Congress is All Show and No Go For Small Business Week
May 18th marks the beginning of National Small Business Week. It certainly makes sense to have a small business week. The latest U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 98 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees and these firms employ over 50.2 percent of the private sector workforce, and are responsible for creating over 97 percent of all new jobs.
Politicians in Washington routinely refer to small businesses as the "backbone of the U.S. economy." In fact, politicians spouting praise for small businesses are a daily occurrence. Unfortunately, it is usually all talk and very little action.
Lets look at the facts. To date, 100 percent of the over $2.3 trillion in economic stimulus funds have gone to states, local governments and the top 1 percent of U.S. firms. Small businesses have not received one dime of actual stimulus dollars. President Obama has promised to create or save between 3 and 4 million jobs, but all of the money has gone to the largest firms in America. Large businesses have not created one net new job in America since 1977.
90 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 20 employees, and yet both President Obama and Congress have completely ignored these firms in any allocation of actual economic stimulus funds. Virtually everything President Obama has proposed to assist our nation's 27 million small businesses is smoke and mirrors. President Obama's small business rescue plans and small business stimulus plans have been little more than a public relations campaign.
A prime example of the Obama Administration and Congress' complete lack of commitment to America's top job creators can be seen in their consistent refusal to address the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms. Since 2003, a constant flow of federal investigations have been released which found hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts have been diverted to many of the largest firms in the United States and Europe. Hundreds of stories in the mainstream media have reported firms such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Xerox, Dell Computer, John Deere, Dole Foods, AT&T, Verizon, General Dynamics, and Halliburton have received billions of dollars in federal small business contracts.
Even some of the largest firms in Europe are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. government small business contracts. Firms such as British Aerospace, French corporate giant Thales Communications and multi billion dollar Dutch conglomerate Buhrmann NV with thousands of employees worldwide all received federal small business contracts.
This is not abortion, gun control or gay marriage; it is Fortune 500 firms receiving government small business contracts! I think it would be difficult to find even one person in Middle America that would disagree with the notion that Fortune 500 firms should not be receiving federal small business contracts, and yet not one piece of legislation has ever been passed to address the problem.
In 2005, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of inspector General released Report 5-15 which stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
President Obama weighed in on the issue in February of 2008 when he said, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
Every month national unemployment statistics continue to increase. Some areas of the country are experiencing unemployment of over 22 percent.
It is time for President Obama and Congress to stop flapping their gums about how important small businesses are and actually pass some legislation to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to "corporate giants."
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Unfortunately, it's not just Small Business contracts where the small business person is left out in the cold. The upcoming health care initiative looks as though we'll be left out as well. Oh, there will be the ability to band together in associations - however that really won't make a lot of difference. How are those association relationships doing for your personal insurance - AARP from Hartford or insurance via your local chamber of commerce? They really don't save much. In fact it can be argued that they increase rates, because of required payments back to the association.
It also looks like single payer insurance is headed for the graveyard so we'll be forced to deal with insurance companies whether we like it or not. Why don't I get that warm, fuzzy feeling?
Mr. Chapman seems to be the only voice that is crying out to help small businesses. This is an issue that Democrats, Republicans and Independents should agree on. Helping small businesses to thrive and compete with corporations. Instead they bury their heads in the sand and will one day look up and wonder, where did all the jobs go? Where is the competition? What happened to American ingenuity?
I am appalled that this is still going on. All we hear from our representatives is that they are helping small businesses, but where is the follow through? All I hear is a bunch of talk and empty promises for our representatives that are too busy taking money from big business, like banks and Wall Street, to do anything to help the little guy. It shows, look how much money we have given to Wall Street and the banks and how quickly that money went out. Where is the help for small businesses? I still can't get loans that I need to keep my business afloat, but we are still giving the banks billions. It is easy to see where their priorities are, what a joke!
If I were President Obama I know what I would do... put the money back into the hands of small business owners. Bottom line.
Hold on here, Lloyd, are you trying to say that politicians and the Washington crowd are saying one thing and then doing something else (or NOT doing something as the case may be)?
The problem is that small businesses do not contribute large amounts to politicians coffers, so there is no incentive for them to do something to help the only thriving part of our economy. I mean really, do you actually expect them to do something that would help because it is the right thing to do? HA!
Until small businesses can band together to buy our own politicians, it will be difficult to change anything. Obama promised change we can believe in and when it comes to small business policies, both he and Congess - both Dems and Reps alike - are only giving small businesses change, as opposed to the billions they are giving their buddies on Wall Street and at the banks.
Why is it starting to seem like Lloyd is the only one who cares about small businesses? The only person who is really doing something about helping ACTUAL small businesses? He must be a VERY busy man. There are 27 million small businesses in America, and one person is fighting for them.
You would think that small businesses would be sponsoring National Small Business Week, right? Makes sense. When you think of small businesses, do you think of Ford? Raytheon? Wal-Mart? Visa? IBM? Hewlett Packard? Of course not. I am pretty sure that you think the exact opposite of a small businesses. So what is really going on here? All looks like PR to me.
Lets stop the charade, its getting ridiculous and our economy is suffering.
Lloyd may have missed the proper angle to draw this issues attention.
Small business in America needs to band together and act as one. If they were taking away funds that went to lawyers or doctors, what would the public outcry be? The AMA and the Bar Association would be screaming their bloody pampered little heads off. But Willie the Widget maker doesn't have a voice in Congress or an organization to support him. Perhaps American small business needs some sort of figure head.
A controversial mascot is very necessary here.
How about Manny. A gay, gun toting, abortion loving, American Indian baby Harp Seal with a slight southern accent, wearing a French Beret at a jaunty angle to cover the tire iron scar he received in an L.A. gang fight.
He could flash gang signs while tagging the White house with "SBA stands for Send Billions to Accenture!!!"
Manny would be a sympathetic figure as CNN played back his arrest. America would be outraged when the Secret Service tasered him, making his handcuffed little flippers twitch.
Swells of Small business pride would rise as police lowered a hog tied Manny into the car screaming and lisping, "The first American Flag was made by a small, woman owned shop -- You Big Business/ Venture Capitalist loving Bitches!!! Watch the Beret, it's Dolce Gabbana."
Who needs American Idol. A new media star is born!!!
Might sound far fetched, but it's better than anything Obama has come up with so far.
It should make everyone angry that our President and Congress are doing NOTHING to support small businesses. Why are small businesses being ignored? President Obama is supposedly for the middle class, but when 98% of the country is working for a small business and the President is ignoring small business, how is he helping us? I voted for Obama with the hope of change, but so far all I see are broken promises and, once again, we the middle class are being ignored. Once again, corporations with large pockets get to decide what happens in our country. I swear, it doesn't matter who you vote for, they all essentially buy the President's loyalty. Obama may be "the ship" but clearly large corporations are the tugboats pulling that ship in whatever direction they want to take it. I guess that leaves small businesses as the waves in the water - those big ships just cut through them whenever they need to, and don't care about the ripple effect. The giant "oil spill" is happening now and our country is in an economic crisis. Yet, still the President ignores the waves of small business that have kept our country afloat, instead choosing to watch small business get mired in the muck and slowly suffocate. Thank you Mr. President.
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