Issue Gets Little Traction on Campaign Trail
By Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber's 2008 Employee Benefits Study survey is under way, and we need your help. If you complete the survey, you will receive a complimentary copy ($125 value) of the 2008 Employee Benefits Study. This publication is a powerful tool to help you evaluate your company's benefits package; benchmark it against others by size, region, and industry; and assess the costs of providing benefits.
LouisianaGustav Insurance Claims Could Top $10 BillionHurricane Gustav may trigger insurance claims as high as $10 billion after lashing Louisiana, according to firms that specialize in catastrophe estimates, making it potentially the fourth-highest total for a U.S. storm.Source: Bloomberg
LouisianaIndustry Group Seeks Centralized Tax System-Representatives from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry say that the group may push legislation next year to authorize the state to collect all sales taxes rather than the current parish-by-parish tax collecting system.Source: The Times-Picayune
They're big, they're colorful, and they've been drawing large crowds wherever they've gone. Two buses on the U.S. Chamber's VoteForBusiness Bandwagon tour to promote pro-business candidates and issues are at the end of a run that kicked off in mid-August with events in Washington, D.C., and in Atlanta.
Even in the face of ongoing uproar on Wall Street, the FOMC kept the federal funds rate at 2% at its latest meeting. Easing energy prices pushed the Consumer Price Index down 0.1% in August. Slowing auto sales hampered Industrial Production in August as it was off 1.1%. Last, New Residential Construction decreased 6.2% during August as the housing correction continues.
U.S. Chamber Challenges Union AgendaThis U.S. Chamber anti-Card Check television issue advertisement aired in Minnesota. U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken (D) supports Card Check legislation.
CaliforniaHealth Insurance Bills Head to GovernorA significant number of health care bills were passed by state lawmakers last week and are headed to the governor's desk, including proposals to give people greater protections if their health insurer retroactively canceled their coverage, and to prevent doctors from charging patients for unreimbursed emergency-room treatment. A third bill would require health insurers to devote 85% of their premium dollars to medical care, as well as provide maternity and broader mental health coverage.
