Weekly Update of Happenings & Business Tips for Chamber Members June 24, 2009
“Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing.” --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Chamber Member Good News

• Congratulations to the Norwich office of M&T Bank for recently being selected for the greatest household growth award for 2008. M&T was also awarded for being ranked 3rd out of over 800 branches for their “Bank at Work” new accounts opened on sight at area businesses. Jessica Lowe was also honored for her teller referrals for 2008. Congratulations to Terry Slater and her team!
  
• Good luck to AIM Fitness as they undertake their 1st Fitness Day for Charity. All proceeds from the event will help to support Catholic Charities of Chenango County and the SPCA. Activities are scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on July 26th at Weiler Park. To help support this charity event call 336-9011 or visit their website at www.aimfitness.biz.
  
• Your good news could be here!

New Taxes on Oil and Gas Industry Would Hurt Economy
The U.S. Chamber's Karen Harbert says the energy bill passed out of a Senate committee is a positive step towards creating energy security and jobs while improving the environment.

Imposing more than $80 billion in new taxes and fees on America's oil and gas industry to fund a significant increase in government spending would "actually make the nation more dependent on foreign oil, raise consumer costs, and result in fewer jobs," according to a new report by the U.S. Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy.

The report, Taxing Our Way to Energy Insecurity Again, reviews the impact of a windfall profits tax that was implemented in the 1980s. According to the Congressional Research Service, those tax increases led to as much as an 8% decline in domestic production and a 13% increase in oil imports. The taxes were repealed in 1988.

"Taxes, especially those that target one industry, are a deterrent to economic growth here at home," says Karen Harbert, the Institute's president and CEO. "Rather than taking up failed policies of the past and making it tougher and more expensive for companies to produce American energy, the administration and Congress should support efforts to tap America's abundant energy resources."

Separately, the Institute was encouraged by the approval of a comprehensive energy bill by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 17. "This is not a perfect bill, but overall this legislation is a positive step," says Harbert. "It offers the chance to increase our energy security, create American jobs, and continue to improve the environment."

The bill calls for an inventory of Outer Continental Shelf energy resources and would allow drilling within 45 miles of Florida's Gulf coast. It would authorize the federal government to override state objections to expanding electricity transmission lines. And it would establish a clean energy bank to encourage substantial investments in nuclear and renewable energy technologies.

However, the U.S. Chamber is concerned that the bill does not include oil and gas revenue sharing for states, contains a renewable electricity mandate that excludes some resources, like nuclear, and fails to recognize significant regional differences across the country. Read the report.

Travel and Tourism Can Help Spur Recovery
(Information provided by Tom Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Hundreds of cities and tens of thousands of small businesses depend on travel and tourism for their very survival. In fact, travel and tourism is a $740 billion industry that employs 7.5 million people. It's been hard hit by the economic recession.
 
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the number of international visitors who traveled to the United States in January 2009 fell 9% from the previous year. This is a real loss--the international traveler spends on average about $4,500 each time he or she enters the United States. In addition, congestion, crumbling infrastructure, and airport delays are discouraging domestic travel.

One thing that can be done to stimulate the economy is to promote the vital travel and tourism industry. We can start by making America a more inviting place for international travelers to visit and conduct business. Passage of the Travel Promotion Act would be a huge step in the right direction. It would do two things.

First, it would create a private-public partnership--without any U.S. taxpayer funds--to promote the United States as a travel destination abroad. Most other countries already have nationally coordinated promotion efforts. Oxford Economics estimates that a well-executed program would attract 1.6 million new international visitors annually. This means more U.S. jobs.

Second, the Travel Promotion Act would help communicate changes in U.S. travel policies to alleviate much of the confusion and inconvenience sometimes associated with traveling to the United States, especially regarding new and intrusive security requirements that create the perception that foreign visitors are not welcome.

In addition to attracting international visitors, we need to remove impediments that make it difficult for our own citizens to travel within our borders. Highway congestion, airport delays, and other inconveniences are increasingly causing many Americans to rethink travel plans. If we invest in a modernized infrastructure, we could create jobs during the recession as well as encourage more domestic travel when times are better.

Attracting visitors to our country is a lot like attracting capital--they go where they feel welcome, safe, and can get their money's worth. We want the United States to be the travel destination of the world, while making it easier for our citizens to get from point A to point B. Passage of the Travel Promotion Act would help achieve this at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.

Communication Seminar Offered
Effective communication is considered one of the most critical aspects of any successful organization. This seminar will help participants learn to comprehend the communication process, communication techniques for greater effectiveness, guided practice in proper grammar and punctuation usage and a variety of other skill sets and tools. Sponsored by Chenango County JSEC, Morrisville State College, Norwich Campus, CDO Workforce NY Career Center and Commerce Chenango, the seminar is scheduled to take place on July 22nd beginning at 8:30 a.m. For more information or to register call 334-2201 x 120.

Chamber Staff to attend NYS Small Business Task Force meeting 
Chamber staff will be attending a forum on June 30, 2009, to voice business concerns to the Assembly Minority Task Force on Small Business in New York State. The discussion will focus on government policies that impede small business development and proposals that would remove those roadblocks and otherwise foster growth in New York State.

If you have issues or concerns that you would like to make the task force aware of, please contact Maureen Carpenter, President & CEO, Commerce Chenango, at 334-1404, prior to the 30th.

Chamber Offices Closed
The Chamber offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd and Tuesday, July 4th to celebrate our nation’s independence. We will re-open on Wednesday @ 8:00 AM. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Save the Date…

July>

July 14, 2009
Business After Hours co-sponsored by Leadership Chenango and the Canasawacta Country Club
Location: The Canasawacta Country Club
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Come mingle with leadership Chenango alumni, sponsors and potential participants and learn more about the program. Reservations required. RSVP to 334-1402 or email rcrandall@chenangony.org.

*Articles provided in the Chamber Memo are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Chamber.*