LIA Mobilizes Businesses Against Albany

The Long Island Association and its president, Matt Crosson, are sounding the alarm for local business owners to look at what’s going on in Albany. Apparently, the state budget is not good for Long Island.

Here is an excerpt from the Long Island Business News, in the Monday, March 30 edition, regarding the LIA’s stance:

The head of the region’s most powerful business group is calling the budget deal struck in Albany over the weekend a disaster for Long Island.

In a statement sent to the Long Island Association board, President Matt Crosson said Albany’s leaders defied logic by passing a budget during a recession that would make job creation impossible.

“Governor Paterson and the majority leaders have found a way to make doing business even more expensive,” Crosson said. “It is a budget without logic, without common sense, and without a clear understanding of what is required to bring New York back from this recession.

“A vote in favor of this budget is a vote against the future of Long Island and Long Islanders,” Crosson said.

Read the rest of the story here: http://libn.com/blog/2009/03/30/crosson-state-budget-is-a-disaster/

Here is the email blast the LIA sent regarding the issue:

It’s rare that the Long Island Association, the region’s largest business and civic organization since 1926, asks the Long Island community to get into the trenches to fight bad legislation in Albany, but this time we need your help.

The state budget agreed to by Governor Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Smith and Assembly Speaker Silver will be disastrous for Long Island and for your business. Here are a few of the many reasons why. This budget:

+ Imposes new income taxes on 60,000 Long Islanders, including thousands of small businesses
Will cause property taxes to increase.

+ Eliminates $370 million in STAR property tax offsets.

+ Will increase LIPA bills.

+ Will increase all health insurance premiums through new taxes.

+ Provides no economic development programs or stimulus for the Island.

+ Does nothing to reduce state workforce costs, as almost all businesses are doing.

You can help defeat this budget and it won’t take much time. We want you and all of your employees to send an e-mail to the Long Island state legislators. Here’s how you can do it in just a minute or two:

Go to www.LIAonline.org. Under the column “LIA Action” click on “Let Your Voice Be Heard.” Click on the boxes labeled “State Senate Members” and “State Assembly Members.” Write your e-mail. All you need to say is: “This budget will be a disaster for my business and Long Island. You must vote against it.” Click “Send E-Mail.”

Your e-mail message will go to all of Long Island’s legislative delegation.

Blog originally posted at LI Entrepreneurs.com

Add Twitter To Your Tool Box

Chances are you’ve heard about Twitter by now. It’s the latest, greatest social networking tool, a mini blog of 140 characters or less. It’s gotten the most practical use so far by media organizations breaking news or filing real-time updates from anywhere this side of a sports arena to a court room.

But its applications are nearly limitless. I added Twitter to high school sports web sites in the fall and got my first taste of its immediacy when a key player broke his leg during a football game. The item was on the web while he was still lying on the ground.

Game rained out? The message was Twittered, which broadcast to anyone who added the feed to their moble device. Imagine the lucky parent who got this zapped to their phone instead of showing up at an empty field.

I’ve recently discovered that Twitter has also hit Washington in a big way. Both Houses are on Twitter and plenty of legislators too. I belong to the feed of my local representative, Steve Israel. He does an amazing job of posting regularly. Senator John McCain has been Tweeting Top 10 earmarks for weeks now. Great stuff!

Looking for entrepreneurial wisdom? Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh is a regular Twitterer with a big following.

Wanna get closer to your favorite celeb? I’m following daily updates from Shaq. Eli Manning is represented too.

The bottom line is people are just beginning to scratch the surface with Twitter. If you run a social business, what better way to stay connected to your customers? Even if you’re not, the social media craze is not going away. Find a way to tap into it today.

As owner of an online media company and a former Newsday reporter, I find the scope of innovation on the net remarkable. And I know it can be daunting too. If you need any help trying to move forward, give me a shout. Better yet, Twitter me @jmolinet.

Blog originally posted at LI Entrepreneurs.com