An Interview With Small Business Association Chief Karen Mills

AOL Small Business:

As administrator of the Small Business Administration, Karen Mills serves as President Obama's primary ambassador to small-business owners, a constituency with admittedly very diverse opinions -- which extend to the SBA itself. While some have founded their companies with the help of SBA-guaranteed loans and think highly of the agency, others remain highly critical of its work and overall mission.

Read the whole story: AOL Small Business

Comments

[rocknrollinhoneybadger]

09:12 AM on 05/30/2011

All evidence to the contrary Karen Mills. Your boss in his own words claims that at some point people have made enough money and tells us how he just wants to spread the wealth around.

[themodernleader]

10:26 PM on 05/29/2011

There is little demand because the people are broke or afaid togo out ona limb and borrow money. The unspent SBA monies should go into public works projects. Additionally, the government should form their own public bank and produce billions to rebuild our nation's bridges, roads, sewer systems, waste disposal systems, new forests and so on. Right now our people and nation's production are dead in the water. With each passing day our ship of state sinks deeper into a watery grave.

[bkerensa]

08:10 PM on 05/29/2011

If President Obama cares about Small Business then perhaps he can extend some billion dollar loans to Small Businesses with a return rate of 0.01 percent.... After all Goldman Sachs borrowed $60 Billion at that rate of interest!

[ChuckBlakeman]

12:00 PM on 05/29/2011

Until the SBA embraces a reasonable definition of "small", all claims that they help small businesses should not be believed.

The SBA defines "small" as "less than 500 employees" - 28 million of 28.1 million businesses (only 18,000 do not qualify), a constituency so broad as to be meaningless. It's no different than defining all people under seven feet tall as "short". It's 99.93% of businesses in America.

Why so broad a definition?

So politicians and the SBA can continue to claim they are focused on helping small businesses while totally focused on larger companies with more political donor power.

The SBA's Size Standards white paper says it is "utterly impossible" to define the size of small business, then they go ahead and do it at 500 employees. The European Union has universally defined it at 50, and "Micro" at 10. in 2009 Australia passed the Fair Work Act defining small business as less than 15 employees.

Apparently it's not impossible, but it is definitely inconvenient for the SBA and big government who regularly trot out companies of 50-500 employees and claim they are helping "small" business.

The media needs to stop allowing the SBA and politicians to simply feed them unproven claims of small business support without requiring without a working definition of "small". Until we have full disclosure on what size companies actually get help, these claims should fall on deaf ears.

Big is not small. The SBA should stop making claims without a meaningful definition.

[Genosse Joe]

03:30 PM on 05/28/2011

It is funny. She must of have a very intimate knowledge of Obama's aspirations, because judging by his actions he wants to squash small businesses.

She should tell Obama to stop borrowing spree of the federal government, which would leave much more money available for small business loans.

She should tell Obama to give all small businesses the same waver from Obamacare as his union friends had received.

Speaking about unions, Obama should stop insisting on unionizing employees of the small business based on open signature sheets. Maybe better if he would not give unions any government protection. Workers in the auto-repair shop have right to form a trade union, a volleyball team or a chorus. But the owner of the repair shop has right to fire any of his employees and hire a better one if it makes his business more productive.

[rory talbot]

02:45 PM on 05/28/2011

Obama had the banks by the bawls and could have demanded increased access to capital, but instead did nothing. Like all other Republican Presidents, he's been a total failure. Yes, I think Obama's a Republican.

[Genosse Joe]

03:33 PM on 05/28/2011

He can not demand from the banks to stop giving money to his bottomless federal programs (by buying treasury notes). He want these money and he does not care that small businesses need money too.

[Hdaryl01]

12:05 PM on 05/28/2011

The only thing the SBA is goof at, and succeeds at, is assuming (socializing) 90% of the risk, while providing 100% of the profits to the elite banking oligarchs who make horrendously expensive loans, with voluminous paperwork, and copious restriction to small business. Because the SBA guarantees 90%, no right minded massive banking oligarch would consider lending small businesses any money that isn't SBA. The SBA succeeds monumentally in its real job-to assume the risk, and guarantee the profits, and provide justification for copious fees FOR THE MASSIVE BANKS TO MAKE ASTRONOMICAL SUMS OF MONEY, WITH NO RISK. THAT is the true mission of the SBA. Neither the SBA, or the Obama Administration, or for that matter any political hack care one iota about small business beyond how small business can be ensured to be a captive profit center for the oligarch banking business, and how press releases detailing new programs designed to benefit oligarchs can be spun into political mileage for the politician.

Take your gristle and gruel people. And be happy. We REALLY care about you......

[Genosse Joe]

03:38 PM on 05/28/2011

Zero risk for banks "investing" in federal government comes from the government's ability to borrow money by trillions. Lucking, the debt ceiling is reached.

But Obama insists on rising debt limit to continue to "socialize the risk" for large financial institutions borrowing money from FED under 1% and lending them to Obama next day under 5%.

I guess that you are now strongly against raising debt ceiling.

[nothingchanges]

11:00 AM on 05/28/2011

Everybody BELIEVES in small business..........................

problem is................................. no one supports us.

The Walmart mentality won.

The American economy, and more specifically the middle class.................. lost.

[iridium53]

01:24 AM on 05/28/2011

Balderdash.

Actions speak louder than words.

[Arts4u]

09:08 PM on 05/27/2011

Coming from a small business family and working in small business for my entire life, I can honestly say that true small business has not received the government support which it warrants over the years.

At this point, most small business is simply hanging on.... waiting for the economic climate to change.

If Obama truly wishes to assist small business, and promote the creation of new small business... grants would be a great way to help turn around Main Street.

[MadAppraiser]

03:52 PM on 05/27/2011

DREAMS-R-US! That title is a more accurate description of American small business, and the SBA. A lot of us believed in the American Dream. There is a large inventory of vacant commercial, office, and storefront properties for your new office. BE MY GUEST!

The stylus in the small business moving coil turntable cartridge, or digital player laser pick-up is worn-out. A select group of entrepreneurs have access to business plan, venture capital, and market entry point in which income generation surpasses expense. I have heard, “A FOOL IS BORN EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY!”

[BigDaddyWow]

02:01 PM on 05/27/2011

Bullcrap! Obama may posture but small business has been beaten in every possible way since he come into office. Granted, the economy was in the ditch but Obama failed to recognize that in chaos is opportunity. There were many ways that small business could have been helped that would have surely blunted the unemployment picture but Obama chose to go after Healthcare instead of keeping focused on the economy. Now, instead of being a hero he will simply be the worst president in American history.

SBA loans are a joke. You still have to qualify with the bank and now the SBA has all kinds of requirements. It's just terrible.

[budanatr]

12:51 PM on 05/27/2011

The SBA is a joke when it comes to helping entrepreneurs and new start up businesses. If you do not have an revenues or collateral then you are not qualified. No new innovations, no new businesses, no new jobs. Great program.

2 bln for what?

[fineartgalaxy]

12:09 PM on 05/27/2011

He could had fool me.

[Konnie]

10:41 AM on 05/27/2011

it's time for NEW PARAMETERS for the definition of what constitutes SMALL BUSINESS.

here's the deal today: SMALL BUSINESS doesn't mean the mom and pop store on the corner
getting a tax break. it doesn't even mean the little factory in the industrial park cranking out
polished widgets. nope - not even close.

SMALL BUSINESS only means SMALL NUMBER OF OWNERS. non-public, not on the stock exchange, no available shares, all the profit going directly to one guy or two guys or 1 family.
THINK BOEING. really? yep THINK KOCH INDUSTRIES - yep those guys,.............

perhaps we should split the agency in half. and rename the division: SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION - AND ITTY-BITTY BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

[frank day]

11:50 AM on 05/27/2011

Fanned and Faved

You took the words out of my mouth.

[mistykane]

01:11 PM on 05/27/2011

Small business depends on the number of employees, NOT owners.

http://www.sba.gov/content/what-sbas-definition-small-business-concern