Amused and/or alarmed in Kansas.

You can either be amused or alarmed by what's going on, or a healthy dose of both. Kevin Doel, founder of TK Magazine and president of Talon Communications Group, shares the stuff that amuses and alarms him.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Interesting press release: Local Chambers of Commerce throw businesses under the bus

An excerpt from a press release from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce that I found interesting:

"The Kansas Chamber of Commerce is disappointed to see a small minority of its members - 14 of 80 local chambers of commerce - send a letter to legislative leadership saying they believe their business members don't pay enough in taxes." Kansas Chamber Interim President & CEO Kent Beisner said.

Kent continued: "Our government affairs team in the Statehouse has personally witnessed first-hand many business members of local chambers appear before House and Senate Tax Committees opposing various, targeted tax hikes and it wasn't lost on them that the local chambers in question were not there in opposition, but the Kansas Chamber was.  As such, we have heard many of those business members are reconsidering their investment in their local chambers, which obviously means they feel they were 'thrown under the bus' by those very entities who are supposed to be representing them."

I don't know if Topeka's chamber is among those 14 who sent that letter, but one of the reasons I dropped my membership is that I wasn't convinced the local chamber was looking out for my best interest. Instead, I became a member of the Topeka Independent Business Association (TIBA) and have served on its board for a couple years or so.  Chambers that are supposed to represent small business should not advocate raising taxes on their members, especially during difficult economic times!

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