Friday, May 14, 2010

Michael Bennet Why Have You Forsaken Us?

An Open Letter to Michael Bennet: Has Michael Bennet forsaken us? Does he say one thing in his political ads here in Colorado but do something different in Washington? You be the judge.

Michael Bennet has been telling us (ad nauseum due to his war chest)that he supports small business and that small business will "drag us out of this great recession". Aside from whether this is a "great" recession, I happen to agree with Mr. Bennet. I agree, and all the statistics suggest, that most, if not all, job growth and job creation comes from small business.

The curious thing is though, if Mr. Bennet believes in small business, why does he vote every time against small business and the owners and founders of small businesses? I don't know the answer, but I would like Mr. Bennet to tell us.

Skeptical of whether Michael Bennet's positions? Me too. So let's look at a few examples.

1. Card Check. This is generally accepted as the worst jobs killing bill ever considered in the U.S. Congress. If Mr. Bennet is a champion of small business, why would he support a bill that eliminates jobs by the thousands, especially jobs for minorities and women?

2. 2010-2011 Estate Tax Changes. Nothing destroys small businesses faster than when the business has to be closed and liquidated to pay federal death taxes. Starting on January 1, 2011, the largest estate tax increase in American history goes into effect. Now when an owner of a small business dies, if her estate exceeds $1 million, counting everything, including life insurance, home, savings and the business, the business is gone just to pay this onerous tax. Mr. Bennet's position? He seems to favor this result because he has done nothing to prevent this from occurring. This is one of the more racist and sexist laws we have because it penalizes people on the lower end of the wealth spectrum. Shouldn't Mr. Bennet favor an estate tax structure that makes it easier for people to keep their small businesses? I think so.

There are numerous other examples that I won't go into here. So I ask the question that I started with. Shouldn't we expect our politicians to do in Washington what they promise us here? Michael Bennet, why have you forsaken us?

Bernie Greenberg

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