With the approach of the midterm elections, it is doubly important for the Hampton Roads business community to remain actively engaged with our elected leadership.

Not very long ago, companies were lamenting the availability of qualified candidates; but the winds of fortune have turned south. It has become a "hirer's market," if you will. Does this make the executive search process an easier course to plot and maintain? Will an organization be successful in finding the right person for the right job in a timely manner simply because the waters are teeming with possibilities? Probably not.

The remainder of the 111th Congress will be largely defined by one issue: taxes. With the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, Americans are facing the largest tax hike in history. If Congress acts to prevent these tax increases, the economy will receive a much-needed injection of certainty. But if Congress lets tax relief lapse, 2011 will be another difficult year for American families and businesses.