Sen. Jon Tester heard some deep concerns about the economy and the manner in which the government is responding at a roundtable discussion Monday with business and community leaders in Kalispell.
Fresh off of voting to advance debate on health care legislation in the Senate on Saturday, Tester listened and asked questions of about 15 people at Flathead Valley Community College.
They revealed anxieties about the local economy on nearly every level — declines in real estate and construction, taxes and regulation, excessive government spending, banking regulations that have led to tightened lending, high unemployment and the ongoing threat of losing more jobs in the Flathead Valley’s basic industries.
Butch Clark, owner of the Kalispell Grand Hotel, said he has lived through multiple recessions, but he is worried about the current one because he sees “no lasting inertia” in the economy.
“For the first time in my life, the nation is truly at risk, and I mean that,” he said in a choked-up voice.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to pay more attention to the economy instead of “spending an enormous amount of time on the wants of the country, not the needs,” Clark said.
“People are nervous right now ... and I think a lot of it has to do with how much government is spending,” said Steve Thompson, an executive with Semitool Inc., which is being purchased by a former competitor, Applied Materials Inc. That purchase has raised anxieties about Semitool retaining its presence and jobs in the Flathead Valley.
Thompson said Semitool and other companies struggle with tax burdens and regulations that their global competitors do not have. As an example, he cited the Sarbanes-Oxley financial reporting legislation that was passed in the wake of the Enron scandal.
“It costs us millions of dollars every year to comply with that,” he said.
Thompson noted that 30 years ago, Semitool was sending 80 percent of its chip manufacturing equipment to computer fabrication plants in the United States — and now it’s the opposite. Other countries with more competitive business environments are attracting most “fab” plants.
Thompson warned against Congress passing cap-and-trade legislation to restrict carbon emissions, predicting it will significantly raise the cost of doing business.
“It’s going to be another [regulatory system] that will make it difficult for companies like ours to remain competitive,” he said.
Several people involved with banking and small and developing businesses spoke Monday about the difficulty in getting loans because of heightened regulation since the financial sector meltdown last fall.
“In the last 18 months it’s been a joke” to hear the suggestion of a small business going to the bank for a loan, said David Fischlowitz, the owner of FischWorks, a green building, remodeling and design firm based in Whitefish.
“Washington fails to distinguish between small business and new business,” said another participant who described how tax credits, for example, aren’t necessarily helpful to a new business that may not make profits in its first years.
Representing the Whitefish Credit Union, Jim Kenyon said that small, local lending institutions should not be bearing the brunt of overregulation when they had no part with troubles in the financial sector.
“We’re not the ones that overstepped our bounds,” he said.
Steve Todd, the chief operating officer at St. Luke Hospital in Ronan, said reforms are needed for the country’s health-care system, but he’s “not confident in the government’s ability to do it.”
Todd said the health-care industry already is heavily regulated, and he fears that health-care legislation from Congress will increase those burdens and costs.
He said that, too often, the combined liability costs in the health-care sector are overlooked.
“Tort reform has to be part of it and I’m not hearing about that” in the legislation that’s advancing in Congress, Todd said.
Saturday night’s 60-39 vote advanced the Senate health care measure for debate, without a single vote to spare. “We’ve got a month or longer to scrutinize it,” Tester told the roundtable group.
Afterwards, he sounded supportive of the Democratic reform agenda.
“What we’re doing right now is not sustainable,” Tester said, adding that health-care reform will curb the rate of spending increases in health care and it will cut the cost of a federal Medicare program that is project to be bankrupt within seven years.
“I think change is difficult,” he said, referring to people who have reservations about the health-care legislation.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Will Deschamps has a different take, blasting Tester soon after the vote:
“If Democrats truly believed that government-run health care would benefit working Americans, why did Jon Tester and his fellow Democratic senators join their House colleagues in insisting that these votes come in the dead of night, on the weekend, during a holiday week when they thought no one was looking?
“The truth is they know that the Obama-Reid-Pelosi plan will do nothing but increase taxes on Montana’s families and small businesses, cut Medicare for Montana’s seniors and increase costs when Montana families go to the doctor.”
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
mooseberryinn
One thing to remember in all these economic discussions. Government does not and will never produce a profit. Business, free enterprise produces profits. Taxes do not produce profits, only commerce (manufacturing and services) produces profits, and provides jobs.
BadRockBilly
One point of view:
The Global Coup d'Etat
Philip Jones
4-8-9
The current financial crisis is intended to terrify the people of the world into accepting World Government. The calls for `New World Order` and for `global solutions for global problems` are increasingly being heard and transmitted across the airwaves by the media sycophants in thrall to the Globalists.
Mr. Jones just died Nov. 24 and there were mysterious events leading to his death.
BadRockBilly
As for health care:
Why involve the Feds? Let's just let them protect us from medical racketeers and medical monopolies. Let us freely choose where our money goes.
Let our low income neighbors go to the Montana Guard Armory and local nursing classes to get patched up by the medics and nursing students. Visit more herbalists and psychic healers. Learn some home remedies and teach proper nutrition. Buy local foods and handcrafted items instead of imports. Teach first aid from first grade and up. Practice safe work and play. Relieve human suffering by allowing opiate, cannabis and cocaine tintures etc. to be sold over the counter like they were.
River Ryder
Tester should listen. Heath care reform is not what everyone is irrate about. We can all agree reform is needed. What they propose is not reform! Sen. Tester's companion in the Senate from Montana, Max is the one who presented the fine for not having insurance of $3800.00 of course it now is reduced to $1900.00 in the Pelosi package. Answer me this Sen. Tester, if one can't afford insurance, can't afford to pay their medical bills, how is fining them going to make any difference?
Tax and fine works good for generating income to give to others, until there is no one left to tax and fine. We need to show these who promised change, a change of our own. Vote them out before we don't have a country left.
naturalresources
Testor does'nt get it . The suffering from financial loss in this state in most areas is directly related to government intervention due to pressure from environmental groups, who mostly don't care for the working persons welfare. Like it or not, you greenies and environmental whackos and Peta members are responsible for the serious conditions that exist in the work force. You enjoy your nice homes and vehicles and vast outdoor playground at the expense of the working class. Watch out in the future as the lack of funds from the private sector, that you seem to despise so much, will come back to bite you with the loss of the governmnent jobs that you cherish.
mooseberryinn
Who cares if Tester comes here? Our problems are bad enough already, let him go back to D.C and help in destroying the rest of the economy. Misery loves company ya know. Maybe they'll extend unemployment to 10 years?
Claus
When is Tester going to show his face to the voters in the Flathead again?
DavidS
Jon Tester, our little Big Sandy farmer who, through a stroke of luck presented by the total corruption of his predecessor, Conrad Burns, may have had a useful learning experience in this meeting. Hopefully, he is learning about the complexity of changing Montanan's underdeveloped economy where many folks and more than a few politicians still think we are our should be a natural resource state despite the ugly history of how the copper, gold, silver and other mining lumber and farming industries ripped us off in the late 19th centurty and up to the late 1960s when it began to fall apart. Then we had the Reagan, Bush I and Bush II era where the system was overtaken by utter corruption at local, state and federal levels. The mess only became apparent about 18 months ago when it began to crumble just as Jon was elected our Senator in hope that he would be less corrupt. That's a truly steep learning curve. Let's hope Jon keep trying to learn and to do the best he can both for Montana and America. Otherwise, he'll be a one term senator replaced by Denny Rehberg and we'll all be far worse off than we are now.
pnaMT
Senator Tester heard the management take on the issue in this roundtable discussion, and I believe he also takes into account the situation of working people, who may see things differently. Deregulation of the banking industry has been a major factor in the crisis we are now facing. Deregulation of the insurance companies has directly and indirectly caused the huge inflation of health care costs. Relaxed environmental standards are bad for everyone in the long run. I think that the private sector has not shown itself to be uto the task of policing itself and working for the good of all, and I'm all for letting the government again take up the task of looking out for me. Hold your ground, Senator Tester-- health care reform, regulation of the financial industries, and sound environmental policy are essential to the well being of this nation, and we won't get them without government initiative.
mountainswin
The Federal Bank Regulators caused this whole melt down by changing the rules and eliminating collateral based lending in exchange for income based lending. They are still regulating the banks out of business and small business lending does not exist. Lending at 60 to 70 percent of value was not irresponsible lending. Today a loan of even 10 percent of appraised value is not available for a small business which have no W-2 to prove income. My question is who is causing this regulation that is strangling our country. This is no accident.
boo-boo
Here are the facts. SInce Tester was sworn in he and his party have tripled our federal deficit spending, failed to nail down a budget for 2009/2010, sent our debt to over 12 TRILLION, propelled our unemployment (adjusted) to nearly 13% and crushed our moral. Our future is bleak. The obama/Pelosi/Reid plan is failing and Tester has proven to be their lap dog. Montana voters made a horific choice in"08"...
boo-boo
Here are some facts. Since Tester took office our budget deficit has tripled, our debt has topped 12 TRILLION, unemployment (adjusted) is nearly 13%, our moral has never been lower and our future never bleaker. The obama/Pelosi/Reid plan will not work and Tester has proven he is nothing but a lap dog for them. Montana made a horrible choice in "08".....
Alphashopdog
I'll tell you what "change is difficult". Getting the bobbleheads in Washington to actually listen to their constituants. Is health care "reform" really so urgent? How is spending months pushing this bogus crisis going to do anything for the economy and helping get people back to work? It is just a distraction so politicians can look busy while the country goes to hades. This way they can later claim "It's not my fault I was busy bringing about CHANGE". If you are really commited to the people of your state stop giving us the retorical bs and do something meaningful.