Chamber President Kevin Brinegar recently appeared on Inside INdiana Business discussing a potential delay in the unemployment insurance fund tax increase.

The President of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce is "cautiously optimistic" a deal will be reached to delay a tax increase on businesses to support the state’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund. Kevin Brinegar believes a two-year delay in implementation is the most likely scenario. He says there are still some "differing views" that need to be worked out, including issues such as higher benefit levels, automatic benefit increases and paid family and medical leave…

Brinegar says the unemployment insurance system is not designed to fund family and medical leave.

He says a two year delay would provide time to see what Congress will do to deal with the issue because several states are dealing with dwindling unemployment insurance funds, which is part of a national program.

Brinegar also says the chamber is "very disappointed" a bill allowing employees to keep guns locked in their vehicles parked on company property has gone to the governor’s desk.

He says the chamber is also monitoring a tax proposal that would give companies more time to file amended personal property tax returns on their business machinery and equipment.

We eagerly await the visit from broadcasting legend Tom Brokaw, as he will keynote the Indiana Chamber’s 21st Annual Awards Dinner in November. And while Brokaw is retired from the national news, it seems he hasn’t quite given up his journalistic desire. Be sure to mark your calendars or set your DVRs to record his March 4 presentation on CNBC about the Baby Boomber Generation. Here is some info:

They were born between 1946 and 1964, a vast and prosperous group of Americans who lived through the Cold War, Vietnam, Watergate and the housing bubble.  They wore Buster Browns, played with hula-hoops, ate at the drive-thru and watched the Beatles play on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Raised during a time of unprecedented affluence, they exhibited extraordinary optimism and faith in the future.  Now, as the oldest among them approach the age of retirement, they face a world of new challenges and opportunities they never anticipated or dreamed possible. 

On Thursday, March 4th at 9PM ET/PT, CNBC presents “TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$!” a CNBC original reported by NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw.  After defining “The Greatest Generation” in his bestselling book, Brokaw now turns his sights to their successors, the generation that vowed to change the world.

“Now, at this critical crossroads in the nation and in their lives, what do boomers do next – and how do they get there? It’s a question that affects all of us and will for a long time to come,” said Brokaw.

Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar comments on today’s announcement by Sen. Evan Bayh to not seek a third term:

“Senator Bayh has enjoyed a long and distinguished career serving Hoosiers. He has done many positive things for Indiana, both as governor and U.S. senator, and we  wish him and his family nothing but the best going forward. I believe he is quite genuine with his comments that the hostile political atmosphere and partisan bickering were the tipping points for his decision. When he was governor, he was known for his fiscal conservatism and made a point of working with both sides of the aisle to get results. Not being able to see that happen in the Senate and Congress in general, where it is sorely needed, must be a source of frustration and disappointment for him, as it has been for Hoosier employers and their workers the Chamber represents.

“In particular, the events over the past six months in Congress obviously have changed the senator’s belief that meaningful, positive outcomes for issues like health care, debt reduction and job creation could be achieved. In August, when he spoke to the Chamber’s board of directors, he was quite optimistic that Congress would deal with these issues in a bipartisan, productive way to get things done for Americans. Unfortunately, things appear to have gone in the exact opposite direction.

“From the Chamber’s standpoint, we have always found Sen. Bayh to be thoughtful and consistent in his decisions and a willing listener to the business community’s position. During his time in Washington, the senator has routinely participated in our annual D.C. Fly-in trip, meeting in-person with business leaders from throughout the state to discuss the issues important to them. While Sen. Bayh did not always vote with the Chamber position, we respected his stance and felt that courtesy was returned to us.”

I had an opportunty to talk briefly with Frank Luntz in preparation for his post-Legislative Reception appearance before an Indiana Chamber audience of business and legislative leaders on February 16. He promises new polling data on just what the public thinks of the business community and updated language for companies to utilize to emphasize their contribution to community well-being.

Outside of that conversation, Luntz is being credited (or disparaged, depending on your view) for his role in fighting financial regulatory reform. A recent report included the following:

Republican message guru Frank Luntz has put together a playbook to help derail financial regulatory reform.

In a 17-page memo titled, "The Language of Financial Reform," Luntz urged opponents of reform to frame the final product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes, and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy.

"If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the bad decisions and harmful policies by Washington bureaucrats that in many ways led to the economic crash must never be repeated," Luntz wrote. "This is your critical advantage. Washington’s incompetence is the common ground on which you can build support."

Luntz continued: "Ordinarily, calling for a new government program ‘to protect consumers’ would be extraordinary popular. But these are not ordinary times. The American people are not just saying ‘no.’ They are saying ‘hell no’ to more government agencies, more bureaucrats, and more legislation crafted by special interests."

On the specific issue of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Luntz argued that opponents should stress the high-cost of creating an additional regulatory body in addition to the damaging effects it will supposedly have on "small business owners" (as opposed to, merely, small businesses).

"Owning a small business is part of the American Dream and Congress should make it easier to be an entrepreneur," wrote Luntz. "But the Financial Reform bill and the creation of the CFPA makes it harder to be a small business owner because it will choke off credit options to small business owners."

More than 300 Hoosiers have purchased their tickets to hear Luntz in person. It will be most interesting.

Working in communications at the Indiana Chamber and as editor of our BizVoice magazine offers the opportunity to meet, interview, get to know and sometimes just be around some pretty amazing leaders. One of those people is Niel Ellerbrook, whose upcoming retirement as CEO of Evansville-based Vectren Corp. was announced Wednesday.

Niel was the Chamber’s 2007 Business Leader of the Year; you can read his story in BizVoice. A few of the highlights: born in Rensselaer, grew up in Franklin and earned an accounting degree from Ball State University. His career was divided into equal segments – 10 years with Arthur Andersen, 20 with Indiana Energy and another 10 with Vectren, the product of a major utility company merger. All stops were marked by organization and individual success.

Service to the Chamber for Niel included, among other roles, heading the tax and fiscal policy committee and active involvement on the board of directors and executive committee (including time as treasurer). His community involvements have been significant in both the volume of activities and the prominence of his accomplishments. Several are featured in the BizVoice article.

The Vectren press release has more on the company transition.

At the Indiana Chamber’s "An Evening With Frank Luntz" on February 16, maybe we will hear the pollster/communicator talk about climate change. According to CQ Politics, Luntz did just that recently.

Not that we weren’t already in for an interesting evening (following the annual Legislative Reception), but this could add a little intrigue.

Luntz’ forte is formulating terminology that can redefine political policy debates. During the Bush administration, he wrote a memo suggesting that Republicans could dampen public concern about global warming by stating — over and over — that the environmentalists’ proposals were loaded with "scientific uncertainty" and would impose an "unfair economic burden" on the nation. By embracing the Luntz approach, climate change skeptics successfully sowed seeds of doubt on climate change and delayed federal action.

But that was then. Now Luntz is applying his "language guidance" talents to help the greens sell their proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Based on polling conducted at the end of 2009, Luntz said that the vast majority of Americans believe that global warming is real and that mankind is contributing to the problem.

According to Luntz, Americans tend to dismiss the scare tactics that environmentalists and global warming skeptics use to shape public opinion. "If you really want to scare Americans, it’s not about glaciers that are melting or the struggle of the polar bear," he said. "What scares Americans is the idea that this great technological industry will be developed in China or India rather than here in America."

Luntz’ report was released at a time when the environmental community is waking up to the reality that the ambitious, economywide climate change bills passed last year by the House and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are dead.

As the environmentalists and pro-legislation businesses decide their next steps, they’re likely to keep Luntz’ advice in mind. "The American people don’t accept the status quo," he said. "The American people not only think that we can do better as a country, they want us to do better as a country. And they don’t care whether it’s Republicans or Democrats who are offering it — they expect more."
 

OK, we realize it’s February and the end of December/beginning of January were the times for the "top 10" lists for the past year or decade. But in looking at Indiana Chamber advocacy efforts, we couldn’t resist putting together some of the top issues in which we’ve been fighting the good fight for the business community. We didn’t rank them; that would be a really tough job.

I, and quite a few others on the Chamber team, have been here throughout (not the 1922 official start of the organization) — dating back to the 2002 tax restructuring and including key victories in economic development, education, tax, local government and more. The one-pager can be found here; but first a few observations.

• 2005 was simply a big year. Daylight Savings Time became a reality after only more than a few decades of trying, a series of important education policies were enacted and a variety of tax credits were expanded
• The most underrated item on the list, in my view, has a 2005 connection as well. The creation of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation took place in 2003 with a scheduled implementation in July 2005. Gov. Mitch Daniels, however, made the transition priority one upon taking office that January and the IEDC was off and running on a record-setting period of private sector investment and job creation
• A 2008 entry, removal of township assessors, MUST be complemented by additional local government reform measures. Whether it’s this year, in 2011 or through other measures, it’s time has more than come for taxpayers, local residents and all involved

Advocacy, of course, is just one way the Chamber works for its nearly 5,000 members and 800,000 employees of those Hoosier companies. But it’s a big one, making a difference each and every day.