MR. ROSSI GOES TO ALBANY
0 Comments On Monday, November 9th, 2009, I was invited by The Business Council of NY to attend “FORUM 2009: Federal Health Care Reform – Understanding the Impact on Business.” It was an all-day event, chock full of speakers, panels, and more data than one could ever hope or wish for. A tremendous tip of the hat to the Business Council for putting together such an impressive event. The quality of speakers and amount of meaningful information was priceless. What really amazed me was the quality of the information presented by the various speakers – nothing was slanted or spun to favor one political agenda or another. This was real world information. One of the speakers stated that he was just presenting facts, but if you bought him a couple of glasses of wine later that evening at the reception, he would let you know how he REALLY felt!
I had the opportunity to chat with four forum attendees – 3 were from their respective company’s HR / benefits departments, and the other is the CEO of a dialysis center. The range of opinions regarding federal health care reform was diverse: there was a gentleman from a manufacturing company who was very concerned and upset with the President’s plan, stating that it would penalize those companies who have stable health plans in place, and that the government should leave well enough alone. A young lady from a packaging company that has been in business for over 150 years said that they had their own internal benefits program, and her boss wanted her to attend to get an understanding as to what other businesses are concerned about. The third person is the benefits manager for a utility company that privately manages their employee and retiree health care plans. She is very confused and concerned with the overabundance of information and was hoping to get some straight answers. The CEO of the dialysis center has to deal with issues concerning not-for-profit organizations.
When I participated in the Times-Herald Record’s Health Care Roundtable this past summer I was optimistic that the President’s plan would cut through the fat and get right to the heart of the matter. Over time I’ve grown increasingly concerned with the proposals and how they would affect small business, and after yesterday’s forum I am very disappointed to state that I am totally against this plan. It will ruin small business – companies will have to let go of workers, they will cut back on growth, and many will eventually whither away and die. It figures – just when I’m getting ready to make the push in 2010 to expand the company!
I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Mark Amodeo from The Business Council for inviting me to attend the forum.
But wait – there’s more! My other VIP at The Business Council, Mark Kessler, called me last Thursday and asked if I’d be interested in joining a group of small business owners to meet with Gov. Patterson to discuss issues of interest to small businesses in NYS. Not being one to turn down an opportunity while in Albany (since I don’t get up there too often) I gladly accepted the invitation. That meant cutting out early from the Health Care Forum and scooting over to the Capitol Building, making sure to get there in time to pass through security and get into the inner sanctum. I’ll skip the embarrassing story of parking and (eventually) finding the Capitol Building (however, I did tell it to my wife and she was in tears from laughing so hard).
I made it through security unscathed and without those annoying flashing lights and high-pitched alarms (those of you who have been to Albany with me in the past know what I’m referring to). Once inside I found myself surrounded by almost 50 other invitees. During the meeting, we all had the opportunity to introduce ourselves; there were sole proprietors, small-to-medium sized companies, heads of business organizations and even special interest groups. At least a dozen people in the room were from the Mid-Hudson Valley. After his opening comments, the governor asked for questions and comments about what is going on in NYS with small business; it was a 60-40 split between patronizing comments and meaningful questions. I tried to jot down some of the comments he made:
1. He stated that the business community has to become an advocate for itself.
2. The value that small business has isn’t being played up. He would be willing to visit a business in order to drum up support and visibility for small business, since it is the spark that drives business and revenue in the state.
3. Small business owners should embrace editorial boards and smaller TV stations and enlighten them on how important it is to support business.
4. Government should relax standards to generate job growth.
5. Businesses should be given latitude in order to promote job growth.
Someone also asked a question about municipality consolidation. The governor stated that the only way to get cities, towns, even school districts to consider consolidation would be to give them tax incentives.
I knew I had to get my $.02 in about the MTA, so I said the following: “Some of us in the room are affected by the MTA Payroll Tax. You recently met with some members of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce and commented about the tax. Do you think a forensic audit of the MTA would shake things up / shake things out / free up some money in order to reverse the tax? It’s affecting us on so many levels – for example, some municipalities have had to lay off employees because of the payroll tax.”
The governor said that there is an audit, but the MTA doesn’t listen to it. He thinks it would only free up “single millions of dollars.”
At that point he began a very vague discourse about where the MTA provides service and how some businesses in outer counties aren’t close to service; at that point, I have to admit that my mind just shut down. I put my pen down and politely nodded while he spoke. He unfortunately didn’t say anything of substance. I realize that it’s a difficult topic to address when there are so many other issues going on, but he didn’t even dip his big toe into the water. Oh well…
I’d like to thank Mark Kessler from The Business Council for inviting me to attend this “interesting” session.
And with that, my report about my day in Albany has come to a close……and I’m exhausted!
Rich
