Small entities — including small businesses, small and local governments and small non- profits — saved $7 billion in first-year costs and $745 million in annual recurring expenses, thanks to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy in its role as enforcer of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Reg Flex). That’s the big take-away in the Obama Administration’s [...]

The Obama Administration seems to be playing its own rather peculiar game with the nation’s small businesses, one that might best be described as I give with one hand and take away with the other. So, while Administration officials have been singing the praises of small businesses and describing the Presidents pro-small business proposals, there [...]

Judging from this week’s news, you have to ask yourself if our nation’s leaders will, without possessing the vestige of a clue, end up destroying what they have not the wit to appreciate.

I’m talking about those proposed rules targeting firms and individuals (but mostly firms) that hire independent contractors.

Now, although this proposal is said to be a part of the President’s budget (and it is), it was actually proposed jointly by the Departments of Labor and the Treasury, and their respective Secretaries, Hilda Solis and Tim Geithner. They illustrate that mid-20th century political philosophies also are a poor fit for the way microbusinesses do business.

Over the past week, the talk on Capitol Hill took a welcome detour for those of us who would like to hear about something besides health care reform because, last week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released what has been called a “discussion draft” of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2009 [...]

Last week, the SBA Office of Advocacy released its report on Regulatory Flexibility Act enforcement and compliance for fiscal 2008, the last such report detailing the results achieved under former Chief Counsel Tom Sullivan. The report includes updated information on federal agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and E.O. 13272, agency compliance with [...]

The SBA Office of Advocacy announced last week that it had received thirty-eight nominations of burdensome regulations during the second round of its Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative. That’s quite a drop from the first round, during which there were 83 nominations - more than double this year’s turnout. That almost certainly had to [...]

File this one under “studies in government being effective.” Last year, the SBA Office of Advocacy decided to light a fire under federal regulators on the matter of compliance with Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act — the part that requires them to take out the rules occasionally, dust them off and examine them [...]

The House Small Business Committee was busy just before the August recess, holding hearings on issues such as access to health insurance and the need for additional economic stimulus measures for small businesses. Another item that came under review during a subcommittee hearing late last month was the perpetual issue of regulatory burdens imposed on [...]

The reason why it is so difficult for government and small businesses to deal with each other in any context seems to be that very few in the government understand how small businesses operate. The only people who seem receptive to this message are folks who already know it.

Just as too many lawmakers appear to believe they are doing enough for the economy by crafting policy focused on large businesses, so too many federal bureaucrats believe they can treat all businesses like they treat large businesses, without ill effects.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a business alert to remind relevant firms that its Red Flag Rules will go into effect on November 1, 2008, and compliance is required as of that date. The relevant firms in question are financial institutions, which will not include any microbusinesses, and “creditors” — any firm that [...]