Instead of photo ops and drive-bys, Carnahan should host town hall

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 7, 2010 – The Labor Department recently released May’s job report and it is not good. The report shows 431,000 jobs were added but 411,000 were temporary government Census jobs. “In fact, private [...]]]> IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Theresa Petry, (314) 807-7077

Instead of photo ops and drive-bys, Carnahan should host town hall

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 7, 2010 – The Labor Department recently released May’s job report and it is not good. The report shows 431,000 jobs were added but 411,000 were temporary government Census jobs. “In fact, private sector job growth actually fell in May, from 231,000 new private sector jobs in April to just 41,000 new private sector jobs in May. Combining the private and public sectors–the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 9.7% as 286,000 workers left the labor force. In total the U.S. economy has now lost a net of 2.2 million jobs since President Barack Obama signed his stimulus bill and his administration is now 7.2 million jobs short of what he promised the American economy would support by 2010.” (The Heritage Foundation; Morning Bell: The Jobless Obama Recovery, June 4, 2010)

Congressman Russ Carnahan and his leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, promised, when he voted for the stimulus, that Americans could expect the unemployment to be at 7.5% by this time yet unemployment in Missouri hovers around 10%. What is Carnahan doing to address this issue that finds the people of his district struggling? He has decided to swing by Congressman Lacy Clay’s job fair at Harris-Stowe today to pose for some pictures and give the impression he cares.

We need action now. Carnahan needs to hold town halls that are open to the public and not just invitation and press only. If Carnahan truly wants to represent the people of Missouri’s 3rd district he needs to talk to them and understand how best to address their needs. He and his Washington cronies are more concerned with rewarding bureaucrats and special interests than actually rolling up their sleeves, meeting with constituents, and doing some work that benefits the people instead of themselves. Sitting back and voting for tax breaks isn’t going to spur the current recession.

Congressional candidate Ed Martin on the other hand has held countless small business roundtables and “Ask Ed Anything” meetings and recognizes what the people of Missouri’s 3rd district need. So while Congressman Carnahan poses for pictures; Ed Martin is gearing up for a “business to business” networking meeting to be held this Thursday, June 10th. It is part of Ed Martin’s much larger program: “Shop Local – Hire Local.”

“Supporting local businesses helps us all! Too many of our neighbors, family members and friends are going through hard times. The time to act is now,” said Ed Martin. “Our local businesses can’t just sit and continue to wait for customers and potential tax credits. We know through proof positive research and talking to countless people that targeting and promoting local opportunities is the best way to get business back on track. When small businesses thrive – small businesses hire. Our Shop Local – Hire Local campaign focuses on publicly encouraging all Missourians to look local first.”

The “business to business” networking meeting is centrally located in the 3rd district to make it more convenient for everyone wishing to attend. It is scheduled for Thursday. June, 10th.It will be from 5:00pm-6:30pm at Surdyke- Harley Davidson in Festus, MO.

This is just the first of many events to come in the Shop Local – Hire Local campaign. Whenthe Small Business Administration indicates nearly 2/3 of new jobs come from small businessyou can rest assured Ed Martin will be working hard for small businesses.

The Shop Local – Hire Local campaign is already picking up steam and every day more and more are jumping on the look local first bandwagon. Look for the Shop Local – Hire Local logo to start popping up in store fronts and people’s homes all across the 3rd district. Folks are able to go to the website www.ShopLocalHireLocal.com and download a printable placard. The grassroots effort is sure to grow into a big success. Real leadership, like that of Ed Martin’s, is what the people of the district want and deserve – someone who works for them.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.

Theresa Petry
Press Secretary
“Ed Martin for Congress”
(314) 807-7077 (cell)

theresa.petry@edmartinforcongress.com
www.edmartinforcongress.com

Campaign Aims to Energize Economy Neighbor to Neighbor

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 3, 2010 –Missouri has a 9.4 % jobless rate and small businessesare being forced to cut employees or even close up shop. It’s obvious something must be done. Today, 3rd district congressional candidate Ed Martin announces a plan with proven positive results that will help energize [...]]]> IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Theresa Petry, (314) 807-7077

Campaign Aims to Energize Economy Neighbor to Neighbor

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 3, 2010 –Missouri has a 9.4 % jobless rate and small businessesare being forced to cut employees or even close up shop. It’s obvious something must be done. Today, 3rd district congressional candidate Ed Martin announces a plan with proven positive results that will help energize the local economy and spur job growth by supporting local businesses. The Shop Local Hire Local campaign debuts today. The mantra of Shop Local Hire Local is “when small businesses thrive…small businesses hire!” After all, the Small Business Administration indicates nearly 2/3 of new jobs come from small businesses.

The Shop Local Hire Local action plan was developed after a number of roundtables Ed Martin held with small business leaders and some 150 “Ask Ed Anything” meetings in Missouri’s third district. The number one concern heard over and over again at the roundtables and meetings is a lack of consumers and business. Business owners and leaderscontinue to tell Ed Martin the so called “tax breaks” and “incentives” being offered to them are not being received and are not smartly targeted; they simply need customers. Due in large part to the general decrease in local spending and revenue, many businesses have had to make layoffs or cut back the hours of their employees; these employees with less income are spending less. It tends to be a vicious cycle in this recession but it can be reversed with real leadership and local efforts.

Shop Local Hire Local will focus on publicly encouraging all Missourians to look to local businesses and local workers first. The campaign includes the websiteShopLocalHireLocal.com and grassroots publicity efforts along with targeted networking opportunities for businesses as well as workers. Shop Local Hire Local also has a distinctive window placard for people to place in their store fronts, home or automobile.Shop Local Hire Local will hold its first event June 10th with a business to business networking event from 5-6:30pm at Surdyke- Harley Davidson in Festus, MO. It’s a way to introduce and promote the services of local businesses and share ideas. Ed Martin will continue the forward momentum of Shop Local Hire Local as well as continue to holdroundtables and “Ask Ed Anything” meetings.

“Shop Local Hire Local is a win-win situation for both small businesses and the many local folks still unemployed struggling to make ends meet,” said congressional candidate Ed Martin. “A one-day job fair isn’t going to make significant change. We need to invest in our community and have an ongoing effort in order to make a real difference. We’ve researched similar projects across the country and found that a local campaign like Shop Local HireLocal can really pay off!”

In Bellingham, WA a similar campaign, kicked off in 2003, has shown a significant impact. A survey conducted by the Applied Research Northwest found that 58% of people polled were making a more deliberate effort to patronize locally owned businesses. “To have nearly 3 in 5 households attributing a behavior change to this program shows an amazing impact,” said Dr. Pamela Jull, the lead researcher. And in Portland, ME the Portland Independent Business and Community Alliance found that nearly two-thirds of its members had already had a positive impact on their business just six months after it kicked off its buy local campaign.

In Missouri, in 2001, the Jefferson County Growth and Development Association started a “Shop Jefferson County” billboard campaign. And in St. Louis City you can find a few signs stating “Shop in the City” an effort apparently started by a group of local churches.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.

Theresa Petry
Press Secretary
“Ed Martin for Congress”
(314) 807-7077 (cell)

theresa.petry@edmartinforcongress.com
www.edmartinforcongress.com

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 2, 2010 – Third congressional candidate Ed Martin recognizes the many agricultural issues facing Missourians especially in the 3rd district. For this reason, he is officially creating Third Congressional District Agricultural Advisory Group.

While most Missouri farmers, agri-businessmen and women, and small business owners in related agricultural fields are keeping their heads [...]]]> IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Theresa Petry, (314) 807-7077

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 2, 2010 – Third congressional candidate Ed Martin recognizes the many agricultural issues facing Missourians especially in the 3rd district. For this reason, he is officially creating Third Congressional District Agricultural Advisory Group.

While most Missouri farmers, agri-businessmen and women, and small business owners in related agricultural fields are keeping their heads down and working hard, the legislative proposals and regulations of the Obama administration are dominating their concerns for the future. In particular, the so-called Cap-and-Trade bill, for which Congressman Russ Carnahan gave his stamp of approval, is at the top of their concerns list. The Missouri Farm Bureau, among many others, is a vocal critic of this government’s activism saying, “The negative implications are very strong for agriculture.” (Hannibal Courier-Post, April 27, 2010) ”More than ever before, farmers and ranchers are literally fearful of what the federal government is planning to do in terms of cap and trade, the Clean Water Restoration Act, possible government run federal health care and spending that is out of control,” said Charles Kruse, Missouri Farm Bureau President. (Missouri Ruralist, Dec 14, 2009)

Ed Martin is taking a stand for Missouri agriculture. He strongly opposes cap-and-trade and understands the detrimental affects it would have on family farms and small businesses – the backbone of our country.  Missouri ranks 2nd in the United States in the number of farms with 105,000 farms according to the 2002 and 2007 Census of Agriculture. A 2009 report by the Missouri General Assembly highlights that agriculture adds more than $12.4 billion annually to the Show-Me State economy and employs more than 245,000 people in our state. This is why Ed Martin has created the Agricultural Advisory Group (AAG.)

AAG will hold a number of roundtables in order to address all of the federal issues piling up on the plate of local farmers. The Group will work with agricultural businesses and family farms in the 3rd district to brainstorm real solutions. “I need to be informed and hear their concerns in order to truly represent them in Washington,” said 3rd district congressional candidate Ed Martin

“Big government with its out-of-control spending habit is not an entity we look up to. Missouri farmers are struggling and we need someone to hear us – someone who won’t cave to big business but will look out for the best interest for all of us. We farmers need to be heard and I am thrilled Ed Martin has created this Agricultural Advisory Group and extremely honored to have been asked to be the co-chairman,” said Marty Strussion, owner of Cave Vineyard in Ste. Genevieve.

Members of AAG include David Reed as chairman, Marty Strussion as co-chairman, and Katie Smith as honorary chairman. Click on this hyperlink for a brief list of their relative work experience.

Congressman Carnahan wants to make it appear he is focused on agricultural issues too. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will be in St. Louis fundraising for Carnahan this week.The Congressman can’t pull the wool over the eyes of Missouri farmers though – they knowCarnahan is out-of-touch with farmers – aside from farmers like his brother whose windmill farm would benefit from cap-and-trade.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.

Theresa Petry
Press Secretary
“Ed Martin for Congress”
(314) 807-7077 (cell)

theresa.petry@edmartinforcongress.com
www.edmartinforcongress.com

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Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good [...]]]>

Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good St. Louis style pizza and toasted ravioli, we began to go over concerns they have about the current business environment.

“I don’t need a loan, I need customers” was one of Brian’s poignant statements.  He was addressing the obsession this President has with getting banks to lend.  Certainly there are businesses who depend on access to lines of credit, but Brian’s concern was the fact that no amount of loans would make up for the fact that his customer base is seeing their disposable income eroded.  Some are out of work but more are feeling the crunch of other issues such as increased consumer prices.  Brian believed these factors were forcing his customers to tighten their belts.

The owner of an insurance agency noted that his business was seeing a lot of business owners calling him to see if they can economize on the costs of their policies.  Health insurance costs became a topic of discussion.  Premiums are on the rise.  The owner of a local nursery indicated that she has to carefully balance her staffing to prevent health insurance costs from destroying her bottom line.

We talked about the creation of association pools for health insurance.  Small businesses, among other groups, could band together to create larger risk pools just as large corporations can and negotiate better rates.  For instance, a pool could be made for all Imo’s pizza franchisees making a pool of hundreds.  This measure would cost almost nothing while doing a much better job of solving a significant portion of the uninsured issue.  I’d like to end the restrictions that keep these associations from flourishing and plan to do my part at the Federal level.  This is one of many inexpensive health insurance reforms that can do a lot of good and do not require the heavy hand of the Federal government.

An attendee working in real estate noted that after years of “if you have a job and a pulse, you get a loan”, banks are tightening up their standards.  Easy homeowner credit was fueled by a long series of misguided efforts by the Federal government to distort the mortgage lending market. Now, the credit crunch was hurting otherwise viable businesses.  The nursery owner noted that her business depends on a line of credit to operate.  If the bank, driven to restrict lending by losses in real estate, trims her access to this credit line she will face very difficult days ahead.  These responsible business men and women felt that they are paying the price for the folly of others.

The consensus was that government has become an obstacle, not just through taxation and regulation, but by creating great uncertainty.  What will energy costs be next year?  It depends upon the success of Cap and Trade legislation.  What will health care costs be next year?  It depends upon what version of the health care legislation passes.  I don’t think anybody believed it would relieve their burden.  All assembled believed that the course government was on would make the business environment harder.  The question was to what degree.

This input and that of many other meetings I have had will inform my policy decisions.  My opponent has a track record of avoiding talking with small businesses, preferring to cavort with representatives of well-connected corporations in photo-op summits.  No surprise that Russ Carnahan’s latest rubber stamp will be to borrow more money and watch it get funneled to the politically connected interests in Washington.  I will represent the interests of all businesses, and that includes the beleaguered entrepreneurs who cannot afford to pay a lobbyist to bend Russ Carnahan’s ear with a fat contribution.

So far, President Obama’s “stimulus” has done a great job of siphoning money OUT of the economy, but that’s about it.

Last week, I stopped in McArthur’s Bakery on Lemay Road in south St. Louis County. McArthur’s is a full-service bakery and deli and I had a nice lunch (delicious BLT wrap, by the way). [quote]

After lunch, I fell into conversation with Randy McArthur, the [...]]]> First published in the St. Louis Metro Evening Whirl on July 6th, 2009

Last week, I stopped in McArthur’s Bakery on Lemay Road in south St. Louis County. McArthur’s is a full-service bakery and deli and I had a nice lunch (delicious BLT wrap, by the way).
[quote]

After lunch, I fell into conversation with Randy McArthur, the owner of McArthur’s, and his brother David. These two were hot under the collar and were not mincing words. You see, Congress had recently passed a new National Energy Tax bill – the so-called “Cap and Trade” bill – that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies admitted would raise everyone’s energy bills by at least 7% a year for the next 10 years or more. McArthur, upset that his Congressman Russ Carnahan had voted for this bill, changed the neon sign in front of McArthur’s Bakery to read “Russ Carnahan just voted to put us out of business.”

The McArthur brothers explained to me that their energy costs – for the ovens, refrigeration, and other stuff – are close to $150,000 per year. An increase of 7% per year as Pelosi and Carnahan want in the new National Energy Tax would mean that McArthur’s would have to lay off staff or close their business… the margins for their business are simply too tight. The McArthurs were angry that Carnahan had no regard for their business – instead he was voting with Pelosi and other liberal left-wingers who think that government can solve all the problems by raising taxes on businesses.

After McArthur put the sign up identifying Russ Carnahan’s bad vote, they have received emails and calls of support. Other businesses – from dry cleaners to taxicab drivers to fast food restaurant owners – have realized that the new National Energy Tax would impact them quickly and terribly. The bill was a bad mistake for Pelosi and her Democrats… it may have been the one act that puts them on the road out of power.

A few days after my visit to McArthur’s, I was in the Carondelet Bakery in south City (great strawberry and chocolate cake, by the way!). Linda Smith, the co-owner, confirmed that, like McArthur, she and her husband worried about energy costs. Her bakery – the oldest in St. Louis – is a traditional bakery (no deli or extra sales) and her costs are directly for baking: oven, refrigerators, etc. An increase of 7% per year on those costs would put the bakery in jeopardy.

I heard the similar complaints and fears from bar owners and restaurant operators across St. Louis regarding the Energy Tax. They fear that they cannot absorb an increase. And, individuals and families are worrying about their own energy costs going up. And one other question all these people – individuals and businesses – keep asking: why put an energy tax on us now, in the midst of a recession?

The story for McArthur’s has a twist. Congressman Russ Carnahan’s staff, stung by the bad press and the McArthur sign, called the McArthurs and said that Russ Carnahan wants to meet with them to explain. The McArthurs are willing to meet but they are wondering: why didn’t Russ Carnahan meet with them before he voted for the new national energy tax?

***

On Saturday, July 4th, I was in Washington, Missouri with 3000 others for another Tea Party. The crowd was mixed – young and old of all shapes, sizes and colors – and fired up. They have seen and heard what Randy McArthur has: that our government – especially our Congress – has lost touch with the people and what we need and expect. If Russ Carnahan and his ilk in Washington, D.C. don’t start listening to the people back here in America – and right quick! – they may find themselves out of a job.

Ed Martin

***

In case you want to find them, www.McArthurs.com and www.CarondeletBakery.com.