Boston Holiday Card Exchange Set for Tonight!
	On Monday, December 13 at Darryl's Corner Bar and Kitchen at 604 Columbus Avenue (one block off MA Avenue). The event will go from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This historic bar is part of the African American Boston tradition of great Southern Cuisine. Please RSVP by calling the office or sending Tatiana an email, tparedes@gnemsdc.org. We are also proud to have as co-sponsors for this Holiday Business Card Exchange, the Massachusetts Black Business Alliance and BostonKorea. These are two organizations we have partnered with this year in activities in the Greater Boston area and bringing them together with our organization is quite an honor. Imagine, a little kim chi with your black eyed peas and corn bread!

TJX and A&P Announce Major Changes
	TJX announced this weekend that it would be closing it AJ Wright division and the rumor on the street is that the venerable retailer A&P will be closing it's doors. These unrelated companies have one thing in common; opportunity. I cannot help but think that before thousands of employees join the ranks of the unemployed, that every effort should be tried to keep these retailers open as minority owned and controlled enterprises. What is needed is a willing seller, and a willing buyer group of minority capitalists/entrepreneurs. Who is interested?
	AJ Wright Story

Carlton Oneal Featured in Ethnic Online
	The Online minority professional magazine Ethnic On-line features MBE Input Committee Chairman and Partner at Light Speed in it current edition. To view the article click here. Congratulations Mr. Oneal, you deserve the recognition.

Opportunity at Bridgeport Housing Authority
	The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Request for Proposal (RFP) Labor Attorney Legal Services Solicitation No: 040-EO-10-S Solicitation Date: December 8, 2010 The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (BHA) is currently seeking the services of a qualified professional Labor Attorney to provide legal services regarding issues related to employment law and labor relations. Proposals must be submitted to Mr. Eugene Sumter, Chief Contracting Officer, 150 Highland Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604, by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 29, 2010. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held at BHA's Administrative Offices at 150 Highland Avenue on Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the Executive Conference Room. All interested parties are strongly encouraged to attend the conference. A complete copy of the solicitation, including proposed forms of contract and proposal requirements, can be obtained on December 9, 2010 at the Purchasing Department, 361 Bird Street, Bridgeport CT 06605, Attention: Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Telephone No. (203) 337-8820.

Congratulation Aetna and MBE Input Committee
	Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the "How to Do Business with Aetna" last week. I heard great things about it, in fact, I want to share an email from an MBE I received. "Dear Fred, I am writing to provide feedback on the Aetna procurement event on December 8, 2010. We met with the Director of Procurement responsible for training and we have now have the opportunity to be considered for international training opportunities. In addition, we made several contacts with other certified MWBE's that are potential Second Tier suppliers, Strategic Alliances or JV partners. On behalf of the entire team at JKA, we would like to thank the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council for making this event possible. Jean Kristensen President & CEO J Kristensen Associates, LLC I hope that we can organize similar meetings in 2011 between corporate members and MBEs. It costs very little to host one of these meetings and you have a partner in the GNEMSDC to make it productive for MBEs and the host corporate member.

See My Interview on Stan Simpson Show
	Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being on the Stan Simpson Show (CT Now Fox 61) talking on the economy. If you would like to view the interview click on the link below. Your comments are always welcome.
	Stan Simpson Show

GNEMSDC Technology Upgrade
	The GNEMSDC is just about finished on our latest technology upgrade. One of the consequences of the upgrade is that you will no longer be able to reach us at our old cmsdc.org email addresses. Please check your systems and make the change from tparedes@cmsdc.org to tparedes@gnemsdc.org for all of our employees. And we apologize if some emails have gotten lost in cyberspace during this transition, please reach back out to us if we have not returned your email. Thank you.

GNEMSDC Has Job Opening For Boston Office Director

The GNEMSDC is looking for dynamic manager to assist us to expand our operations in the Greater Boston market. If you are interested in learning more about the opportunity send your resume to Gloria Yopp at gyopp@gnemsdc.org. The job description will be posted on our website later this week. An Open Letter to Governor Elect Daniel Malloy First let me offer Connecticut Governor-Elect Dan Malloy, a heart felt congratulations. He comes into office when he is going to need all the help he can get in order to get the Connecticut economy moving again. The GNEMSDC is here to help him, the taxpayers, and the minority business community here in Connecticut. We also feel this way about the other five states in our region. But I feel a special relationship to Connecticut and to Mr. Malloy. Mr. Malloy the former Mayor of Stamford is no stranger to the Council. And as a former resident of Stamford, i can say that this town certainly grew under his leadership. The hope is that what happened in Southern Connecticut can be replicated throughout the state, and perhaps the region. So this letter is offered in the spirit of support for assisting Governor Elect Malloy meeting successfully the daunting challenges we all face. Dear Governor-Elect Malloy, Connecticut has a rich tradition of diversity and economic opportunity for minorities. Unfortunately however when it comes to state procurement that tradition is not evident. According to the CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, state spending with state certified minority businesses (not women certified minority businesses) has declined from $18 million in 2005/06 to $4 million in 2007/08. In terms of percentages, certified MBEs are receiving only 15 percent of state set-aside contracts as part of the state's supplier diversity program. Non-minority owned women firms are receiving over 75 percent of state contracts in this program. In a state that has a total budget of over $19 billion and spends about a quarter of that on goods and services, the record of the state being an engine for economic development for minority business is atrocious. In effect, the state spends approximately $5 per minority resident on minority business while spending $2,500 per non-minority resident on non-minority businesses. This imbalance you might expect in Jim Crow Mississippi in 1940, but not the great state of Connecticut in 2010. I have some solutions to this dismal record that will effectively deal with this problem and save the state money. The state of Connecticut needs to get out of the business of certifying Minority and Women owned businesses and leave that to organizations like the GNEMSDC and WBENC. The state needs to separate the spending goals for minorities from the spending goals with women owned enterprises. The state needs to put some teeth in its contract compliance and monitoring program to insure participation by all agencies and departments. The state needs to hire a Chief Diversity Officer who would be responsible for supplier diversity and HR diversity. The state needs to target spending on MBEs where those services are being provided to areas where there are large concentrations of minority taxpayers, like Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, etc. The state needs to establish an effective second tier program for major state contractors which includes information, incentives, disincentives, and on-going monitoring. I offer these suggestions as way to begin the conversation on how we turn an ineffective moribund program into something that you and all the residents of the state of Connecticut can be proud of. The future of this state requires that we have a vibrant and growing minority business community. I look forward to working with you and your administration in order to address the current inequities and inefficiencies. In your service, Dr. Fred McKinney, President and CEO GNEMSDC

And Finally,

I sense a great deal of frustration around the country and in Washington with the current state of fiscal policy, and specifically what we spend taxpayers money on and how we raise the funds necessary for the maintenance of the government. I think this is the type of dilemma that has proven impossible for elected officials to solve on their own, regardless of party. I want to make some humble suggestions of a path that could lead us toward a more stable system of financing all federal government operations, including the retirement of a burgeoning debt problem and a teetering Social Security system. These suggestions are not entirely original, and have the unique quality of angering every special interest group, but I think that is not necessarily a bad thing and may in fact be a sign that the policy is headed in the right direction. Here is the plan: Eliminate the current IRS code of deductions, credits, tax brackets and distinctions between types of income and tax all income equally regardless of where it comes from (wages, long term capital gains, short term capital gains, rents, transfers at death, interest, and dividends). I would suggest an initial rate of 25 percent because in a $15 trillion economy a rate at this level would cover all existing expenses and contribute to some retirement of debt, i.e. creating a budget surplus. I can hear the screams already. What about the mortgage interest deduction - gone! What about charitable contributions - gone! What about my five children - well not gone, but don't expect us to pay for them. What about all of the tax accountants and tax lawyers - gone! Who needs them anyway? Your tax form would basically say two things: 1) how much did you earn from all sources and 2) pay 25 percent of that, no stories, no questions no problems. Everyone would have certainty and if we could run the government on less, we could lower the rate for all. And if we needed more, the rate would have to be increased. Some might ask what would Congress do under such a regime. Well they could focus their attention on how the money is spent and on the efficiency of the government. What about the economic consequences of a flat tax? Certainty is good thing for investors, consumers and savers. What about the distributional implications? Well the system we now have is not even progressive on paper anymore. This would be a much more progressive system in practice compared to anything that we have ever had since the Federal government started collecting taxes in 1917. What about the churches, synagogues, mosques and non-profits? Well, we will find out how charitable we really are if we have to give out of after tax resources and not expect a return. Charitable organizations will have to compete for the hearts, minds and wallets of the community at large on the basis of their mission and their effectiveness. In the words of GW Bush, "bring it on". Well I am sure I have not convinced the lawyers, accountants or the politicians, the housing industry, the lobbyists, the non-profit community, because the fact of the matter is, a simple and efficient system is against their professional and economic interests. I would like to hear your thoughts and comments on this important subject that impacts us all.

In your service

Dr. Fred