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July 27, 2012 Here's what you'll find in this edition: CLASSIFIEDS: FOR SALE! NEWS AROUND THE STATE TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! NATIONAL ANTI-SMALL BUSINESS SENTIMENTS, Look, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, "Well, it must be because I was just so smart!" There are a lot of smart people out there. "It must be because I worked harder than everybody else." Let me tell you something. There are a whole bunch of hardworkin' people out there! If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help! There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges! If you've got a business, you -- you didn't build that! Somebody else made that happen. If you’ve read a newspaper, watched the news, or just talked to a well-informed person these last two weeks, the quote above should look (or sound) awfully familiar to you. President Obama made these remarks during a campaign stop in Roanoke, Virginia. Endless news articles and political analysts have observed that, during his stump-speech, the President ignored the teleprompter and made these remarks off-the-cuff. Is this really the way the President feels about business owners and their success -- or was it just all a big misunderstanding? I’ll leave it up to you to revisit the quote above, read into the context, and make your own determination. However, I don’t have that luxury. My job is to defend business owners like you, and that means I have to be a pragmatist while others can afford to be optimists. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst – That’s all I can do. And that’s also why the comments above made me mad as hell. All words have meaning and consequences. So in my never-humble opinion, when the President of the United States -- whomever he or she may be -- chooses such words to convey an anti-small business message, it has me very upset. You and I know all too well that success in business comes from many places, but the government IS NOT one of them. Business achievement isn’t derived from a benevolent government or compassionate bureaucratic regulations. It has nothing to do with the roads they build, the programs they start, or the initiatives they create. No. Businesses do not succeed BECAUSE of the government -- Businesses succeed DESPITE the government. Your business exists DESPITE environmental policies that continually threaten to close your doors. It exists DESPITE taxes that overwhelm you, preventing you from expanding your establishment, hiring more workers, and providing for your family. And it exists DESPITE every feel-good, do-nothing, money-sucking idea they come up with that hurts the very customers who patronize your establishment and keeps your doors open. No, Mr. President, I respectfully – and vocally – disagree! It isn’t government that builds small businesses, its risk-taking men and women with an idea and the passion to see it through. It comes from driven people who want to carve out something of their own, the families that support them, and the loyal employees that flourish as these undertakings succeed. It is their combined efforts – and theirs alone – that enables them to triumph and prosper despite the actions of a government that seeks to control their choices, tax their achievements, direct their energies, and deny them of their property. There is inherent nobility in that struggle. Yet, to undervalue that kind of discipline, dedication, and commitment is to undermine the entrepreneurial spirit of every business owner -- and the capitalist system that they (willingly) compete in each day. After he was sworn in, I gave President Obama a lot of credit for rolling up his sleeves and doing his best to solve the nation’s (continuing) economic crisis. I cheered him on as he spoke about education reform, freeing children from failing schools and giving parents a choice how to educate their children. And I’ve admired his ability to inspire people from across the nation to make a difference in their own communities. Yet this kind of irresponsible rhetoric inspires nothing but resentment and misplaced-hatred toward small business owners – successful or not – who DO make a difference everyday in their communities and among their neighbors. It is this kind of nonsense that fuels class warfare and perpetuates the idea that small business owners are only successful because, somehow, they’ve cheated, stolen, or robbed what they’ve earned from someone else. To diminish the hard work and efforts that every small business owner exerts to build their business is not only the worst kind of political pandering, it’s downright dishonest! Can you tell how pissed I am yet?! Your livelihood, and that of your employees, IS NOT some idle amusement. Despite the jargon throw about out there, the economy IS NOT a zero-sum game. Success DOES NOT mean that, because someone has triumphed, someone else must have lost. That kind of simplistic foolishness only sows the seeds of resentment and mindless-hatred, while failing to recognize how you got to where you are! When President Obama – or any other public figure – plays the “you succeed only because of the government” game, they don’t only insult your own sweat and sacrifice, but arrogantly fail to recognize where the resources came from to do all these “wonderful things” for business owners: THE TAXPAYERS. That’s right! The government CANNOT produce wealth; they can only inhibit it, redistribute it, and steal it. Every dollar they have to “do something for us” actually started with you, me, and every other person who pays taxes -- including the small business owner. The machinery of government (and those who operate it for a living) should THANK TAXPAYERS for creating the wealth that they tax so eagerly to fund those projects. You’d think that with that kind of racket going on, they’d be promoting small business owners, not telling folks the government did it for them or that their success isn’t deserved! So the next time the President, or anyone else, diminishes the hard work you do, stand up for yourself! The next time a public figure gets on their soapbox about how you have to “give more back” because they’ve somehow “allowed you” to be successful and built your business for you, don’t let them get away with it! Instead, tell them to snap out of it; then ask them:
When they stumble to answer, make sure you tell them:
Be proud of that. Embrace that. Celebrate that. And don’t let ANYONE tell you otherwise! Over the last year, we’ve been fighting a number of proposals which would permit online lottery sales. This has become a big issue for us since our Convenience Store and Service Station members depend on lottery foot traffic to sell more profitable items. However, events in Georgia may again bring this proposal front and center in New Jersey, as the Peach State will become only the second state (after Illinois) to offer online lottery ticket sales. Much like our continuing efforts to oppose proposals that would weaken Below Cost Selling laws, NJGCA has been very successful at keeping the Online Lottery issue at bay. And just like that issue, our success at stopping these measures from advancing hinges entirely on member participation. We’re watching how the new Georgia online lottery proposal may affect similar legislation in New Jersey, but the fact remains that we can only beat back damaging legislation when we have your cooperation. That means you have to be ready to switch into full-battle mode and run to Trenton when things get dicey! Switching from state capitals to Capital Hill, some recent news out of Washington will have big implications for small convenience stores. As part of the Affordable Care Act – or what is more commonly known as Obamacare – foodservice businesses and establishments must comply with a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure standard. The law requires chain restaurants and other businesses to essentially include nutritional labels on all their products. While such information on pre-packaged goods is nearly universal, it is difficult to ascertain this information for hand-made and made-to-order offerings. After all, if your shop offers pizza or chili hot dogs, how can you tell the exact caloric value when your customer asks for extra cheese on a slice or less onions on a chili dog? To alleviate such concerns and reduce the burden on business owners, the House of Representatives has introduced new legislation to allow for more flexibility. Known as the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, the proposal would allow convenience store owners to use one of a number of approaches to communicate caloric information to customers. Supporters hope that the new law will prevent small businesses that have limited resources from getting caught up in a regulatory scheme that was arguably intended for larger chains and retailers. We will update you when more information becomes available, but you should know that this is currently being deliberated in Washington. Last but not least, you should have the latest edition of On The Road in your hands by now. If you haven’t received your copy, please call the office and let us know. In the meantime, you’re more than welcome to check out the online-version of the July 2012 On The Road by CLICKING HERE Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
Equipment currently for sale, NJGCA member recently closed his shop. NJ2009 PIF BASE Stationary Unit (OBD Only) asking $2900. Call (908) 403-3088.
7/24/2012: 7/22/2012: 7/20/2012: 7/19/2012:
TRAINING CLASSES!! NEW JERSEY EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate. Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group. Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision. If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills. There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem. The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate. If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA. Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket. We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. We defeated BELOW COST SELLING We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law! We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes ...and MUCH MORE!! In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature! If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past. We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. ?
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