1851: The Politics Issue

By BEN HEINEMANN Welcome to the Political Issue of 1851 Magazine. Over the next month, we will be covering a variety of topics that all tie back to the lawmakers, politicians, bills, policies and issues that directly affect small businesses and, more specifically, the franchise industry. From September 10-11, 1851 staff attended the " target="_blank" rel="nofollowInternational Franchise Association’s Public Affairs Conference. Over the course of those two days, IFA leadership and special guest speakers presented various topics and policies that affect franchising as well as the importance of influencing our members of Congress. Attendees were also given the opportunity to meet face to face with their representatives to talk about the issues that matter to them most and how they are personally being affected. In this issue, we will share with you not only information and stories from the Public Affairs Conference, but also features ranging from politics in social media to the effects of the health care law on businesses to profiles on the political staff of the IFA. We’ll also take a look at the politicians who have received the most donations from the IFA’s political affairs committee (FranPAC) and states with laws that are franchising-friendly. We invite you to participate and engage with our content this month by posting comments below each story via Facebook and " target="_blank" rel="nofollowvoting in our own poll on which presidential candidate you will be supporting come November 6. We hope you enjoy our look at politics and its effects on franchising and small business.