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Articles written by Patrick Connor


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  • Support small businesses this Saturday

    Patrick Connor|Nov 25, 2015

    Every year, Gallup asks people how much confidence they have in various institutions. The results aren’t surprising. Only 8 percent had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress. Big business scored 21 percent. That’s no better than TV news. Small business, on the other hand, came in second with 67 percent of respondents considering it trustworthy. Only the U.S. military scored higher. While politicians bicker with each other and Wall Street focuses on the 1 percent, Main Street remains the lifeblood of our economy and our com...

  • It begins by cleaning up your act

    Patrick Connor|Sep 30, 2015

    Here is some advice to the young looking for their first job: Start by cleaning up your act. Also accept the fact that you’ll likely be starting out at a minimum wage, but will not be there very long if you’re a good worker and look presentable. When asked by their leading association, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), to name the biggest problems small-business owners faced in filling job vacancies: • 61 percent listed lack of job-specific or occupational skills as a typical or occasional problem • 54 percent cited t...

  • Can anyone stop the power of Premera?

    Patrick Connor|Mar 5, 2014

    Amid the public policy mess created by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), a tiny pebble of a good idea looked set for passage at a recent committee hearing of the Washington Legislature — that is until the heavy boot of Premera Blue Cross came down on it, crushing it in a way that in times past would have stirred public outrage. But no longer. In a Legislature that hastily convenes a special session for the sole task of giving Boeing the tax breaks it demands, a ham-fisted carve-out for Premera Blue Cross shouldn’t come as a surprise. Acc...