Election Fallout

The results yesterday were resounding and here's what I think the fallout to business will be:

President and Congress
Barack Obama won a convincing victory yesterday. He ran a great campaign and like other great presidents in our past he has the ability to communicate to the masses. He has the potential to be a great president, but it will come down to how he decides to govern. If he can stay to the center he will be an effective president, but he could also take the country on a hard left turn.

Congress has large democratic majorities right now and the members have made no secret of the legislation they want to pass that will not be friendly to business. The Republicans appear that they will be able to use the filibuster in the Senate, but they are significantly weakened and I believe Congress will essentially be able to pass any law it wants to.



Sick Pay in Milwaukee

The sick pay benefit in Milwaukee passed by an overwhelming margin. The law states that businesses with more than 10 employees will now be required to give their full time employees 9 days of sick pay. Part time workers will get a lesser amount based on the number of hours they work. Employers of 10 or less people will have to offer their full timers 5 days of sick pay and their part time employees a pro rated amount.

The fallout of this could be huge. I would expect businesses to change their time off policies to mitigate for the passage of this law, but it's not clear at this time if they will be able to do this.

Businesses that can easily relocate may consider doing so as even employers who offer sick pay rarely offer as much as 9 days.

County Sales Tax
The advisory referendum passed by a workable margin. Now the State must approve the increase. I expect that they would as we voted for the increase. Then the County Board will revote on the increase and Scott Walker will likely veto the measure which will not matter as the board has a veto proof majority.

This will not have a huge impact on business except for those who sell high priced items such as cars and major appliances. Put it this way, you can now buy a car for a few hundred dollars less in Waukesha County.