Before I get started with this week’s podcast, a note about the last regular podcast I did.

After the story I did and the podcast snippet I recorded about the still-pending nomination for the Chief Counsel of the SBA Office of Advocacy (along with my confession about my mental aberrations having to do with former NFL tight-end Kellen Winslow), I was honored and tickled pink to field a phone call from Dr. Winslow Sargeant himself.

I just wanted to mention it here because I am very well aware of the fact that he really didn’t have to do that. It gives me a good impression of him.

Now … back to this week’s news.

Best of show for the week is the new nonemployer research, without a doubt. These bits of research on nonemployers might illustrate stuff that many of us think we already know but, as I’ve written before, without the research, we were never able to prove it before.

Now we can, which matters. And now that the easy questions are being answered and some of those in the research world are beginning to notice and care about how little we really know about nonemployers, the fun part (where we start seeing research that illustrates stuff that we didn’t know) will soon start.

Personally, I think that’s a great way to close out a year.

We also have Congressional dancing for you, with the appropriations tango and the economic stimulus cha-cha. Everybody’s dance cards seem to be full but where does that leave us microbusinesses?

For more information:

• Summary: Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 (PDF)
• Landrieu Praises Passage of Omnibus Appropriations Act …
• SBA Office of Advocacy