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STEUBENVILLE - Instead of focusing on the "what's good for GM" philosophy, the nation would do well to realize "what's been good for small business has always been good for America."

That was the word from Roger Geiger, vice president and Ohio executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business, to a group of about 50 students at the Franciscan University of Steubenville's St. Joseph Center Monday morning. Geiger's appearance was sponsored by the university chapter of Students in Free Enterprise.

Geiger, who earned his undergraduate degree in 1983 from the university, detailed statistics showing the vitality of small business for the nation:

98 percent of the 260,000 incorporated businesses in Ohio have 100 or fewer employees; 80 percent have fewer than 25 employees.

About 70 percent of the jobs created nationally in the last 30 years were in firms with fewer than 100 employees.

Surveys show about 70 percent of Americans dream of owning their own business.

Geiger said the leading indicator of recovery in prior recessions has been a jump in the number of startup small businesses.

"When you see the startup numbers change, that's when I will tell you we're coming through the recession," he said.

Geiger charged the students to think critically about the impact on small business when issues, such as health care, are debated in the public arena.

When it comes to health reform, Geiger said the bill that recently passed the House misses the need to control costs while heading down the road toward a fully government-run, single-payer health system.

Geiger said the average small business employee policy costs $5,000. The average family policy is $12,000 a year.

"How many burgers does the small restaurant have to sell or greeting cards does the retailer have to sell to pay for that," he said. Geiger said with high costs, small business wants reforms, but eliminating competition - and thus quality and the chance to control costs - by introducing government control is not the answer. Geiger said the American system of health care delivery is the best in the world.

"Where would you rather be for major surgery or a procedure? The Mayo Clinic or Sloane Kettering Hospital, not Canada or Europe or a Third World country," he said. "We have to be very careful we do not drive down quality. And how do you guarantee quality? Competition."

Geiger said costs can be controlled by re-engaging the consumer. He said since employer-based health care was negotiated in the 1950s, most Americans have no idea of the actual cost of their care. They may pay co-pays or deductibles, but those are a fraction of the cost. As consumers, most people would research and pick the best doctors, clinics and hospitals for non-emergency situations, thus ensuring quality and competition.

Second, costs can be controlled by controlling malpractice claims. About 10 cents of every dollar spent on health care currently is for defensive medicine and malpractice insurance, Geiger said. The high cost of malpractice coverage has led to shortages, especially in rural areas, of the riskiest and lowest-profit margin sectors of health care: Obstetricians, pediatricians and family practitioners.

Geiger said small business also would benefit from having an exemption on health care insurance for small groups to pool across state lines, thus saving on having to meet individual state regulations. That would make small business competitive with major multistate firms that currently have federal exemptions on state tax and regulation of health policies.

Geiger also cautioned the students against the current atmosphere of taking from "the rich" to give to the poor. Geiger noted when government talks about taxing higher income people, it must be noted that 70 percent of all small businesses are pass-through taxpayers, meaning the business taxes are paid out of the personal income tax accounts of the owners. The owners aren't actually being taxed on their profit but on the worth and cost of their operations, he said.

"Ask the critical question. Who really pays? It's not always millionaires," he said. "My father always said, 'A poor man never signs the front end of a paycheck.' Wealth is not a dirty word."

Geiger told the students, "You need to recognize that government is an important partner and we need you to engage in government. Father Michael Scanlan (university chancellor who was president when Geiger was in school there) told me, 'If you don't get involved, somebody else will.' The worst thing that we have is apathy. The squeaky wheel always gets the grease, but the squeaky wheel is not always the majority."

Geiger said he has found the education he received at the university has grounded his life in what is important.

"Be engaged, do it in a very ethical way and fight like the dickens," he said. "Whatever the problem is, we can change."

(Giannamore can be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com.)