In Chester, pop. 730, on the broad northern grasslands of the Montana Hi-Line, local business owner and Chamber of Commerce member Margaret Novak says she's ready to speak out for health care and labor law reform.
"The middle class is stuck footing the bill without the means to pay it," Novak said. "Any economist will tell you that you need a strong middle class to make the economy work."
Novak and her husband, Mike, own Mike's Thriftway, a supermarket and gas station along U.S. Highway 2 at the edge of town. The two have more than two dozen employees and offer health insurance and family-friendly scheduling to employees.
The couple have long been a part of the local Chamber because they want to support a viable local business community. But Novak stopped paying dues to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because its focus on fighting health care reform and demonizing sensible legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act is too extreme, too focused on a narrow idea of "business interests." "We want to promote commerce," Novak said.
Sometimes that means planning seasonal events in the downtown. Other times, like now, it means speaking out against the U.S. Chamber and, she hopes, rehabilitating the image of the greedy, tax-hating business owner.
"That saddens me, the idea that business owners are all anti-labor, anti-government and against paying taxes. That's not what a majority of business owners are like," she said.
Novak said she knows many business owners who want to contribute to the common good, to help pay for things like health care and public education.
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