Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A jog around the blogs:

Bore Patch on the Massachusetts senate race:
Anyone who believes that the Democratic Party is the "party of the little guy" today is stuck in 1972.

Scooteroi on the Green Shoots of Recovery:
As a small business owner, not only am I considering getting out of certain businesses and limiting the scale of others, I have scaled plans for a new business way down and delayed executing those plans until I can get a better feel for what the Masters of Disaster in Washington D.C. are going to stick up my backside. Circling the wagons is the smart move when the arrows start flying.

10 comments:

Matt G said...

"Anyone who believes that the Democratic Party is the "party of the little guy" today is stuck in 1972."

It is still the Party Of The Little Guy, if by "little guy," you mean a tax-consumer rather than a taxpayer.

Stranger said...

The average "tax consumer" takes home a lot more money - and gets a lot more consideration - than the average small businessman.

At the moment, my profit for 2009 looks like 0.7% of investment. Even the Regime's scheme to seize 401-k's and IRA's will pay better than that.

So, like Scooteroi, I have dropped lines, stopped developing lines, stopped long term orders, and gone into "depression mode."

Stock a week/month's supply of popular items and let the rest go. Pay cash for the discount. No credit when a account goes past due date. Etc., etc..

And made plans to do a "Cheshire Cat," when it becomes necessary.

Stranger

Anonymous said...

You try to explain the absolute necessity for proit in a business to a dedicated Liberal, and you'll get a more intelligent response from a Pet Rock.

I've even descended to the uber-simplicity of asking if that Lib had walking-around money for milkshakes and movies, left over after all bills were paid. When I'd explain that such money was that individual's profit on his labors, the common response was, "Huh?"

Looks like these are the people making the laws and regulations which affect small business. Their perspicacity is underwhelming.

Art

John B said...

I was with the SEIU back in the early days after 9-11.
At one point, politics making strange bedfellows,
I found myself marching in a peace rally with
The Peace and Justice Action League.
My fellow marcher and wing woman was a classic Hippy.
She would not have looked out of place teaching Head Start in 1969.
She bemoaned the fact that we kept voting in the wrong politicians.
If we could just vote in the right politicians......
I had to set her right. Not as a right-wing slobbering gun psycho,
But as someone who had taken college logic classes.
And as someone who had worked at a customer call center.

Darling woman, you defined the problem, and ignored it at the same time.
The problem isn't voting for the wrong politician....
The problem isn't voting for the right politician....
The problem is voting for the politician....
STOP voting for the politician....

Jay G said...

That Borepatch is one wicked smaht bahstid, ain't he?

He must have one sharp blogfather, that's for sure... ;)

Bram said...

Big businesses are circling the wagons too. There is so much uncertainty on regulations, taxes, energy costs, etc., they aren't investing big money on growth.

Profits look good on Wall Street because everyone has slowed down investing in expansion, R&D, and payroll.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

I don't think the Democratic Party was ever the party of the little guy, unless by "party of the little guy" they meant "party of your betters who know what's good for you stupid proles".

They can say what they will about Republicans being the party of big business, but at least till the last generation or so, big business and all the jobs and wealth it created were actually good for the so-called "little guy".

NotClauswitz said...

My friend the CEO in MA is in the process of moving his company to another state. Jobs elsewhere!

joe said...

It's a great time to be debt-free. I work for a small business. The owner boot-strapped it into existence 26 or years ago. He's NEVER used debt in the business. It's amazing how little disruption the "bad economy" has caused him.

markm said...

Joe: That only helps so much when your customers either cut their orders in half or go into Chapter 11 leaving you waiting for payment of what you already shipped to them. Then the supplier of one critical part needed to meet the orders you still have padlocks the doors...

We're fortunate enough to have private owners with deep pockets and long term plans, so the little factory where I work is in better shape than any other contract electronics manufacturer in the USA that I know of. E.g., I'm immersed 50 hours a week in finishing the design of a new product line right now - acquired from the bankruptcy of a former customer. But the cash flow situation has forced deep layoffs, and at the same time there's more work than ever for the purchasers trying to locate new sources for many parts (and I keep getting interrupted to read data sheets and determine whether Y is really a suitable substitute for X).