In his latest Legislative Update emailed to the populace this winter, Representative Glenn Gruenhagen remains discontent with the state of Minnesota. He writes:
Small businesses were hit hard this past legislative session, and despite the good economic news of late, it seems Minnesota still lags behind other states in many important economic categories.
For instance, we learned last week that Minnesota received a 'dismal' score for entrepreneur-friendly policies. In fact, we're the sixth-worst state in the nation thanks to our high taxes and burdensome regulatory policies.
That terrible news was published in Twin Cities Business Magazine under the headline, MN Gets Dismal Score For Entrepreneur-Friendly Policies on December 12. According to the article, the scoring was done by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE), a group that "bills itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy and research group that promotes small businesses and entrepreneurship."
Maybe not so nonpartisan. Once known as the "Small Business Survival Committee," the group changed its name in 2004, according to a news brief in Triangle Business Journal:
The Small Business Survival Committee is changing its name to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
The Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group says the new name highlights the work it does "to promote and advance policies that are fundamental to risk-taking, investment and business start-up."
The Republican-leaning organization says it also is still committed to protecting small businesses from high taxes and excessive regulation.
According to the SBEC, its key staff are Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO and Raymond J. Keating, Chief Economist. Source Watch reveals that both have been around since the old days of the Small Business Survival Committee (and sister foundation, the SBSF):
In 1997 Karen Kerrigan was president of both the SBSF and the SBSC. [3] Also in 1997 Raymond J. Keating was the chief economist of SBSF. [4], a position he still holds at SBSC. It is unclear if the SBSF is still active.
The earlier iteration of the group appeared to have close ties with the tobacco industry, as well as opposing open source software, if information posted at Source Watch is accurate.
In 2004, Source Watch also noted a historical connection between the Small Business Survival Committee and a once-prominent Minnesota conservative operative:
Darrell McKigney (born ±1966) became in June 2001 president of the Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) when he succeeded Christopher A. Wysocki. [1]
Darrell McKigney served on the staff of a several of Minnesota Congressman like Vin Weber after which he became legislative director for the newly organized Minnesota Family Council (MCF) and co-founded the Taxpayers League of Minnesota and Minnesota Education League.
McKigney has since moved on to gigs as the Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Credit Practices and the Director for Government Affairs for the Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance (LTCPA), his current position in Washington.
The group pushed a model regulatory flexibility bill promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) after ALEC adopted the language in 2002, and joined a 2005 coalition with ALEC and the usual stink tanks and anti-tax groups that sent President Bush a letter: Coalition to Tax Panel: Dump Static Scoring (via Daily Kos).
Not that Glenn is sharing any of that background, or a caveat that his own source reports.
TCB Magazine notes that the group's ranking of the Gopher State differed sharply from "a list Forbes magazine released in September, which ranked Minnesota the eighth-best state for businesses in 2013."
Photo: Glenn Gruenhagen is just unhappy about Minnesota. Representative Gruenhagen has gained national attention for (among other things) denying climate change, introducing his "ex-gay" friend to his legislative colleagues, and desire to destroy the collected works of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey.
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