Bootstrap Vote Town Hall Meeting October 16, 2008

Presidents, policy, and entrepreneurs: how will the November election affect small business?

Thursday, October 16, 7pm-9pm at Conjunctured, 1309 E. 7th St.

Bootstrap Austin's Vote Subgroup:
Join here: http://groups.google.com/group/bootstrap-vote
Information here: http://www.bootstrapaustin.org/wiki/index.php/Vote_Subgroup

About the Bootstrap Network: http://www.bootstrapaustin.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

"Food for thought":

Obama/Biden plan for small business: http://budurl.com/7um8 (pdf)
John McCain's plan for small business: http://budurl.com/j7jr
Bob Barr and the Entrepreneur Vote: http://budurl.com/yjky
Ten Key Values of the Green Party: http://www.gp.org/tenkey.shtml

One area of possible focus: economic policy. Here's a recent reference:

NYTimes: Small Businesses Feeling the Chill http://budurl.com/plfg

"Some small companies say they are no longer able to get loans from newly cautious banks as credit tightens across the country, and even those who do qualify are increasingly reluctant to borrow and expand, fearful of overextending themselves in the midst of the financial crisis."

Bootstrappers self-finance but often use small loans and personal credit, and our customers and clients may also depend on credit to buy our products or services. We need a healthy economy to survive. How do we feel about the issue of regulation vs deregulation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation

How do we respond to conversations around current economic conditions and the proposed "bailout"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_bailout_of_United_States_financial_system

Note about process: political conversations can be contentious. This will be a moderated conversation, and we're asking for a commitment to civility and respect. It's too rare that we see civil conversation among those who disagree; that's what we're looking for here. Come prepared to listen to views you may disagree with, and engage respectfully.

Official Website: http://www.bootstrapaustin.org/wiki/index.php/Vote_Subgroup