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

Last week, everybody seemed to have lost their minds, didn’t they? Most of the PR pros of my acquaintance would have called the AIG bonus debacle a case of tone-deaf company creating a Wiley Coyote public relations moment for themselves.

It was revealing, though, for some reasons I expect to be speculating about later this week over at The Journal Blog and maybe elsewhere. Having had my thoughts provoked, I also expect I’ll enjoy myself.

Last week’s microbusiness news is an exercise in the virtues of patience. Ever so slowly, Washington is taking up the microbusiness people’s business, although they continue to be hampered by the lack of leadership over at the SBA.

And what’s up with that, anyway?

It’s difficult to say whether its a good thing or not that these to important microbusiness bills — the standard home office deduction and the permission for Schedule C filers to deduct health insurance premiums before calculating FICA taxes — have been introduced so early.

It’s nice to know that they’re thinking about us, isn’t it?

On the other hand, past experience shows that legislation introduced this early (especially small business legislation) has a tendency to get buried and forgotten in the pending tray.

As to that, we shall see.

For more information

President’s Remarks to Small Business Owners (video)
Home Office Deduction Simplification Act of 2009 (THOMAS)
Equity for Our Nation’s Self Employed Act of 2009 (THOMAS)
National Association for the Self-Employed