Knitting a Prayer Shawl
I received a call early this morning from one of the ladies in my knitting circle. We get together twice a month to knit prayer shawls for those in need and baby hats for a local hospital. “Casey,” this nice woman says, “I’ve gotten a number of calls from people. They’re worried about missing the inauguration activities on television. I told them Casey would turn on the T.V. Is that right?” I assured her that I would turn on the T.V. and the ladies didn’t need to miss a thing while they knit. (It is going to take some interesting room arrangement in the small living room.)
It is an historic moment. You can almost hear the world pause and take a deep breath. There’s no mistake about it, Mr. Obama has a huge task in front of him.
One of the women entrepreneurs that I spoke with before the election was concerned that Democrats would be bad for small business. Her concern was that small businesses usually wind up paying for all the initiatives, like health care, that the Democrats want to provide. In their plan for small business, the then candidates Obama and Biden said this:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden understand that the skyrocketing cost of healthcare poses a serious competitive threat to America’s small businesses. Small businesses are the drivers of job growth in our economy, creating, on average, more than two-thirds of net new jobs each year. Yet small business owners face unique challenges in providing health care to their employees, including higher administrative costs, lower bargaining power, greater price volatility and fewer pooling options. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will reduce the burden on small businesses in our economy by offering a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide quality health care to their employees. The Obama Small Business Health Tax Credit will provide a refundable credit of up to 50 percent on premiums paid by small businesses on behalf of their employees.
It is a pretty clear statement. The problem is that in Washington, things don’t always remain clear. So we, as small business owners, will need to hold our new president to his words. Words about health care, help for small businesses and the extra support that Mr. Obama promised to women business owners in that same plan for small business
Invest in Women-Owned Small Businesses:Women are majority owners of more than 28 percent of U.S. businesses, but lead less than 4 percent of venture capital-backed firms. Women business owners are more likely than white male business owners to have their loan applications denied. Barack Obama and Joe Biden encourage investment in women-owned businesses, providing more support to women business owners and reducing discrimination in lending. To create greater opportunities for women business owners who would like to do business with the federal government, Obama and Biden will implement the Women Owned Business contracting program that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, but has yet to be implemented by the Bush Administration.
Let’s celebrate tomorrow and do our part to promote and support the cause of women entrepreneurs all over the country, and beyond.
