

•

The Wisconsin Tax Payer's Alliance released a report that indicates the average Wisconsinite pays $300 less annually in taxes and fees in relation to transportation than any of our neighboring States

To compete in the Global economy, the State needs to ensure its business base has access to a world class roadway system to move people and product safely, effectively, and efficiently. There are no easy solutions to solving this problem. Ideas that have been proposed include; fee increases, mileage driven fees, toll roads, increased gas tax, greater department efficiencies and prioritizing/eliminating projects.

IBAW believes State Government needs to immediately address the problem of substantial structural deficits within WIS DOT and all options that could provide a sustainable funding model that delivers a high level roadway system need to be explored.

Predictable Sand Mining Regulation While the State of Wisconsin does not enjoy the natural resources of shale oil and gas within the boundaries of our State, we possess an abundant amount of a critical raw material that is necessary for shale wells to be developed.

Wisconsin has been described as the Saudi Arabia of frac sand. In 2010 there were 5 active sand mines and no processing facilities within the State. As of today there are 100 mines and 5 new processing plants. This boom has produced an estimated 2,500 jobs related to the frac sand industry within the State coupled with large capital investments, such as Canadian National Railway investing more than $68 million dollars in upgrading rail lines for transportation of the product. Many of the sand mines being developed are in the sparsely populated western part of the State that is either unincorporated or designated as a Township. Current State law does not allow for Townships to regulate through zoning authority, rather through local policing powers. The current interpretation of law allows for an inconsistent pattern of rules and regulations and is impacting investment and development decisions for mining operations. Given the exponential growth of the shale gas and oil business, Wisconsin needs to ensure that rules and regulations established for sand mining is consistent and predictable.

The IBAW supports legislation that will pave the way for consistent and predictable rules and regulations of sand mining through the power of Zoning Ordinances and leaves Air & Water regulatory powers to already established State and Federal agencies.

2014 National Legislative Priorities

1- Delay of the Aordable Care Act 2 - Support the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage 3 - National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths 4 - Pro Growth Tax Reform 5 - Increase Access VISAS for Immigrants with Advanced Degrees & Start Ups

Delay of the Affordable Care Act The implementation of The Affordable Care Act has created upheaval within the health insurance marketplaces and a tremendous amount of uncertainty for the business community. IBAW did support President Obama’s promise “If you like your plan you can keep it”, but it appears that the promise is not working. With millions of individual polices being canceled, many entrepreneurs find themselves without healthcare coverage and without a functioning marketplace to enroll into a new plan. The setbacks of the healthcare.gov website appear to be the tip of the iceberg for much greater problems that will reveal themselves in future years.

Three critical shortcomings of the law that IBAW is most concerned over: Higher Cost - Without a subsidy, it is estimated insurance premium rates in the Milwaukee area for the Average 40 year old will raise 40.85% by the end of 2014.

Less Choice - With elimination of many individual polices, entrepreneurs will be forced to enter into plans that may not be applicable to their situation. It has been estimated that 4.8 million Americans have been provided notice their policy will be cancelled in the upcoming year.

More Complications – The Aggregation Rules of the Affordable Care Act require that if an employer has more than 50 full-time equivalent employees spread over ANY business holdings of the employer, the employer must provide health insurance for all employees even if the entities are unrelated. This clause presents immense operating cost ramifications for entrepreneurs involved in multiple business platforms, especially franchise owner’s that reach 50 employees who will now have to either offer health insurance or pay a fine.

With a higher risk pool, mandatory purchase of excessive policies that may not fit a person’s needs, and the lack of interest by the younger demographic, rampant inflation in the health insurance marketplace will be arriving. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act will only continue to cascade the healthcare marketplace into further chaos. The IBAW supports delay of the law in order to mitigate the long term consequences that are fundamentally altering the delivery of health care within the United States. There are many solutions that need to be considered in order to solve the cost problems related to the delivery of healthcare. The first solution should be Do No More Harm.

Support of the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage There have been discussions of increasing the minimum wage established by the Federal Government to $10.10 per hour. While this proposal is well intentioned, the IBAW supports keeping the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. The vast majority of minimum-wage earners are young adults beginning their first jobs, those working a second job to make a little extra income and some seniors looking for part-time work to augment their Social Security. They are the ones hurt most by minimum-wage increases. It is estimated that for every 10% increase in the minimum wage, teen employment is reduced between 1%-3%. The proponents of an increased minimum wage stake a great deal of their argument on the basis that Big Businesses can “afford” to pay more to the minimum wage workforce.

The reality is that the majority of employers in this Country are small businesses operating on razor thin margins (estimated at 2.6% for an independently owned fast food restaurant). According to the Employment Policies Institute, roughly 50% of the minimum wage workforce is employed by a business with less than 100 employees. The unintended consequences of an increased minimum wage will lead to reduced hiring by small business and less opportunity for lower skilled workers looking to climb the career ladder.

A National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths The Fracking/Shale Oil and Gas Industry has been an incredible boon for the United States Economy. Projections by the International Energy Agency shows the United States will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia by 2015 as the world’s largest oil producer because of the technological developments in the Shale Industry. The U.S. is expected to have the production capacity of 11.6 million barrels of oil per day by 2020. Jobs in the unconventional oil & gas industries are also set to rise from 1.7 million to 3 million by 2020. The cost of Natural Gas has decreased nearly 60% over the past decade due to the abundant supply that has been discovered. This has allowed for U.S. businesses and consumers to realize $110 billion dollars in lower energy costs had the deposits not been discovered.

The Shale Revolution has positioned U.S. Manufacturing to experience a renaissances era as we level the playing field with a cheap and abundant supply of natural gas. The U.S. is on the cusp of true Energy Independence, yet we have no plan to embrace our natural resources. The Brookings Institute estimates that between 2009 - 2014 the U.S. Government will have spent $150 billion dollars on questionable “Green Energy” projects, all the while deriding Tax Credits for Oil & Gas companies that have produced the Fracking Boom. The IBAW believes the following items should also be addressed in a Sustainable Energy Policy:

·

Approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline

·

Removal of New Source Standards established by the EPA in 2013 and preventing any future tightening of Existing Source Standards

·

Congressional Checks & Balances established for the EPA

·

Revocation of Congress’s 2007 Renewable Fuels Mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022

·

Enhancing Tax Incentives for Fracking and Shale Companies to improve industry research and technology

While mindful of the need for necessary environmental protections, the IBAW supports an “All of the Above” energy policy in which the United States reaches true energy independence by capitalizing on our natural strengths and resources.

Pro Growth Tax Reform The U.S. needs a robust economy to assist in taming deficits and the IBAW supports a simplified overhaul of the tax code in which overall rates are lowered and itemized deductions are either simplified or removed all together. Lower rates would attract more capital from abroad, encourage more domestic investment, and increase growth and jobs. It would also minimize the loopholes that lead to a misallocation of national resources. Many small businesses operate as S-Corps or LLC’s that pass through income to the individual and the individual (business owner) then re-invests his or her earnings back into the company. With the passage of the Tax Payer Relief Act last year, business owners have had to recalibrate expansion plans to account for less income to fund growth due to higher marginal tax rates on job creators. A plan such as the one Senator Dave Camp has suggested would collapse the seven individual tax brackets to two, 10% and 25%. The Tax Foundation predicts this type of tax relief proposal would generate $2 worth of growth for every $1 in “lost” revenue, increase the nation’s capital stock by more than 11%, add 4.7% to GDP within a decade, and help lift wages by 2.7% for all workers. (Continues on next page)

Pro Growth Tax Reform (continued) At a 35% rate, the United States Corporate tax rate is the highest around the Globe. In 2013 it is approximately 20% higher to operate a manufacturing business in the United States than operating that same plant oversees with taxation accounting for a large percentage of this cost dierential. The U.S. should also implement the Territorial Tax system (which is the global standard) in which a Corporations profits are only taxed within the country they are earned. This would encourage corporations to repatriate more than $2 trillion dollars of cash sitting oversees due to the current antiquated system of double taxation.

In order to remain a competitive place to conduct global business, the United States needs to enact comprehensive across the board tax reform that reduces rates, phases out deductions, and moves to a territorial system. Tax Reform will create certainty within the markets and produce a fairer and balanced tax code that benefits the small entrepreneur just as much as the largest corporation.

Increase Access to VISAS for immigrants with advanced degrees and Start Up Businesses From 2006 - 2012, 24% of U.S. technology companies were founded by immigrants and 40% of all current Fortune 500 companies were created by an immigrant or first-generation American. To remain a global leader the United States needs to attract and retain the brightest and best minds from around the World. IBAW supports immigration reform that creates a predictable and eďŹƒcient path to obtaining a visa and citizenship for immigrants who hold advanced degrees or operate a business. The H1-B program that was created in 1990 for high skilled workers allows for only 65,000 visas per year with an annual cap on visas so that no country can receive more than 7% of available visas issued per year. It is also estimated that of the 1.1 million green cards issued each year only 15% are provided to highly skilled immigrants.

These are examples of the antiquated immigration policies of the United States that have limited our economic growth. Simple policy fixes such as providing an immigrant with a green card if they graduate with an advanced degree from a U.S. college are ideas to kick start the economy. The United States cannot expect to remain a global business leader if we continue to put up barriers to attracting the best and brightest minds from around the world.

IBAW Mission: To advance business prosperity through insightful programming, executive networking and member-driven public policy and advocacy.

IBAW.com

Photo credits: Google Images

Consensus is Growing: Excessive Regulation Hurts Business and the Economy Ray Keating, Chief Economist, SBE Council, Washington D.C.

In early December, the Business Roundtable released its latest CEO Economic Outlook Survey.

In terms of where these CEOs of large companies see the economy going over the coming six months, one could call the outlook “more of the same.” Jim McNerney, chairman of the Business Roundtable, and chairman, president and CEO of The Boeing Company, observed, “In aggregate, our expectations are consistent with an economy that will continue along the path of steady, modest recovery into the first half of 2014.”

If the economy does continue along the path it’s been on since mid-2009, it must be acknowledged that this economic recovery actually has been one of the worst on record in terms of economic growth and job creation.

What is quite striking about the survey results is the top cost pressure the CEOs say face their businesses over the next six months.

Number one on the list is regulatory costs (39 percent). Labor costs come next (25 percent), followed by health care costs (21 percent). Material costs are a distant fourth (8 percent).

When looking at the top three cost pressures, one has to add into the mix that regulations are a major cost factor when it comes to labor and health care costs. So, to varying degrees, 85 percent of CEOs in the Business Roundtable survey identified regulatory costs directly or indirectly as major cost pressures.

To the average consumer or employee, that might come as a surprise. But it’s certainly not to business owners and managers. Indeed, one of the great dangers of regulation is that the costs remain largely hidden from the average consumer. Therefore, politicians have an incentive to take credit for fixing problems by imposing more regulations and mandates, while businesses are left figuring out how to pay for the very real added costs of regulation.

And if cost pressures are a top concern for CEOs of large businesses, imagine how much worse it is for small and mid-size firms. Regarding federal regulatory costs, in a 2010 study by Nicole V. Crain and W. Mark Crain from Lafayette College for the SBA’s Office of Advocacy (“The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms”), it was reported: “Small businesses, defined as firms employing fewer than 20 employees, bear the largest burden of federal regulations. As of 2008, small businesses face an annual regulatory cost of $10,585 per employee, which is 36 percent higher than the regulatory cost facing large firms (defined as firms with 500 or more employees).”

Regulatory costs have grown substantially since this study was published, and in general, small businesses have far fewer resources available to deal with large and rising regulatory costs.

In the end, increased regulatory costs mean reduced competition and choice, fewer jobs, and higher prices in the marketplace. The American public is beginning to figure this out. In a new survey conducted for SBE Council’s Center for Regulatory Solutions (the full survey will be released in early January), 61% of Americans believe that government regulations on businesses are more likely to “harm the economy by interfering with the free market, preventing businesses from growing and hiring new employees, and increasing prices for consumers.”

CEOs of major companies, small business owners and consumers are all in agreement – excessive regulation is harmful. This consensus should prod lawmakers into putting regulatory reform on the top of the nation’s agenda for the New Year. If jobs, economic growth and U.S. competitiveness are important to our nation’s lawmakers and the White House, then regulatory restraint and relief will be a key policy priority.

Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Keating’s new book, published by SBE Council, is titled Unleashing Small Business Through IP: Protecting Intellectual Property, Driving Entrepreneurship. It’s available from Amazon.com here.

Business Day in Madison, February 6th IBAW will once again be a partner with our friends at the WMC for Business Day in Madison on Thursday, February 6th at Monona Terrace in Madison.

For more information and to register, click here.

FEATURED SPEAKERS “Never Quit: The Story of a Life Built on Successful Missions” Robert O’Neill - Team Leader, Naval Special Warfare Development Group; Retired Member Seal Team Six

“Politics and Public Policy - 2014 and Beyond” A.B. Stoddard - Associate Editor and Columnist for The Hill

“A Tour of a Challenged World” Daniel Christman - Senior Counselor to U.S. Chamber President

Governor Scott Walker

PROGRAM EMCEE Charlie Sykes Talk Show Host, WTMJ Radio-Milwaukee

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors who make your IBAW programing possible.

BLOMQUIST BENEFITS

K & S Technologies

Become a IBAW sponsor and join us in helping Wisconsin small business.

To learn about the benefits of sponsorship, contact Steve Kohlmann by clicking here.

Welcome A New IBAW Member!

George Heaps Coalition Services Coalition Services provides management expertise to develop, organize and manage groups of employers’ self-funded healthcare programs and develop collaborative partnerships with the local provider community.

Coalition Services works with the employers’ data partners to make their health care data useable and resourceful for benefit management and provider negotiations.

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Download it in PDF format or pass the link on.

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Contact IBAW by clicking here.

THANK YOU SPONSORS...

AT&T Industrial Towel & Uniform Blomquist Benefits Associated Bank Sikich Godfrey & Kahn Park Bank Lauber CFO’s von Briesen Vrakas / Blum Advantage Leasing

Grace Matthews Simandl Law Group, S.C. BSI - Design, Build, Furnish K & S Technologies Judson Commercial Real Estate Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, S.C. Sponsor support helps IBAW continue to bring insightful programming to small business owners.

Ask about becoming a sponsor today!

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IBAW 960 Timber Pass Brookfield, WI 53045 Office: 262-844-0333 WWW.IBAW.COM

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WANT TO PAY ONLINE? You can also pay by Mastercard / Visa at the IBA Membership page. www.ibaw.com ________________________________________________________________________ The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin is a not-for-profit entity filed with the IRS under 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. As a not-for-profit association, the members of The Independent Business Association, Inc. are allowed to deduct a percentage of dues that are not used for lobbying purposes. For the year 2013 based on the total income of the association and the lobbying expenses as reported on the Wisconsin State Ethics Board Lobbying reports for 2011 the percent of dues that were used for lobbing purposes is 10%. Therefore, the percent of dues that would be tax deductible is 90%.