It was supposed to be an upgrade, really.

The original plan was to merge this podcast into a new Blog Talk Radio program called Microbusiness Conversations. The format of the show would be an initial ten minutes of microbusiness news followed by a twenty minute conversation with the week’s guest.

What I found out was that (a) this podcast really does not lend itself to that sort of format and (b) if I did that, I would leave my regular podcast listeners hanging. There was no convenient way to transfer you guys over to BTR.

So, here I am and I apologize for going AWOL for a couple of weeks.

As for this week’s news, don’t let the title fool you. The BIG story this week is all about data. There were two separate data releases from Advocacy and Census and both contained their share of surprises.

(If you want details, you can head on over the The Journal Blog and check out last week’s posts.)

And, in addition to all that, we’re back with this week’s Policy Matters.

For more information:

• Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• SBA Office of Advocacy
• U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics

In fact, if you’re a Journal Blog reader, you may possibly remember my lament about having to wait for these numbers. Well, the wait is over.

If you don’t feel like waiting, I’ll tell you that nonemployers increased in number by almost a million in 2007, up 4.5%. For the rest, you’ll have to listen to the podcast.

The other item majorly on the agenda this week is health care reform. There are a few things I have to say about that in this week’s podcast and I’m going to say a few more things here.

First, be aware that I am not necessarily arguing in favor of the public option. Personally, I think that everybody who is engaged in the health care reform debate is barking up the wrong tree, principally because none of them seems able to travel very far outside ideas and concepts they are used to.

I’ve been saying for years that we need to separate the ideas of health care and health insurance. You can tell that we haven’t because of the way people object to public insurance by saying they don’t want the government in charge of their heath care.

(Hint: You are in charge of your health care. Unless you are incarcerated, that doesn’t change – no matter what happens to the system.)

What I am seeing here is a bunch of public option opponents (bankrolled, I suspect, largely by the insurance industry) scaring people into thinking it would be terrible if the government treated them exactly the way health insurance companies treat them now.

Go figure.

Use your head, people. That’s all I ask.

For more information:

• National Association for the Self-Employed
• Press Release: Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation Aims to Simplify Home Office Tax Deduction …
• U.S. Census Bureau: Nonemployer Statistics