Small businesses create most of the nation's new jobs and employ about half of the nation's private-sector work force. During these past two recessions, it was firms that employed less than 20 employees that were the only ones with positive net job growth according to the SBA. The Adirondack economy, filled with small enterprises, is in a prime position to take advantage of what is being hailed as the new "entrepreneurial economy." In the small business nature of our economy, just a few changes can be the difference between job growth and bankruptcy. There is no one issue that is responsible for our economic dilemma and there is no silver bullet that will solve our problems. What follows are suggestions to consider that I hope will provoke ideas and a subsequent call to action.
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Federal level
There are macro issues related to tax policies, reform, health insurance, government spending and others that, if not addressed in a manner that spurs small business, the following suggestions will not make an impact. Two others of significance include the alternative minimum tax and new regulations ranging from homeland security to finance that could have deep ramifications on small business. I would like to focus on several ideas that I would hope would not require an act of Congress, and not necessarily require new spending.
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A federal ombudsman office in the Adirondacks
Currently, the SBA, U.S. Department of Commerce (and the new office of Entrepreneurship), HUD, USDA and other organizations are outside the Park in metropolitan areas. They would have deeper understanding of the Park's "scale" and would be more accessible to our small businesses if there was a federal small business office in the Adirondacks.
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Streamlining of federal programs
There is a great deal of overlap in federal programs, such as SBA, HUD, Rural Development Administration and the new Office of Entrepreneurship and others, as related to small business assistance, and that makes it difficult for a small business to determine what agency and what programs are available for their individual needs. These duplicate programs can be eliminated or consolidated.
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Changes in eligibility requirements
We are a poor region by any standards, but due to seasonal homes and other factors we often do not qualify as "distressed." The "distress" criteria used by the federal government often has an urban bias and needs to be changed - or a different designation developed for rural populations.
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Training for the unemployed
There is also an interesting Scandinavian model related to the unemployed where they have created a program to educate and train based on emerging industries.
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A federal alliance of protected areas
Rural populations struggle enough to get their voices heard and the situation is even worse for protected areas. Perhaps there should be a closer network of all environmentally sensitive areas in the U.S., such as an association to create a more effective voting bloc. The Northern Forest Alliance, a cooperative effort among the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, is a fine example of working together and perhaps this group could work side by side with other groups.
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New York state
Again, if macro issues are not addressed related to taxes, regulation and an antiquated local government system, the following will not matter.
-Forty-four out of New York State's 60-plus counties are designated rural. Would it not make sense to create New York City as a district?
-Perhaps we should create a closer working relationship with the Catskills and other environmentally sensitive areas in the state to form an economic and voting bloc. The NYS Rural Services and other existing efforts may be a start.
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Adirondack Park - a unified park
-Create a true Adirondack Park that has environmental, community and economic boundaries - a truly cohesive habitat, a unique brand. It is a Park and needs a manager from a regulatory perspective, with all state regulatory agencies including DEC, DOT, DOH and building codes. On the economic side we need to consolidate state tourism, economic development and other business development organizations to create Park-wide initiatives related to marketing, business development and branding. Both positions need to report to the governor to create a balanced scale when considering Park issues.
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Adirondack Park Sustainable Fund
At a minimum, we need to create a $100 million self-perpetuating Adirondack Investment Fund. Where would this money come from? Much of it could come from redirecting current and proposed programs such as Empire State Development, the Governor's Excelsior program and state allocations for community development such as housing that it already receives from the federal government. Increase the 5-cent recycling fee to create a special "Sustain the Park Fund." The Fund would be invested and require matching funds from other sources such as private-sector matching funds. Fees generated by the Fund would pay for staffing, and it would operate with incentives like a socially responsible community investment fund. There are numerous models across the country we could emulate. A big ticket item to create - it is probably not big enough. On the other hand, think of the "scale" allocated to preservation, regulatory compliance and land purchases over the last 10 years in the Park.
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Adirondack Park Agency
In terms of the APA, the Act was written in the late 1960s and early '70s at a time when corporate America reigned supreme. Thus, when it comes to economic development, terminology in the Act worried about big industrial companies. Thus, small business projects that are benign in terms of the environmental impact are often couched in industrial terms. Reclassifying projects based on "scale" in terms of "self-employed" or "micro-enterprise" or "small business" may be helpful. There are already federal and state definitions for the "scale" of these businesses.
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