A&M Amusements Opens in Maryville

On Saturday, A&M Amusements, run by Adam and Ashley (Pride) Marriott, held a grand opening. Ashley is also the North Nodaway Elementary Principal and a NEN grad. They rent bounce houses for community events, along with obstacle courses and other items. They also provide tents, tables, chairs, PA systems, and movie screens for weddings, graduations, or special celebrations. For more information, you can visit them at www.aandmamusements.com, visit their Facebook page, visit them at 320 Larry Drive in Maryville (the road just south of Applebee’s on Business 71), or call (660) 853-9499.

Hopkins Smoke Shop Expands to Variety Store

What started out as a smoke shop has turned into a variety store in Hopkins. While it still serves a clientele of tobacco customers, they now offer such things as jewelry, Red Rock Relish, concealed carry handbags, baby dolls, toy picnic tables, and other local crafts and items. Owner Cheri Riddle, who bought the business from the original owner, said she plans to sell honey and even more items. It is now known as Cheri's Boutique. It is located next to Wilson's Grocery and the 148 Cafe in Hopkins near the intersection of 148 and JJ. She said she tries to sell different items from time to time and is always open to selling new items.

The store now has a game room, where kids can come in to play video games. There is a pinball machine as well as some other games. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 7 pm, Friday to Saturday from 8:30 to 9, and Sunday from 9 to 2. Their phone number is (660) 778-3754.

Mark Wilmes Closing Down

Mark Wilmes is closing down his welding business located north of Ravenwood on Highway E. On Friday morning, nobody was at the shop, the door was locked, and the sign had been taken down. On Monday, the Express received a note from Mr. Wilmes stating that he had closed down. On June 25th, there will be a closeout auction at which he will sell off all his welding equipment, trailers, and some farm machinery starting at 10 am. Lunch will be provided by the Northeast Nodaway Class of 2019. The auction is being run by the Younger Auction Company.

Bring Jobs Home Act Targets Businesses Moving to Missouri

A new bill filed in the Missouri House seeks to attract businesses to Missouri while avoiding the problems of the controversial HB 253 that was proposed last year and which was successfully vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon. Critics charged that HB 253 would have substantially gutted funding for schools; according to figures provided by the state, Worth County could have lost as much as $180,000. The Coalition for Missouri's Future, a group opposed to this bill, said that it would have gutted state funding by as much as $800 million per year.

The Bring Jobs Home Act (HB 1089) is much more narrowly tailored; specifically, it provides for tax breaks for businesses relocating to Missouri. There is a cap for tax breaks set at $10 million; businesses taking advantage of this break would be served on a first come first served basis. Businesses relocating to Missouri would be allowed to deduct any amount for which a deduction is allowed to the taxpayer under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, permit and license fees, lease brokerage fees, equipment installation costs and similar expenses, and eligible expenses paid in connection with the elimination of business units outside of Missouri and establishment of business units within the state.

Under this bill, a business can deduct 20% of eligible insourcing expenses. No deduction would be allowed unless the number of full time employees for the taxable year for which the deduction is claimed is more than the number of full time employees in the year before eligible expenses were incurred. If a taxpayer is not allowed a deduction under the $10 million ceiling provision, they would be allowed one the next year. Should a taxpayer take a deduction under this section and then eliminate the business within 10 years, they would be required to repay the state.

The bill has a 6-year sunset clause; it would expire unless renewed by the legislature. If it is renewed by the legislature, it would then have a 12-year sunset clause.

Grant City Eatery Now Open for Business

The Grant City Eatery, on the southeast corner of the square, is now open for business. It is located where the former Drifter's Express building and the Healthy U building used to be. They have daily specials including chicken, pulled pork, and meat loafs. They have a salad bar, homemade pie, cakes, and they can serve breakfast all day long.

It is owned and operated by Shari Kayser; she is married to Chuck, who helps her in the kitchen. They have four children. One of them, Jennifer, is working at the Eatery. Shari was from Rockford, IL where she had worked at Panera Bread, a food chain. Daughter Jennifer was a regular at the Worth County Farmers Market last year. Shari had run the Blockton Cafe several years ago; she said that she found out about the building being for sale from Jennifer and that they had been working on it since October. She said that they were planning to open the north side of the building up for private parties and open up a bigger area for customers down the road.

Senate panel looks at slashing of business taxes

(MDN News) -- Republicans in the Missouri Senate are looking to dramatically lower the tax bills of business owners in the state, saying that the actions of surrounding state legislatures could leave Missouri's economy in the dust if lawmakers don't act quickly.

Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-St. Louis County, and Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit, have each put forth proposals that would cut the state's corporate income tax rates and also allow business owners to deduct part of their business income on their individual tax returns.

Both senators told a Senate tax committee this week that the changes are necessary if Missouri wants to compete with states like Kansas. As of Jan. 1, some business income in Kansas is now exempt from the state's income tax and conservative lawmakers there are now pushing to eliminate the individual income tax altogether.

"The fact of the matter is, we are in a competition among other states," Schmitt said. "We don't operate in a vacuum. We're part of a larger decision-making process for business owners."

Schmitt's measure would cut the corporate tax rate from the current 6.25 percent to 3.125 percent by 2017 and would allow business owners to deduct half of their business income. The proposal from Kraus would allow a 25 percent deduction and would reduce the corporate rate to 3.25 percent by 2017.

A fiscal estimate attached to Schmitt's bill said it could cost the state as much as $200 million in revenue by 2016, while the cost of Kraus' bill was pegged at more than $924 million per year within three years.

Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, said he is worried that taking that much revenue from Missouri's tenuously balanced budget could put vital state services, such as education or road construction, on the chopping block.

"We've seen the Kansas cut and now they can't fund their schools," LeVota said. "We see that we have cut and we've given away a lot of tax credits and now we can't fund our foundation formula. If we dig into tax policy that helps create jobs, which we all want to do, let's make sure that we're still paying for the basic obligations of the state."

As lawmakers head home many issues facing Missouri are left unresolved

Missouri lawmakers head home after a tense legislative session with some of the biggest issues left unresolved.

From the beginning to the end, the session was dominated by fighting among the large Republican majority. Republicans were divided on major education issues such as eliminating teacher tenure.

Before the legislative session closed, the Missouri General Assembly was able to send the state's $24 billion budget on time to Gov. Jay Nixon, but the Senate debate was dominated by late-night filibusters and personal attacks against Senate leadership.

As the legislature entered its final day, many signature issues had already died, but many other bills were sent to Nixon for approval. Measures passed include:

- A judicial reform bill that attempts to keep nonviolent offenders out of prison if they violate their parole.

- A higher education bill that would create a system for transferring credits among the state's public universities.

- A tax bill that would allow Missouri communities to collect local sales tax on out-of-state car sales.

- A business bill that would prohibit workers from suing their co-employees for accidental injuries sustained while at work.

- A measure that would allow restaurants at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to sell liquor starting at 4 a.m.

- A bill authorizing St. Louis residents to vote on a tax to redevelop the grounds of the Gateway Arch.

- A telemarketing law adding cell phones to the no-call list.

- A measure to be sent to voters that would establish a health insurance exchange.

- A measure allowing employers to opt out of providing birth control for their employees.

- A health care bill that cracks down on unlicensed day care providers.

Despite these and other accomplishments, lawmakers fumbled on addressing key issues that had been dubbed priorities for the session.

The General Assembly began the year with an ambitious agenda to tackle the state's education issues. Republican leadership outlined a plan to provide relief for students living in unaccredited school districts, fix the public school funding formula, change teacher tenure, expand charter schools and allow the state to intervene immediately in a failed school.

Although the major items on the agenda failed, lawmakers did achieve what House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, called incremental progress.

"I don't think we went forward on education reform on the big ticket issues," Tilley said. "Now I do think we are going to make incremental progress this year with charter school expansion."

As the session came to a close, lawmakers were able to pass an expansion of charter schools in failing school districts. Under current law, charter schools can only be in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Supporters said the charter school bill would provide an alternative for students living in struggling school districts.

"We need to do something to help these kids," said Rep. Rick Stream, R-St. Louis County. "And we don't need to wait until next year or the following year or five years or 10 years down the road. We need to act now to give these kids a quality education."

The bill's fate now lies with Gov. Nixon, who called for higher quality charter schools in his State of the State address in January.

A push to allow the state to intervene immediately in the unaccredited Kansas City School District was held up as the session closed, because the Senate did not approve a change to teacher tenure, which would eliminate seniority as a criteria to consider when a district has to lay off teachers.

Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City, said leaving 17,000 students in Kansas City in an unaccredited district without state help "is disgusting."

"I am going home to 17,000 kids that cannot read. I do not get it. This is what we are here for," Curls said.

One of the bigger education issues facing the legislature was providing a fix to Missouri's underfunded public school funding formula. Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, sponsored measures that would have provided a fix to the funding formula if the state government could not appropriate enough money to fully fund the formula.

Pearce said it was a "major disappointment" that the body had not passed the funding formula fix. Pearce said divisions about the legislation stemmed from each lawmaker's location in the state and the types of schools that were in each district.

“Starting a Business: The First Steps”

Many individuals have the dream and desire to someday own a business. Unfortunately, many of these same people don’t know where to start. Moreover, they are afraid to make that leap into entrepreneurship because they do not know enough about taxes, licenses, financing, and marketing. If this sounds like you, make plans to attend “Starting a Business: the First Steps,” a University of Missouri Extension seminar. The seminar will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, September 15, 2011, at the Buchanan County Extension Office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, MO

The instructor for the seminar is Tom Kelso, MU Extension Northwest Region Business Development Specialist. He will review the basics involved in starting your own business, explain the importance of planning, discuss the legal and regulatory requirements; and identify sources of funding, and steps which should be taken to market your product or service.

Registration for the seminar is required by Monday the 12th either by calling or e-mailing Tom Kelso, MU Extension Business Development Specialist at 660-446-3724 or kelsot@missouri.edu,. The registration fee is $35 and payable when you attend the class.

At the conclusion of the seminar, if you need additional assistance, you may arrange to meet with a business consultant through MU Extension.

Let us help you make your dream a reality. The MU extension seminar on “Starting a Business: The first Steps” will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon September 15, 2011, at the Buchanan County Extension Office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, MO

If you need special accommodations because of a disability, or if you need materials in an alternative format, please inform Tom Kelso, MU extension business development specialist at least two weeks prior to the seminar to make arrangements.

Learn about other business development offerings and resources at: http://www.missouribusiness.net/

Marketing for small business course helps companies target customers and get them to buy

Experts tell us that marketing is a more a mysterious art than an objective science.

Actually, it’s a little of both.

“Practical Marketing for Small Business” is a three hour course that will help owners, managers and marketing directors create a breakthrough marketing program through understanding how to implement effective marketing principles. This course will cover: the foundational pieces of a marketing plan, what areas of your past marketing efforts need to be examined, marketing strategies which have proven to work for small business, and how to put this information into action.

“Practical Marketing for Small Business” will provide participants with workable strategies to make your business’s marketing efforts more effective. Through a PowerPoint presentation method and in-class assignments, attendees will learn how to apply proven marketing concepts to their individual businesses.

Practical Marketing for Small Business is offered at the Buchanan County Extension Center at: 4125 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, on June 30, 2011. Cost for this seminar is $35. Seating is limited. Participants must register by June 30, 2011, by calling (660) 446-3724. Payment may be made at the door.

Northwest Cellular Celebrates 20 Years of Service

Over the past twenty years, cellular phones and the way they affect our lives have experienced a significant evolution. Usage has advanced from primarily voice, to texting, and now to internet. Likewise, phone form factors continue to progress. Yesterday’s bulky bag phones are barely recognizable as the precursor to today’s computer-like smart phones. In that time, locally owned nationwide cellular service provider Northwest Missouri Cellular has experienced many changes as well.

Northwest Missouri Cellular Limited Partnership was formed in 1989 in an alliance between Oregon Farmers Mutual Company, Grand River Mutual Telephone Cooperative, IAMO Telephone, Alltel Mobile Communications, and Southwestern Bell Wireless. Being locally owned and operated is one of the main advantages setting them apart from their competition.

General Manger, Roger Bundridge, points out, “Because our owners and employees have a vested interest in our local communities, we believe in giving back to those communities through various charities, sponsorships, and events. Our business has grown from a couple of employees to almost 30 since we began. We have a highly trained, dedicated, award winning customer service staff at the Maryville headquarters, in addition to our 11 agent locations throughout the 5 county area available to meet any and all customer needs.”

Considering their customer’s suggestions has aided them in becoming an industry leader with innovative plans like the popular $5.95 N-B-Tween Youth Plan and their $10 Family Data Share option allowing all lines on a plan to share one internet package. Presently, Northwest Missouri Cellular is the only provider in the area to offer a youth plan or family data share option. Programs such as Upgrade Advantage, and Cell Exchange have also benefited from this approach.

All that said, being a small locally owned company doesn’t come without its’ challenges. According to Bundridge, “One of the biggest challenges we face is breaking the misconception that we only offer local service. We do offer the best local coverage network in this area, but we also have strategic partnerships with cellular service providers throughout the country for the best, most reliable nationwide coverage available. These things combine to give us a coverage map that cannot be beat.”

Another challenge pertains to pricing: “A false impression some may have is that, because we are a small local business, our pricing on phones and plans are higher, when in fact, we are extremely competitive with our larger counterparts. In most cases we are actually less expensive,” Bundridge said. One example is their Unlimited Nationwide Talk Plan. At $39.99 it has the lowest price of any carrier available to area residents. And unlike other carriers, Northwest Missouri Cellular allows every customer to receive incoming texts for free. Bundridge comments, “We sponsor text alerts for all 18 schools in our five counties, so we wanted to allow all customers to experience the benefits of text messages at no cost to them.”

What does the future hold? Bundridge offers this insight: “Phone selection has really opened up within the last year. Today, our customers have many phone choices, especially with smart phones. Google’s Android is beginning to take the lead over Apple’s iPhone. The key advantage with Android is that the majority of the applications are free.” He continues, “Not long ago, smart phones were rather expensive; however, we are starting to see the prices drop, which is great for customers looking to move to a smart device. I feel that the majority of our customers will be using a smart phone within the next 5 years. You can count on our Customer Service Representatives being there to help adjust to this advance in technology.”

Northwest Missouri Cellular is looking forward to continuing their twenty year commitment of providing exemplary customer service, coverage, cost and community involvement.

“The Basics of Writing a Business Plan”

Do you have an idea for a business, but, don’t know what information the bank is going to need to recognize the greatness your idea? Have you started your business, but, now need to expand, and you don’t know how to update that business plan you started with 7 or 8 years ago?
Well, the University of Missouri Extension has a simple solution. Business Development Specialist: Tom Kelso, will be teaching a class on how to put your business plan together on June 23rd, at the Buchanan County Extension Office. You will be shown the basic parts of a business plan and what a lending institution will be looking for in each of those sections. You will be shown how to make your business plan look professional, and how to avoid common mistakes when building your plan. Moreover, this seminar explains how your business plan can help you in the day-to-day operation of your business. As the name suggests, it is a PLAN for your business.
The cost for this three-hour seminar is $35, and will be held at the Buchanan County Extension Office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, MO on June 23rd, 2011 from 9 AM to 12 noon.
Space is limited. To register for “The Basics of Writing a Business Plan,” call The Holt County Extension Office at: (660) 446-3724. Payment may be made at the door.

Understanding Financial Statements

Numbers on a Page…Ratios…Reports…Income Statements…Balance Sheets. At face value, these documents tell you what happened. However, they can also tell you how to make it happen again, or do it better the next time.
If you’re one of those business owners who have a bookkeeper or a CPA prepare their quarterly taxes for them, you won’t want to miss this financial management training event presented by the University of Missouri Extension.
“Understanding Financial Statements” is a three hour class designed for business owners, managers, and consultants who need to know how to turn financial statements into useful management tools. The class is taught by Tom Kelso, Business Development Specialist for the University of Missouri Extension in Northwest Missouri, and covers the basics found on the income statement and balance sheet and includes information on the various ratios critical to the financial management of a small business. Working through an actual case study will give you hands-on experience in understanding the story the numbers tell.
Cost for this three hour session is $59, and will be conducted at the Buchanan County Extension office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., from 9 to 12 Noon, on May 31st , 2011.
At the conclusion of the seminar, if you need additional assistance, you may arrange to meet with a business consultant.
For more information on how to register for “Understanding Financial Statements,” call: (660) 446-3724.

The Basics of Writing a Business Plan

Do you have an idea for a business, but, don’t know what information the bank is going to need to recognize the greatness of the idea you have? Have you started your business, but, now need to expand, and you don’t know how to update that business plan you started with 7 or 8 years ago?

Well, the University of Missouri Extension has a simple solution. A class to show you how to put your business plan together. You will be shown the basic parts of a business plan and what a lending institution will be looking for in each of those sections. You will be shown how to make your business plan look professional, and how to avoid common mistakes when building your plan. Moreover, this seminar explains how your business plan can help you in the day-to-day operation of your business. As the name suggests, it is a PLAN for your business.

The cost for the three-hour session is $35, and will be held at the Buchanan County Extension Office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, MO on May 12, 2011 from 9 AM to 12 noon.

To register for “The Basics of Writing a Business Plan,” call The Holt County Extension Office at: (660) 446-3724. Payment may be made at the door.

MU Extension Offering, “Starting a Business: The First Steps”

Many individuals have the dream and desire to someday own a business. Unfortunately, many of these same people don’t know where to start. Moreover, they are afraid to make that leap into entrepreneurship because they do not know enough about taxes, licenses, financing, and marketing. If this sounds like you, make plans to attend “Starting a Business: the First Steps,” a University of Missouri Extension seminar. The seminar will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, April 28, 2011, at the Holt County Extension Office, on the Square, at 101 East Missouri Street, Oregon, MO.

The instructor for the seminar is Tom Kelso, MU Extension Northwest Region Business Development Specialist. He will review the basics involved in starting your own business, explain the importance of planning, discuss the legal and regulatory requirements; identify sources of funding, and steps which should be taken to market your product or service.

Pre-registration for the seminar is suggested either by calling or e-mailing Tom Kelso, MU Extension Business Development Specialist at 660-446-3724 or kelsot@missouri.edu,. The registration fee is $35 and payable when you attend the class.

At the conclusion of the seminar, if you need additional assistance, you may arrange to meet with a business consultant through MU Extension at no additional charge.

Let us help you make your dream a reality. The MU Extension seminar on “Starting a Business: The first Steps” will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, April 28, 2011, at the Holt County Extension Office, 101 East Missouri Street, Oregon, MO.

Pre-registration is suggested. If you need special accommodations because of a disability, or if you need materials in an alternative format, please inform Tom Kelso, MU extension business development specialist at least two weeks prior to the seminar to make arrangements.

Learn about other business development offerings and resources at: http://www.missouribusiness.net/

Understanding Financial Statements

Numbers on a Page…Ratios…Reports…Income Statements…Balance Sheets. At face value, these documents tell you what happened. However, they can also tell you how to make it happen again, or do it better the next time.

If you’re one of those business owners who have a bookkeeper or a CPA prepare their quarterly taxes for them, you won’t want to miss this financial management training event presented by the University of Missouri Extension.

“Understanding Financial Statements” is a three hour class designed for business owners, managers, and consultants who need to know how to turn financial statements into useful management tools. The class is taught by Tom Kelso, Business Development Specialist for the University of Missouri Extension in Northwest Missouri, and covers the basics found on the income statement and balance sheet and includes information on the various ratios critical to the financial management of a small business. Working through an actual case study will give you hands-on experience in understanding the story the numbers tell.

Cost for this three hour session is $59, and will be conducted at the Buchanan County Extension office, 4125 Mitchell Ave., from 9 to 12 Noon, on April 7, 2011.

At the conclusion of the seminar, if you need additional assistance, you may arrange to meet with a business consultant.

For more information on how to register for “Understanding Financial Statements,” call: (660) 446-3724.

Casey Guernsey: Improving Missouri's Business Climate

by State Representative Casey Guernsey

Last week the House of Representatives took important action focusing on improving Missouri's business climate to adequately compete in today's markets. We passed out of the House my legislation putting an end to repeat nuisance lawsuits against farmers and agri-businesses. This is an enormous victory for those of us living in North Missouri and anyone in the farming business. The Senate also took quick action and passed Senator Lager's version of the same bill. The overwhelming super-majority lent to my legislation speaks volumes in and of itself; this is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is a jobs issue. Anyone in agriculture today knows the threat of a lawsuit alone is enough to potentially put them out of business, it is imperative we send this bill to the Governor to keep Missouri's Agricultural sector the largest in the state. I urge you to contact the Governor's office in support of this legislation, his phone number is: 573.751.3222. If we do not, I fear it will be impossible for us to remain in the animal agriculture industry in Missouri thanks to literally 3 out of state trial attorneys who are manipulating our laws to line their pockets with tens of millions of dollars. His veto would also open the doors to further abuse of our nuisance laws to allow for the suit against any farmer regardless of commodity. We have all heard of farmers in other states being sued for harvesting after hours, stirring up dust, etc. We can not allow these attorneys the same option in Missouri.

The House also took swift action to end one form of double-taxation. Currently, Missouri franchised businesses are taxed both on their income and the value of their assets and stock. As an example this would be like getting taxed on your yearly income, and additionally on all the net income you've made your entire life. Missouri's additional tax on corporations is called the franchise tax. While Missouri has both corporate franchise and income taxes, many states simply have one or the other. As a result, when national corporations or smaller franchises are choosing where to locate, Missouri's double taxation scares them away.or pushes companies to re-locate outside of Missouri. By allowing businesses to keep its money, we know they will invest it in jobs right here in the Show-Me-State. The amount of money we will allow these corporations to save will be the equivalent of 1,700 jobs at $50,000 each. Cutting taxes is the best way to improve the job market for Missourians and I was very pleased to lend my strong support to this common sense legislation.

This session we have focused primarily on creating jobs in our state. We started the session with a plan to turn the state economy around by fundamentally changing the business environment and HB 76 is part of it. HB 76 phases out the state's franchise tax over a period of five years. Without the franchise tax, our state will become more attractive to businesses looking to move here and create jobs. Missouri collects less than 3% of its revenue from corporate taxes of any kind and the franchise tax is only part of this collection. In addition, Missouri entrepreneur's operate on a shoestring budget, and a little bit of tax here or there is the difference between hiring someone new or closing down. The elimination of the double tax will only help our small business owners. Join me in supporting HB 76 to eliminate corporate double-taxation. It's about attracting new businesses and creating new jobs. As always, feel free to contact me anytime with your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 573.751.4285 and my email is Casey.Guernsey@house.mo.gov.

Missouri Senators consider elimination of corporate franchise tax

Missouri business owners and representatives showed their support in front of the Senate Jobs Committee Wednesday (Jan. 26) for two bills that would effectively rid the state of the corporate franchise tax.

Committee Chairman Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-St. Louis County, sponsored the two bills and spoke to his fellow committee members about the franchise tax and its impact on corporate investment in Missouri.

"The tax was instituted about 100 years ago and is an outdated tax, created before there was a corporate income tax, and it's really a double tax on assets for businesses who already pay an income tax and sales tax," Schmitt said to the committee. "[Businesses] actually have an incentive to move their assets outside of the state, so this is really a disincentive for investment."

Schmitt sponsored two different bills on the issue:

A bill to freeze the franchise tax at the 2010 level.

A bill to phase out the franchise tax over the next five years.

No one has testified against either bill.

Rep. Jerry Nolte’s Legislation to Restore Co-Employee Liability Protection Receives Committee Approval

A Missouri House committee gave approval Thursday to legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, that would protect Missouri workers and businesses by restoring liability protection taken away by the courts last summer. The House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee approved HB 91 by a unanimous vote of 12-0.

House Bill 91 would restore co-employee liability protection in the Missouri’s Workers Compensation. The bill specifically addresses an issue raised last year when a court ruling allowed an injured worker to sue a co-worker after already settling a workers' compensation claim against his employer. Nolte’s legislation would reinstate liability protection to employees in cases where a workers compensation claim is settled. However, employees would still be liable in situations where injury is caused by the employee’s unprovoked violence or assault against another employee.

“The workers’ compensation reforms of 2005 and the court ruling made last year have had the unintended consequence of creating a negative environment for workers and employers in Missouri. The court ruling stripped away co-employee liability protection and opened up a floodgate of potential lawsuits by injured employees against co-workers,” said Nolte. “The end result is that it makes it more difficult for employers to hire and retain employees especially in supervisory roles when there is an increased chance the employee may be subjected to a lawsuit. Restoring co-employee liability protection will allow us to reverse these dangerous court decisions and get back to the original intent of the reforms made in 2005.”

HB 91 now awaits approval by the House Rules Committee before moving to the House floor for discussion.

Opinion: Help for Small Businesses

by US Senator Claire McCaskill

Too many people in Washington get caught up in the Beltway bubble and think that they know better than the people back in their home state. Since I’ve been elected, I’ve made it a habit to get back to Missouri as often as possible to talk with Missourians about the issues they are facing. Recently, I visited with small business owners across the state of Missouri. At meetings in St. Louis, New Madrid, Branson, Monett, Harrisonville, St. Joseph, Kirksville, and Columbia, I heard many of the same concerns raised at each location.

Small business owners are worried and rightfully so. There’s a lot of economic uncertainty out there about what the future will bring. We have made it through the worst of this economic crisis, and for the first time since 2008, we added jobs last month. I’m optimistic that things will continue to get better, but if we really want to get our economy back on stable footing, we’ve got to help small businesses expand.

Small businesses are the engine of our economy. They provide over half of the private sector jobs in the U.S. and they are key to adding new jobs for the millions of Americans looking for work. Many small businesses in Missouri are eager to grow, but they are still finding the economic environment difficult.

The primary concerns I heard from the small business community in Missouri had to do with the difficulties they are facing in securing loans and worries about how the new health insurance reform laws will affect businesses. With the cost of health insurance premiums skyrocketing, families and businesses have seen health insurance costs eat up their budgets. While the new health insurance reform law isn’t perfect, doing nothing was not an option because insurance was becoming unaffordable for too many businesses and families.

It was clear from my meetings that there is a lot of confusion about how the law affects small businesses. In reality, the law will provide small businesses with substantial tax breaks that will help make it possible for them to provide health insurance benefits to their employees.

Starting immediately, small businesses with 25 full time employees or less with an average salary of $50,000 or less will be eligible for a tax break on their health insurance costs. If an employer pays at least 50 percent of their employees’ insurance premiums, they will receive up to 35 percent of that investment back as a tax credit from 2010 to 2013. Starting in 2014, each state will set up an insurance exchange that will give small business owners a place to shop for insurance where they can pool risk with other small businesses in order to negotiate for lower premiums for their employees. Once the insurance exchanges are up and running, eligible small businesses that negotiate for insurance on the exchanges can receive up to 50 percent of their costs back.

While it was important for me to help clear up some of the worries about the new health reform legislation, I also heard from many small business owners and community banks that the biggest stumbling block to expansion is the difficulties they are having when it comes to getting credit. Credit standards have tightened for a variety of reasons, which means many businesses either can’t get credit or can’t get it on affordable terms. For businesses that are hoping to expand, not being able to borrow money is making it very difficult.

Now, I don’t believe the government should be in the business of telling banks when to lend money, but I do think there are steps that can be taken to address credit constraints. One thing we need to do is ensure that we support the community banks that make most small business loans. That means that Washington needs to be careful about adding any additional regulatory burden on community banks; they are highly regulated, and they steered clear of the risky and abusive mortgage loans that caused the financial crisis. Separately, there is a need to look at strengthening existing programs that help get credit to businesses. That’s why I am pleased that Congress is considering ideas like streamlining loan guarantee programs in the Small Business Administration (SBA) and aiding capital and collateral support programs operated by the states.

As your representative in Congress, it’s my number one job to help foster an environment that will encourage private sector job creation and help small businesses grow. Our economy depends on it.

Graves Blasts Deficits, Obama Health Plan, Cap & Trade

During a districtwide tour, Congressman Sam Graves came to Grant City last week and blasted the federal deficit, Obama's health plan, and Cap & Trade. Around 40-50 people attended the meeting at the Fairgrounds Building, in which he talked about his work in Washington and in which he took questions from constituents.



Regarding the deficit, he said that "if you did that, you would go broke." He said that the current deficit, which he said was higher than any in history, was "a legacy that we would have to pay back."



The theme of Graves' tour was "Main Street Matters," and he pointed to specific legislation that he said would be bad for small businesses. Cap and Trade would require all businesses to place caps on emissions or face a carbon tax. Proponents say that this legislation is necessary because they argue that man-made pollution will create long-term global warming that will result in rising ocean levels, leading to the displacement of millions or even billions of people. They envision worst-case scenarios in which low-level cities such as Boston or New Orleans or Florida would be flooded under by rising sea levels. But Graves said that the proposed solution was bad for this area because Missouri was a coal-dependent state that would be hit hard by any such legislation. Senator Claire McCaskill has publicly voiced concerns about Cap and Trade because of Missouri's coal dependence as well. He said that the result would be an estimated 60% increase in electricity rates for the state and that it would become more expensive to move goods across the country. Consequently, he said that it would be bad for the economy since it takes fuel to move goods. And Graves said that there was nothing to protect farms from these new offset requirements because he said that the EPA could overrule any agency who tries to exempt farms from Cap and Trade requirements.



"China and India love bills like this," said Graves. He said that a better alternative was an "all of the above" approach that he and his Republican colleagues were developing. Graves said that contrary to media reports that the Republicans had no ideas, he said that they did have ideas for energy policy but that the Democrats who control the committees would not give them a fair hearing. "We do have alternatives to the President's proposals and we have been trying to push these alternatives," he said.



Turning to healthcare, Graves turned to one of his favorite props, a huge copy of HR 3200, the Health Care Bill thousands of pages long, which he dropped on the table to demonstrate what he said was the ridiculous size of government. He said that the Democrats tried and failed to get that bill passed without letting people read it or knowing what it was about before the August recess. But he said that the August recess was bad for the bill's chances because people could read it and see for themselves what a bad bill it was. "We've read it and we don't like what we see," he said. For instance, on page 16, he said it states that after five years, no new individual plans could be written. In another section, according to Graves, it allows the government to set health insurance prices. Graves said that problem with a government-run healthcare system was that it would drive hospitals away and make healthcare even more inaccessible. "More and more hospitals are not taking Medicare or Medicaid anymore," he said. "And I don't want some bureaucrat deciding for me what healthcare choices I can make."



Graves accused the current Democratic leadership in the House of not listening to Republican ideas. "I've had a bill on associated healthcare plans that would drive down the cost of health insurance for three years, and it has never even gotten a hearing," he said. "We do have alternatives to what the Democrats are proposing. We are going around the county holding hearings on healthcare solutions, and the Democrats are calling us 'unamerican' because we get the word out that the way they are going to pay for all this is to cut Medicare by $500 billion to pay for all this."



Turning to the current budget deficit, Graves aid it was "absolutely unsustainable" and that the government was trying to balance it "on the backs of small businesses" with such things as surtaxes. He said that increased taxes were the "wrong approach" during a recession and that the current healthcare plan would add one to two trillion dollars to the deficit. "It doesn't mean we don't need changes," said Graves. For instance, he said allowing businesses to pool together to purchase insurance would drive rates down because he said that an insurance pool of 8,000 employees was more manageable from a risk standpoint than 10 employees. Graves said that would allow small businesses to offer health insurance to their employees. Graves said that another solution was tort reform, saying that people in states that have it have to pay for those who don't.



Talking about possible changes down the road for local jurisdictions, local authorities have worried about changes coming down the road that they would not be able to meet financially. Graves said that what was being considered was a revision to the Clean Water Act that would give the EPA jurisdiction over all waterways; currently, they only have jurisdiction over navigable waterways. Graves feared that this change would mean that the EPA could regulate runoff from farms. "That would be a huge infringement on property rights," he said.



Addressing rumors that the BRO Program, which has funded 15 new bridges in the county, would be dropped, Graves said that it was part of the Transportation Bill; he explained that transportation bills are authorized every six years and that it would not be up for renewal for another 18 months. The administration can ask for an extension, which they have in this case. In other words, he said that nothing was written in stone regarding the BRO Program.



Asked for his thoughts on the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio stations to give equal time to differing points of view, Graves said that it was "basic business sense" for outlets to put what people wanted on the air.



Talking about Social Security, Graves said that it was in "a lot of trouble" and that the administration had already announced that there would be no cost of living increase for next year despite the fact that prices were still going up.



Graves said that in order for the administration's agenda to pass, it would have to be done this year. "Bills like this have to get done this year, because they would never pass in an election year," he said. He said that the problem was that "we are always told that we have to support this or that bailout or it will be the end of the world." By contrast, Graves said that the economy comes and goes in cycles and that it would have recovered without all of the government bailouts that he said added to an already massive deficit. "I voted against President Bush's bailout last year, the GM bailout, the stimulus bill, and the spending bill," he said. "The economy will recover regardless of what the government does, but the goverment can prolong a recession by passing more taxes." By contrast, Graves said that the proper way to stimulate an economy was to cut taxes "or at least don't increase taxes." He said that as opposed to passing "Speaker Pelosi's baby" of stimulus bills, "Let's give the people more money thru tax cuts so that they can stimulate the economy themselves."



The problem according to Graves was that "bad legislation is easy to pass but hard to get rid of." For instance, he said that the Healthcare Bill was written by Chairman Henry Waxman's staff and HHS staff and consisted of what he called "regurgitated ideas" from the failed health care reform efforts of 1993. And he said that the Stimulus Bill was originally considered to be an infrastructure bill but that only 3% or so of the funds were actually devoted to that.



Asked a question about the Guantanamo detainees, he said that that "they can rot in Guantanamo as far as I'm concerned." He explained that he had read the intelligence reports on them for three hours after getting the necessary clearances and "it takes a whole week to get over what these folks were capable of." Graves said that terrorists only needed to be right one time and we needed to be right all the time in combatting terrorism. "We weren't thinking ahead before 9/11," he said. Graves said he wasn't buying the argument that America's interrogation policies had hurt our standing in the world. "People gripe about us, but we're the first country they turn to when they need help," he said. "And I do not want the UN coming in and telling us what we have to do with ourselves."



Graves said that he was more excited by the "tax revolts" than he had been by anything in a long time. He said that part of the reason that people were fed up was because the government was "overreaching on simple little stuff" and coming up with "goofy ideas." For instance, he said that the Cap and Trade bill included a tax per head on cattle, which he said that Chairman Henry Waxman was preparing to slip in at some point.

Regarding ethanol, Graves said that he was continuing to fight for more ethanol standards, which he said that Big Oil was trying to block. "A blend of 50% soy/diesel is 50% out of their market share," he said. He called arguments that ethanol was not clean "ridiculous" and that pushing to end our dependence on foreign oil through ethanol was a "win-win." He said that the CBO has debunked one of the main arguments against ethanol, that it would raise the price of food. Graves said that as an example of the kind of ridiculous arguments he heard against ethanol, the Kansas City Star did an article about how ethanol was going to raise the price of popcorn at movies.

Addressing No Child Left Behind, Graves said that it was currently in limbo because "nobody wants to act on it." It was supposed to be reauthorized last year; however, it never was. He said he would like to see three things changed. The first was that it should differentiate between schools that miss one or two criteria and schools that miss all 13. Currently, a school that misses one criteria narrowly is treated as failing, just like schools that miss all 13. The second idea that Graves said he wanted to see was for children on IEP's to be removed from No Child Left Behind standards; he said that the goals of the IEP program and No Child Left Behind were in conflict with each other. The third thing that Graves said needed to be changed was that No Child Left Behind should measure students as they progress through school, not measure last year's fourth grade against this year's fourth grade. He said that "there is a big difference between one fourth grade class and the next" and that the law of averages might work in bigger schools, but that it doesn't in smaller schools.

On the flip side, Graves said that vouchers were not a solution for failing schools because he said that would take away what made private schools unique. He said that once the government started funding private schools like they do public schools, they would start making regulations for them like they currently do public schools. "A lot of public schools are just as good as private schools," he said.