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Bush & Kerry: Taking care of business?
by Jeff Horwich, Minnesota Public Radio
October 15, 2004

Bill Blazar, senior vice president for public affairs at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, says both candidates are debating business issues and the economy "at the 40,000-foot level." Both, he says, raise fears about a rising deficit. (MPR Photo/Jeff Horwich)

Both major presidential candidates claim to be friends of business-people. Health care, tax cuts, and the state of the economy were the centerpieces of this week's domestic debate. On the question of Bush versus Kerry, there are signs the business community in Minnesota is leaning toward the President. But it's also clear neither man has the business vote locked up.

St. Paul, Minn. — Business leaders are not always eager to talk politics. In a world where getting along and making deals are paramount, this year's bitter political fight is not natural conference room conversation.

"So you're visiting with a business colleague, and end up getting into an argument," says Bill Blazar, senior vice president for public affairs at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. "You walk away from it thinking, 'Gosh I've been friends with him or her for 20 years and that wasn't a pleasant experience.' And you figure for the rest of the fall, we just won't talk about the presidential race."

That doesn't mean business people aren't paying attention. Blazar says the top two campaign issues for the Minnesota business community are easy: health care and the deficit.

On health care, Senator Kerry's platform includes new tax credits for small businesses to provide coverage for low or moderate-income workers. His rhetoric focuses on insuring 27 million of the 44 million Americans without insurance.

	CEO Phillips: For Kerry

President Bush has touted health savings accounts, which would allow people to save tax-free for out-of-pocket medical expenses. He also wants to cap medical liability lawsuits, which he says would bring down costs across the system.

The Chamber's Blazar says the response from the business community has been something like a collective yawn.

"I haven't yet had a business person come up to me and say, 'You know, you really have to read the president or Senator Kerry's plan on health care. I don't think either candidate has said enough on those issues to capture anybody's attention or imagination," he says.

Likewise for the number two issue on Blazar's list, the federal deficit. Both candidates promise a return to a balanced budget -- eventually. But neither seems to inspire great confidence on that count. Many business people inherently trust a Republican to do a better job reigning in spending. But spending has grown under Bush and a Republican congress -- at the same time as the promise of permanent tax cuts slices into revenue down the road.

Kerry has proposed rolling back tax cuts for the richest Americans to restore fiscal balance. But many business people look at Kerry and see a growth in new government programs that would quickly absorb that revenue.

Still, business people -- like everyone else -- have to choose.

The Minnesota Chamber officially stays out of the fray, and does not endorse in races for national office. But Blazar says the conventional wisdom that most business-types lean Republican is probably not far off the mark.

	CEO Hamilton: For Bush

"I think people in the business community may feel better about the economy than does the general public," Blazar says. "And I think more-so than any other issue, people's vote depends on where they see the economy going. That kind of wave of optimism among business people, I would think, would bode well for the president."

A number of top Minnesota CEOs have expressed their support through their pocketbooks. Among the local CEOs who have donated to Bush: Best Buy's Brad Anderson, Northwest Airlines' Richard Anderson, UnitedHealth Group's Bill McGuire, and Bob Ulrich of Target. Nationally, Bush's business-related contributions exceed those of Kerry by about 30 percent. Only two industry categories favor Kerry: "communications and electronics" and "lawyers and lobbyists."

To be fair, comparing business-related donations to Kerry and Bush is not exactly apples-to-apples. That's because Kerry does not accept money from political action committees. Locally, PACs from companies including 3M, Target, UnitedHealth, and USBancorp donated to Bush. But PAC contributions make up only one percent of Bush's funds, leaving no doubt the President retains an edge in business-related giving.

"I contribute as much as my wife and I reasonably think that we can, because we view it as an investment in the future of the country," says Harold Hamilton, President, CEO and majority owner of Micro Control in Fridley, which makes equipment for the computer chip industry.

Like many business owners, he puts lower taxes near the top of his wish list. When Bush paid a visit to Micro Control last year, Hamilton found a sympathetic ear.

"I told him, 'Mr. President, if you cut the taxes like this it's going to save us ten percent on the cost of capital equipment, 10 percent on the taxes we send in to the federal government.' I told him that it was costing us 50 cents of every dollar of gross income for taxes, local state and federal," Hamilton said.

Just this week, Congress delivered to President Bush a new corporate tax cut specifically targeted at manufacturers. Hamilton says lower taxes allow him to do things like hire more research and development staff. It's also true that he and his wife together own more than 50 percent of Micro Control, and a lower corporate tax bill is good for him personally. The company made an approximately $1 million profit in 2003.

When Hamilton looks at John Kerry, he sees higher spending and higher taxes. He particularly dislikes Kerry's promise to slow the outsourcing of jobs, which he sees as interference in his freedom to run his business, saying, "when I see the things Senator Kerry stands for, it's scary."

Hamilton says he does not personally know any business leaders who support John Kerry. But they're out there -- people like Winmark Corporation CEO John Morgan, whose Minneapolis company owns Play It Again Sports, Once Upon a Child, Music-Go-Round and Plato's Closet. Morgan gave the maximum $2,000 to Kerry and another $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee. Another big Democratic donor is Lois Quam, the CEO of the Ovations unit of UnitedHealth Group, named this month one of the top 50 women in American business by Fortune Magazine.

And one well-known local businessman stands out in Kerry's donor list. Automotive and lending magnate Denny Hecker gave to Bush in 2000. This time -- though he continues to donate to other Republican candidates -- he sent a maximum $2,000 donation to John Kerry.

Edward Phillips can identify. Phillips is Chairman and CEO of Phillips Beverage Company and Millennium Import in Minneapolis. Phillips donated and voted for Bush in 2000. But not this year.

"Certainly many people like me are supporting John Kerry. It's not like I'm the Lone Ranger," Phillips says. "The credibility that he has in the international community is extremely important. I travel frequently on business. I can't recall a time in my life when an American government has been held in such low-esteem."

Phillips does not expect a Kerry presidency would have any negative effect on his company's growth. As "someone blessed with some degree of wealth," Phillips says personally Bush's tax policies would leave more money in his pocket. But that, he says, is not the best policy for the country.

"My personal situation will improve as a citizen of the world," Phillips says. "I believe the world needs to consider the gap between the haves and the have-nots. I believe that compassionate conservatism is not being followed. I believe compassion is necessary toward all people, and a realization that there has to be some balancing of resources."

Phillips' top concerns stretch beyond business: Issues like the war in Iraq, the influence of the Christian right on the Bush administration, and the undermining of stem cell research. He is proof the business vote can be unpredictable, just like any other -- all the more reason neither candidate can take it for granted.

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