Small business faces big problems–and the Chamber’s not helping

Small business beware, your larger cousin, big-business has dropped their
arrows, washed off their war paint and even shot their horses (presumably
for food since there will be a long cold winter ahead).

Recent media reports suggest that business and industry in California are no
longer going to put up a fight against union demands that hurt our overall
economy and end up costing jobs.

Bill Dombrowski is the President and CEO of the California Retailers
Association. He recently told the Orange County Register that the governor’s
proposal to increase the minimum wage in the state by $1 an hour is, “a good
move.”

The last thing small business needs is increased pressure from government
imposed wage increases coupled with the workers compensation costs that go
side-by side. This will cripple some small to medium sized businesses.
It was a curious thing to me why big-retail would sell themselves short
(government imposed wage hikes hurt their bottom lines too).

The governor’s proposal solidifies to me that he has worn out his welcome in
the GOP. By allowing the unions to pressure him into Eastern Block-style
wage policies, he has proven he cannot be relied upon to veto even the worst
of the worst, the black and white, good versus evil policy proposals.

In another sign that business has given up, the California Chamber of
Commerce and Business Roundtable have publicly stated that they would not
support another Proposition 75-type ballot initiative that would limit
public employee unions from raiding the pockets of their membership for
political purposes. They said, “It would be counterproductive to solving
the state’s problems