Replies

My company hires subcontractors, often similar in size, to do work for larger companies, among which are some of the largest corporate entities on the planet. My company's fiscal health and theirs is interrelated.
...
What defense do we as small business owners have against those (often agenda-driven) regulations and the regulators who promulgate those regulations, especially since the probability of influencing regulators (short of injunctive or legislative relief) whose motivations approach religious fervor is nearly nil?

Excellent question. That is precisely the influence gap this think tank is aimed at filling.

This think tank's goal is to operate at a level on par with others. And then to get additional influence, we do "general promotion" (see mission Statement). We could have a public outreach campaign to generally support subcontractors by saying "have carve outs for subcontractors". Big biz has plenty of representation to take care of themselves; we focus exclusively on small. But we can make a big point of "even if a law is intended to apply to big biz and it will cost them, make sure the law is designed as much as possible to balance things out so small vendors are not hurt". It might be possible by adding in something not pertinent to the big co. at all, but something to benefit those small vendors to the point of offsetting their loss.

See, without something like our think tank the small guy has no seat at the table. These things are all ignored by elitist organizations, since they know you're probably voting for their generic pro-big-business viewpoint anyway !

It is evident in much of regulation without exemptions written in for smaller businesses, that what cannot be attributed to malice on the part of regulators displays the lack of knowledge and foresight that leads to 'unintended consequences' for small business.

Insofar as being able to inform those bodies and regulators of those consequences which might be better predicted from a different viewpoint, there is some possibility this might have a beneficial effect.

I am somewhat skeptical, considering the apparent hostility of the present political environment toward certain subgroups developing viable commercial concerns, and given the apparent tendency for the administration at present to back highly questionable ventures with substantial sums taken from the public coffers while looting through fees and taxation those who do not receive such aid, I wonder how much real effect can be obtained at present.

However, in establishing credibility, especially in regards to deleterious effects, being able to point to predictions of negative outcomes given certain policy shifts may provide the only good derived from those policies in the long haul.

Being able to say "I told you so." might be the only benefit derived in the short term, but will add credibility in the event the political winds change and policy can be reversed, removed, or altered beneficially in the future.

I'm interested, although I do not know how much good I can do.