Saturday, July 25, 2009

Gross Reality's July 22 Show w/ Gary Markle: Empowering Your People to Empower Your Business

On the July 22nd broadcast (below) of "Gross Reality," Steve Gross discussed "Empowering Your People to Empower Your Business" with guest Gary Markle, President of Energage and author of Catalytic Coaching: The End of Performance Review.

Steve Gross is the executive director of Business Builders Team and a founding partner of HLB Gross Collins. His radio show is dedicated to helping businesses grow and maximize efficiency while providing a positive environment for employees and clients alike. Listen live to "Gross Reality" every other Wednesday at 5 pm on America's Web Radio!



Click Here for Show Notes in Word format.

Reading Assignments:

Continuing our countdown to fascist medicine, only trying to be accurate, new tab for bailing out the nation’s banks, more information on government healthcare than you care to know - http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/07/21/

CBO Chief Criticizes Democrats’ Health Reform Measures, by Lori Montgomery - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071602242.html

 

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

America's Web Radio Today @ 5!

Be sure to check out to Steve Gross' Gross Reality radio show LIVE on America's Web Radio today at 5! His one-hour broadcast is designed to help you navigate the increasing hazards of doing business in this new economy.

Today's guest is Gary Markle, President of Energage and author of Catalytic Coaching: The End of Performance Review. Steve and Gary will discuss “Empowering Your People to Empower Your Business."

 

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Gross Reality's July 8th Show w/ Jeff Chernoff: Business Advice from Consumer's Choice Award

On the July 8th broadcast (below) of "Gross Reality," Steve Gross discussed the Business Strategies of the Best of Atlanta with guest Jeff Chernoff, President of Consumer's Choice Award.

Steve Gross is the executive director of Business Builders Team and a founding partner of HLB Gross Collins. His radio show is dedicated to helping businesses and individuals survive and prosper in good & bad economic times. Listen live to "Gross Reality" every other Wednesday at 5 pm on America's Web Radio!



Click Here for Show Notes in Word format.

 

Monday, July 20, 2009

Business Builders Team Seminar on Social Media & Business This Wednesday

Business Builders Team's next Business Seminar is THIS Wednesday, July 22 BBT will feature Tom Lennon, who will show us how to use social media in business to maximize your business' exposure and reach. Learn how other top executives are now making social media a central player in their overall marketing scheme and how to avoid being left behind the world of new media.

Studies show that in this economy, large traditional advertising budgets are going the way of the dinosaur, while online marketing budgets continue to increase. Social Media, with its "velcro" hooks, ease of use, and mostly free features, is gaining tremendous traction in the general population. When harnessed properly, Twitter, Facebook, blogs (Blogger, WordPress), and other sites/services provide companies and individuals with new ways to increase the viral nature of their message while gaining valuable feedback from consumers.

This seminar will be on July 22 at the Terry College of Business' Executive Education Center in Buckhead directly across from Lenox Mall at 3475 Lenox Road, Atlanta, GA. Sign-in and networking 7:30 - 8:00am; speaker until 9:30.

Please email klaconi at grosscollins.com for more information or to reserve your space.

 

Thursday, July 16, 2009

House Democrats' Health Care Plan Flow Chart

This Flow Chart released by the House Minority Leader's Office illustrates the America's Affordable Health Choices Bill of 2009 (HR 3200) introduced on July 14 by House Leaders.

 

House Democrats Unveil Health Care Reform Measure; Markup Set for July 16

© 2009, CCH INCORPORATED. All Rights Reserved. A WoltersKluwer Company

Declaring the end of health insurance insecurity for all Americans, House leaders on July 14 introduced the America's Affordable Health Choices Bill of 2009 (HR 3200), a comprehensive reform bill that would raise approximately $581.1 billion over 10 years, mostly through a progressive tax on upper income individuals. The 1,018-page measure, which will be marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on July 16, is also expected to cut Medicare spending by at least $500 billion.

Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., told reporters that he is hopeful that the final Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the cost savings in the bill will be large enough to reduce the amount of revenue increases on wealthy Americans. A preliminary estimate of Medicare savings based on an earlier draft of the health care bill shows gross savings from the Medicare program of $500 billion over 10 years. The CBO estimate, released on July 8, shows that solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund would be extended by the bill.

Under HR 3200, approximately $544 billion in revenues would be raised through a surtax of 5.4 percent on married individuals with adjusted gross income (AGI) over $1 million beginning in 2011; a 1.5-percent surtax on incomes between $500,000 and $1 million; and a 1-percent surtax on incomes from $350,000 to $500,000. According to a committee explanation, the lowest two tax rates would be increased to 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, if health care cost savings are not achieved by the bill.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said that Congress is on schedule to pass a budget-neutral health care reform bill in 2009. The goal is to pass reform legislation in the House and Senate before the August recess, or the recess will be cancelled, said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Then, lawmakers hope to have a bill on the president's desk by the end of the first session of the 111th Congress, Waxman added. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said leaders are still negotiating for support from the fiscally conservative members of the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. She predicted that the final legislation will have a strong public option plan.

President Obama, in a written statement, said the House proposal will "begin the process of fixing what's broken about our health care system" He noted that the legislation would "lower costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry."

Obama said the public option would make health care more affordable and that increasing competition by offering more choices will keep insurance companies honest. The president praised the three key committees involved in drafting the House bill for their "unprecedented cooperation."

GOP Weighs In

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, immediately criticized the measure, likening it to an unpopular proposal from President Clinton to tax BTUs that passed the House but died in the Senate. "During a deep economic recession, it is criminal malpractice for Democrats to push a government takeover of health care and a new small business tax that will destroy more American jobs," Boehner stated. Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., said the Democrats' plan would interfere with patient care through a massive government takeover of health care. "To pay for this enormous growth of government-run medicine, they seek to ration services for America's seniors on Medicare and levy a massive new tax on American small businesses --our nation's leading engine for job creation," Price said.

Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Fortney Pete Stark, D-Calif., predicted that the reform bill will pass the House with only about six Republican votes. The measure also contains other tax provisions, which have already passed the House with some bipartisan support, including delaying implementation of worldwide allocation of interest (which raises $26.1 billion over 10 years), limiting the use of tax havens to avoid U.S. taxation by foreign multinational corporations ($7.5 billion over 10 years), and clarifying the use of the economic substance doctrine ($3.6 billion over 10 years). The measure also requires that employers with annual payrolls exceeding $250,000 would have to pay a payroll penalty of 2 percent if they do not provide health insurance. Firms with annual payrolls above $400,000 would pay an 8-percent penalty. Some small businesses would be eligible for a new small business tax credit to help them provide coverage for their employees.

According to a preliminary estimate from the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation released late on July 14, passage of the health reform measure would result in a net increase in federal deficits of $1,042 billion for fiscal years 2010 through 2019. According to the estimate, most of the increased deficit comes from $438 billion in additional federal outlays for Medicaid and $773 billion in federal subsidies that would be provided to purchase coverage through the new insurance exchanges. The other main element of the proposal that would increase federal deficits is the tax credit for small employers who offer health insurance, which is estimated to reduce revenues by $53 billion over 10 years, the estimate says.

Senate Reaction

The House plan to raise revenue through a surtax on the wealthy may be a nonstarter in the Senate as several members of the Senate Finance Committee let it be known that the provision had little support among senior lawmakers. "The House is the House. We in the Senate are a different institution," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., when asked whether he could back a surtax on the wealthy. "I might not agree with their revenues in respect to a policy plan but we expect that there will be differences," Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, a well-known moderate on the committee, told reporters following a private meeting with Baucus. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., another member of the Finance Committee, said he did not "see any appetite for it" in the Senate. "I don't think it's very likely," added Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., also a member of the Finance panel.

Senate Democratic leaders are hoping to see health care reform draft legislation by July 16 or July 17, and a markup held the week beginning July 20, according to senior Democratic aides. However, Baucus was unwilling to commit to that deadline. Instead, he promised to have a bill completed before the Senate leaves on August 7 for its summer recess.

Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee plans to hold a final vote on its health care reform bill early on July 15. The panel late on July 13 approved an amendment that would lower drug costs by creating a pathway for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve new competitors for biologic drugs, such as vaccines and cancer drugs.

By Jeff Carlson, Stephen K. Cooper and Paula Cruickshank, CCH News Staff

Big Banks Don't Want California's IOUs

By Ryan Knutson (WSJ)

A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday [July 10], adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap.

Dorothy Cottrill of the state controller's office inspects IOUs last week.

The development is the latest twist in California's struggle to deal with the effects of the recession. After state leaders failed to agree on budget solutions last week, California began issuing IOUs -- or "individual registered warrants" -- to hundreds of thousands of creditors. State Controller John Chiang said that without IOUs, California would run out of cash by July's end.

But now, if California continues to issue the IOUs, creditors will be forced to hold on to them until they mature on Oct. 2, or find other banks to honor them. When the IOUs mature, holders will be paid back directly by the state at an annual 3.75% interest rate. Some banks might also work with creditors to come up with an interim solution, such as extending them a line of credit, said Beth Mills, a California Bankers Association spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, on Monday morning, a budget meeting between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders failed to produce a result. Amid the budget deadlock, Fitch Ratings on Monday dropped California's bond rating to BBB, down from A minus, the latest in a series of ratings downgrades for the state.

The group of banks included Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., among others. The banks had previously committed to accepting state IOUs as payment. California plans to issue more than $3 billion of IOUs in July.

Ms. Mills of the CBA said some banks were concerned that there aren't processes in place to accept IOUs, and also worried about fraud issues. She noted that not all banks have set a July 10 deadline, and that dozens of credit unions in the state will keep accepting IOUs.

Wells Fargo's head of community banking, Lisa Stevens, said: "We're very disappointed, as are many Californians, that California has taken the unfortunate step of issuing IOUs in lieu of payments to some businesses and individuals."

State officials said they were disappointed by the banks' decision. Garin Casaleggio, a spokesman for Mr. Chiang, said: "We don't want anybody to suffer who can't redeem them when they need cash."

Write to Ryan Knutson at ryan.knutson@wsj.com

See Original WSJ Story

Business Builders Team Seminar - Social Media + Business: Don't Get Left Behind

The next Business Builders Team Business Seminar on Wednesday, July 22 will feature Tom Lennon as speaker. He will present how to use social media in business to maximize your exposure and reach. Learn how top execs are making social media a major player in their overall marketing scheme and how to avoid being left behind.

This seminar will be on July 22 at the Terry College of Business' Executive Education Center in Buckhead directly across from Lenox Mall at 3475 Lenox Road, Atlanta, GA. Sign-in and networking 7:30 - 8:00am; speaker until 9:30.

Please email klaconi at grosscollins.com for more information or to reserve your space.

Steve Gross' GROSS REALITY Debuts on America's Web Radio

Steve Gross, founding partner of HLB Gross Collins and executive director of Business Builders Team LLC, debuted his new, hard-hitting talk radio show, "Gross Reality" on June 24. For more about Steve, click here.

Listen live to "Gross Reality" every other Wednesday at 5 pm on America's Web Radio!



Reading Assignments:

Contact your Representative to weigh in on what Washington is doing! The best way is to contact the Georgia delegation in Congress. It is reported that each email or letter is believed by legislators to represent 5,000 voters who feel the same way but have not written.

Link to 111th Congress (January 2009 to January 2010):
http://www.gda-online.org/Georgia%20111th%20Congress%202009.pdf

1. Inside Obama’s First Budget – where that $1.6 trillion deficit is going:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124536826475329427.html

2. Reaganomics vs. Obamanomics – classic contrast in differing strategies to boost economic success:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431484726570949.html

3. Fannie, Freddie asked to relax condo loan rules – here we go again on the Barney Frank mortgage manipulation wagon:
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Housing/idUSTRE55L39120090622

4. Cash for Clunkers deal moves ahead – government deciding to be marketers for autos, as well:
http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS216228605420090619

5. Obama says Second Fiscal Stimulus Bill not needed – generous of him, isn’t it! Will wait to spend more than 1.6 trillion to work next year:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=at6C_WYH2PkY

 

Are You Ready for GROSS REALITY?

Looking for honest discussion of relevant business topics & seasoned guests with a proven track record of navigating challenges? Steve Gross' GROSS REALITY is a radio show dedicated to helping businesses and individuals survive and prosper in good & bad economic times.

Gross Reality is not a show about money. Rather, it is about individual responsibility to define one's life. You can expect a pro-business perspective without being overly political. Listen to proponents of and educators for FREE ENTERPRISE, promoting individual responsibility and freedom within an ethical framework. Learn how to make your life productive, leave a mark, take pride in accomplishments and make a difference.

Listen LIVE every other Wednesday at 5pm on America's Web Radio or check out Steve's archived programs!