Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Lloyd Chapman: Dear President Obama, You Lied to Me
I endorsed you during the primary; you even put my endorsement on the front page of your campaign website. I donated thousands of dollars to your campaign, and I got up at 4:30 a.m. day-after-day doing radio shows coast-to-coast campaigning for you on both progressive and conservative radio shows.
Like millions of Americans, I was so thrilled at what I thought was the first President in my lifetime that would truly represent all of the American people.
I am a passionate and successful advocate for small businesses. I have been suing the federal government and winning lawsuits on behalf of small business for twenty years. I fight the government year-after-year to stop what 99 percent of all Americans would certainly agree is a deplorable and unbelievably damaging government policy of giving small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
In Report 5-15, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of government small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
On February 22, 2008, you responded to a series of federal investigations on the topic and released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
The next thing I knew, you changed your campaign website to make it look like you never made that statement. What happened? (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/sbhome/)
This is not gun control, gay marriage, abortion or Middle East policy. It's FORTUNE 500 FIRMS GETTING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTS.
Now, it's your 100th day in office. You have come out with numerous small business rescue plans and stimulus plans, and yet today small businesses in all 50 states are still having to compete with "corporate giants" for even the most minuscule government small business contracts for goods and services.
I know you're busy, but you might want to take a look at the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. Firms with less than 100 employees create over 97 percent of all new jobs in America, and employ over 50.2 percent of our nation's private sector workforce.
Aren't you the guy that is supposed to create millions of new jobs in America? How do you expect to do that if you won't even address the rampant fraud and abuse in existing federal economic stimulus programs for the firms that create 97 percent of ALL NEW JOBS. That's right, 97 percent.
Barack, listen to me, if you don't get this economy turned around you're not going to get re-elected.
The way I see it, you can take care of this the easy way or the hard way. You can be a big hero to the middle class, and do something that will really stimulate the economy. If you continue to ignore the issue until the next major federal investigation, or the next major media story, it's going to be tough to explain why Fortune 500 firms are getting federal small business contracts during a recession, or worse, a depression.
That could really put a major kink in your "change we can believe in" and "an end to business as usual in Washington" mantra.
Since 2003, there have been over 15 federal investigations into this issue and hundreds of stories in the mainstream media. I can promise you this is not going to stop. More embarrassing investigations and stories are a certainty. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
I can also promise you I'm not going away. You told us to hold you accountable, and I promise you that is just what I am going to do. You know how much trouble I can cause with my barrage of freedom of information requests and my unrelenting legal campaign. Entrepreneur magazine said I might be a "modern-day Cesar Chavez" for small business. That should concern you; we all know how much trouble he caused for the "corporate giants."
Do the right thing Barack; do something that you can look back on twenty years from now and be proud of. Do what you said you would do. After all, you were absolutely right during the campaign when you said, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."
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Like millions of Americans, I was so thrilled at what I thought was the first President in my lifetime that would truly represent all of the American people.
I am a passionate and successful advocate for small businesses. I have been suing the federal government and winning lawsuits on behalf of small business for twenty years. I fight the government year-after-year to stop what 99 percent of all Americans would certainly agree is a deplorable and unbelievably damaging government policy of giving small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
In Report 5-15, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of government small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
On February 22, 2008, you responded to a series of federal investigations on the topic and released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
The next thing I knew, you changed your campaign website to make it look like you never made that statement. What happened? (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/sbhome/)
This is not gun control, gay marriage, abortion or Middle East policy. It's FORTUNE 500 FIRMS GETTING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTS.
Now, it's your 100th day in office. You have come out with numerous small business rescue plans and stimulus plans, and yet today small businesses in all 50 states are still having to compete with "corporate giants" for even the most minuscule government small business contracts for goods and services.
I know you're busy, but you might want to take a look at the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. Firms with less than 100 employees create over 97 percent of all new jobs in America, and employ over 50.2 percent of our nation's private sector workforce.
Aren't you the guy that is supposed to create millions of new jobs in America? How do you expect to do that if you won't even address the rampant fraud and abuse in existing federal economic stimulus programs for the firms that create 97 percent of ALL NEW JOBS. That's right, 97 percent.
Barack, listen to me, if you don't get this economy turned around you're not going to get re-elected.
The way I see it, you can take care of this the easy way or the hard way. You can be a big hero to the middle class, and do something that will really stimulate the economy. If you continue to ignore the issue until the next major federal investigation, or the next major media story, it's going to be tough to explain why Fortune 500 firms are getting federal small business contracts during a recession, or worse, a depression.
That could really put a major kink in your "change we can believe in" and "an end to business as usual in Washington" mantra.
Since 2003, there have been over 15 federal investigations into this issue and hundreds of stories in the mainstream media. I can promise you this is not going to stop. More embarrassing investigations and stories are a certainty. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
I can also promise you I'm not going away. You told us to hold you accountable, and I promise you that is just what I am going to do. You know how much trouble I can cause with my barrage of freedom of information requests and my unrelenting legal campaign. Entrepreneur magazine said I might be a "modern-day Cesar Chavez" for small business. That should concern you; we all know how much trouble he caused for the "corporate giants."
Do the right thing Barack; do something that you can look back on twenty years from now and be proud of. Do what you said you would do. After all, you were absolutely right during the campaign when you said, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."
-###-
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Obama Alienates Core Constituents in First 100 Days
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - Without the support of women, minorities and small business owners across the nation, President Obama would still be Senator Obama.
After just 100 days in office, President Obama has managed to alienate a multitude of his staunchest supporters by going back on key campaign promises and ignoring some of their most important issues.
Beginning in 2003, a consistent flow of federal investigations have been released that found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts were intentionally diverted to Fortune 500 firms. Several investigations uncovered cases of blatant fraud. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15, which referred to the rampant fraud and abuse as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today..."
During his campaign for President, Barack Obama acknowledged the magnitude of the problem and released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."
To date, President Obama has consistently refused to propose any policy or legislation to address the problem. As a result, during the first 100 days of his administration, middle class firms across America have lost approximately $28.8 billion in federal small business contracts to "corporate giants." That number will top $100 billion by the end of President Obama's first year in office.
During the campaign, President Obama promised women business owners he would fully implement the federal law establishing a 5 percent woman-owned business set-aside federal contracting goal. To date, he has failed to do so, and there is no indication he has any plans to establish the program. Woman-owned firms continue to lose billions of dollars every month in federal contracts eight years after the program was signed into law.
When Barack Obama's victory over John McCain in the Presidential election was announced, millions of African Americans were moved to tears. They cried tears of joy with the belief that decades of racial discrimination would finally be over.
Today, minority business owners watch in stunned disbelief as the first African American President and Attorney General allow the Defense Department to completely dismantle federal economic stimulus programs to direct just 5 percent of federal contracts to minority-owned firms. Thousands of minority-owned businesses around the country will be forced to close their doors.
Based on the actions of his first 100 days in office, America's first African American President may be the first President in history to dismantle federal economic stimulus programs designed to create jobs for women, minorities and thousands of other small businesses.
-###-
April 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - Without the support of women, minorities and small business owners across the nation, President Obama would still be Senator Obama.
After just 100 days in office, President Obama has managed to alienate a multitude of his staunchest supporters by going back on key campaign promises and ignoring some of their most important issues.
Beginning in 2003, a consistent flow of federal investigations have been released that found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts were intentionally diverted to Fortune 500 firms. Several investigations uncovered cases of blatant fraud. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15, which referred to the rampant fraud and abuse as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today..."
During his campaign for President, Barack Obama acknowledged the magnitude of the problem and released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."
To date, President Obama has consistently refused to propose any policy or legislation to address the problem. As a result, during the first 100 days of his administration, middle class firms across America have lost approximately $28.8 billion in federal small business contracts to "corporate giants." That number will top $100 billion by the end of President Obama's first year in office.
During the campaign, President Obama promised women business owners he would fully implement the federal law establishing a 5 percent woman-owned business set-aside federal contracting goal. To date, he has failed to do so, and there is no indication he has any plans to establish the program. Woman-owned firms continue to lose billions of dollars every month in federal contracts eight years after the program was signed into law.
When Barack Obama's victory over John McCain in the Presidential election was announced, millions of African Americans were moved to tears. They cried tears of joy with the belief that decades of racial discrimination would finally be over.
Today, minority business owners watch in stunned disbelief as the first African American President and Attorney General allow the Defense Department to completely dismantle federal economic stimulus programs to direct just 5 percent of federal contracts to minority-owned firms. Thousands of minority-owned businesses around the country will be forced to close their doors.
Based on the actions of his first 100 days in office, America's first African American President may be the first President in history to dismantle federal economic stimulus programs designed to create jobs for women, minorities and thousands of other small businesses.
-###-
Monday, April 27, 2009
Obama Continuing Bush Anti-Small Business Policies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - President Barack Obama has outraged small business owners across the country by continuing Bush Administration policies that divert federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have been released, which found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts have actually wound up in the hands of some of the largest firms in the United States and Europe. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In 2005, the SBA's own Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
The nation's largest newspapers have all covered the story along with major television networks such as ABC, CBS and CNN. (ABC, http://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv; CBS, http://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv; CNN, http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)
In February of 2008, during the Presidential campaign, President Obama promised to end the abuses when he released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
To date, President Obama has consistantly refused to propose any policies or legislation to address the issue. President Obama refused to include any solutions to the issue in any of his small business rescue and stimulus plans. Since President Obama has taken office, approximately $2 billion a week in federal small business contracts have gone to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/BOsmallbusinesspolicy.pdf)
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics 98 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees. These firms employ over 50.4 percent of the private sector workforce and create over 97 percent of all new jobs in America. President Obama promised to create millions of new jobs in America, but so far, the small businesses that create the lion's share of new jobs have not seen one dime of federal stimulus funds under any of President Obama's stimulus plans.
Now, in addition to being shut out of all federal stimulus funds, small businesses are losing billions of dollars in federal small business contracts every month. President Obama has consistently refused to make good on his February 2008 campaign promise to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.
Small business owners and advocates are disappointed and angered that President Obama has decided to continue the Bush Administration's anti-small business policies. Even in the face of the highest national unemployment statistics in 26 years, President Obama is still refusing to make good on his most important campaign promise to America's 27 million small businesses.
-###-
April 27, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - President Barack Obama has outraged small business owners across the country by continuing Bush Administration policies that divert federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have been released, which found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts have actually wound up in the hands of some of the largest firms in the United States and Europe. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In 2005, the SBA's own Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
The nation's largest newspapers have all covered the story along with major television networks such as ABC, CBS and CNN. (ABC, http://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv; CBS, http://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv; CNN, http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)
In February of 2008, during the Presidential campaign, President Obama promised to end the abuses when he released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
To date, President Obama has consistantly refused to propose any policies or legislation to address the issue. President Obama refused to include any solutions to the issue in any of his small business rescue and stimulus plans. Since President Obama has taken office, approximately $2 billion a week in federal small business contracts have gone to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/BOsmallbusinesspolicy.pdf)
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics 98 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees. These firms employ over 50.4 percent of the private sector workforce and create over 97 percent of all new jobs in America. President Obama promised to create millions of new jobs in America, but so far, the small businesses that create the lion's share of new jobs have not seen one dime of federal stimulus funds under any of President Obama's stimulus plans.
Now, in addition to being shut out of all federal stimulus funds, small businesses are losing billions of dollars in federal small business contracts every month. President Obama has consistently refused to make good on his February 2008 campaign promise to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.
Small business owners and advocates are disappointed and angered that President Obama has decided to continue the Bush Administration's anti-small business policies. Even in the face of the highest national unemployment statistics in 26 years, President Obama is still refusing to make good on his most important campaign promise to America's 27 million small businesses.
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