Straight Talk: Small Business Optimism Tanks

Small businesses got a lot of attention this week in Washington, D.C. The National Federation of Independent Business released its optimism report; not surprisingly, small businesses are not optimistic about the economy or their own business outlook. They report that their optimism is the lowest it has been since October 2011, another drop of three points. What was the president’s reaction? Incredibly, he proposed a tax hike on 900,000 small businesses. I could not disagree more.

Since the last Straight Talk, the June jobs report confirmed that unemployment has been at least 8 percent for 41 straight months. My friends, this is the longest stretch of 8 percent unemployment since the Great Depression. We need to help our job creators. America’s entrepreneurs need certainty to plan and budget, and they need the burden of taxes and regulations lifted. A major step would be repeal of the health care law that produces so many costs and uncertainties for small firms. The House of Representatives did its part this week by voting for repeal. The administration opted for a flurry of minor administrative proposals that are a drop in the bucket.

We will work to stop efforts to tax and regulate you more, and keep focused in this committee on the real concerns of small businesses that – even in tough times – create about 70 percent of all new jobs. We appreciate your comments at our Small Biz Open Mic. Keep them coming