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Helping Main Street
Senate should approve legislation that could spark small businesses’ growth
Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
It was no coincidence that President Barack Obama met Wednesday in New Jersey with the owners of a sandwich shop, an Italian restaurant, a paper-tube manufacturer and a company that helps homeowners save energy. All run small businesses, the type that create the majority of new jobs in this country. Obama recognizes that the road to economic recovery runs straight down Main Street, which is why he is urging the Senate this week to approve the Small Business Jobs Act, a version of which has cleared the House.
Among the legislation’s appealing provisions are a $30 billion fund that community banks can use to lend money to small businesses, $20 billion in loans that such entrepreneurs would be able to receive through state programs, elimination of capital gains taxes on certain small-business investments and other tax incentives aimed at encouraging business expansion.
It is no wonder the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce came out this month in support of the legislation. President and CEO Matt Crosson said: “Small businesses need more help to get back on their feet, and they need it as quickly as possible. The Small Business Jobs Act will give entrepreneurs valuable assistance and strong, tangible incentives that can help spur business investment and job growth that are essential to economic recovery.”
Senate Republicans, are you listening?
It is abundantly clear that major banks, including those that were bailed out by taxpayers, have made little effort to lend Main Street a helping hand. But big banks aren’t the only culprits. Senate Republicans have taken equally indefensible actions by repeatedly standing in the way of legislation aimed at sparking economic recovery. They are fixed on worthless trickle-down economic theories and on anything that helps only those individuals and corporate giants in the upper tax brackets. They have shown they couldn’t care less about Main Street.
Small businesses de-serve much better. At least they have a friend in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who aptly put his finger on why the Senate should pass this legislation.
“The reason we’re pressing the small-business jobs bill is that’s where most jobs are,” Reid said. “Most people think the jobs come from General Motors, AT&T and those huge companies, but that’s not true. Probably 80 percent of all jobs in America come from small business, and that’s why we’re trying to stimulate small business in Nevada and the rest of the country.”
We urge the Senate to pass the bill quickly so small businesses can begin to hire more workers, purchase equipment and expand operations. All of that would have a ripple effect on local economies, particularly in hard-hit Southern Nevada, where employment growth would be most welcome.
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"Senate Republicans, are you listening?"
No, they aren't listening.
Senate and House republicans are dedicated to prolonging poor economic conditions through November. Once the election happens, if more republicans get elected, expect their tone to radically shift.
Until then, they will trumpet any and all news that sounds bad, while sitting on their thumbs.
This is just more legislation aimed at small businesses. The republicans don't like it when we remind you that a large portion of the stimulus was tax credits and changes to the tax codes that directly assisted small businesses.
In fact, the same republicans yammering on about tax credits for small businesses are the same ones who say the stimulus shouldn't have been passed.
In a new paper written by Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi and Princeton's Alan Blinder, they estimate that without the stimulus, "GDP in 2010 would be about 612% lower, payroll employment would be less by some 812 million jobs, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation."
Don't expect to hear about that from the republicans or the cadre of conservative commentators on Fox News.
They'll just keep trumpeting any and all bad news until the election. It's the only way the republicans will get elected.
I meant to write that the paper written by Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi and Princeton's Alan Blinder estimates that without the financial interventions and the stimulus, "GDP in 2010 would be about 6.5% lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8.5 million jobs, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation."
You have to wonder why this wasn't included a year and a half ago when Obama and Reid were bailing out the United Auto Workers and handing cash to every cause they could find. You have to wonder why they wont use some of the $300 billion left in stimulus funds to pay for this. Why is the answer always more government.
If you want to understand the problem then go to:
www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/12697..., and read "Looting of Main St." by Matt Taibbi.
Also, after receiving the TARP bailouts the Banks were supposed to restart the credit markets to get America moving again but they did not do so. Many small businesses had to close their doors because they rely on lines of credit to pay their supplier and employees but banks shut them off. This act by the Wall St. Ganksters had a large effect on increasing unemployment in the country. It seems that very few business's see the big picture.
Small-Business Bill Falters on Senate Partisanship
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: July 29, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a bill to aid small businesses with expanded loan programs and tax breaks, a procedural blockade that underscored how fiercely determined the party's leaders are to deny Democrats any further legislative accomplishments before November's midterm elections.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/pol...
What's that about speaking out of one side of the mouth one thing and saying something else about another?
The Republicans could care less about the economic morass they created. Their only goal is to scramble back into power--trying to blame the present administration for the economic implosion that occurred on their own watch.
Disgraceful.
AP
It makes us wonder why the stimulus bill ($825 Billion) had nothing in it for small business. Did Harry Reid just now learn that small business provides 80% of the jobs in the country?
The stimulus money was supposed to stimulate jobs, yet small business was left out. Hmmm....
The stimulus was for political paybacks...and the stimulus was for a government takeover of the auto industry.
Now they want to offer $50 Billion (small by comparison to the nearly $900 Billion stimulus) in loans for small businesses. Too late for all the businesses that have already gone bankrupt.
The incompetence of the Obama-Reid-Pelosi administration is unbelieveable. The corruption is stunning.
The Democrats are using deficit spending to "help" us today. We don't want that kind of help!
I don't understand how Democrats and others who believe that deficit spending is good can look at themselves in the mirror. They are bankrupting our future generations, and at the same time preach about how we owe those future generations a better world. Seems like a strange way to accomplish that.
The Wall St, Ganksters in conjunction with the bush/cheny criminal enterprise bankrupted the nation.
You know as well as I do that after an accident it takes time to recover. After your house is set ablaze by an arsonist, it takes time to rebuild.
To blame President Obama and the Democrats for the damage done by bush, cheney, radical extremist republicans in Congress, Wall St. Ganksters, major banks, RE brokers, mortgage companies, home builders/developers etc...Is a Lie and you know it.
"Have you no shame" to post such lies and scapegoat those who are not responsible?
And you know as well as I do that almost every major agenda item of Obama's has come straight from Social Democracy with no funding behind it.
How long can we live on a credit card?
Notice: The banks want you to opt in for overdraft protection. If you opt in the banks can charge you an NSF fee of $35 or more and then charge you so much for day for that overdraft.
Example if you wrote a check around the first of the month and your account was overdrawn by a few dollars, you could be charged that daily fee plus the NSF fee at the end of the month that could run in the hundreds of dollars. If you opt out they will just deny that charge and you will not be out any money.
Last year the banks in NV collected over $323,000 in overdraft fees. Good for the banks but not good for the economy.
Correction to my post at 12:49 pm-the amount should be $323,000,000.
It shows the hate-talk radio driven Republicans don't really care about small business, they just want Obama and the country to fail.
The party of "No" and "Obstruction" has just prevented the small business bill from passing.
Why are the Democrats not using funds from the stimulus bill to pay for what is obviously something that would help achieve its stated purpose? Instead, they once again want to add more to the deficit. This MUST stop!
Deficit Spending;
Reagan (81-89) inherited $908 B deficit from Carter and increased the ND to 2.6T=186% increase.
Bush Sr. inherited 2.6T debt from Reagan and increased the ND 4.2T=62%
Clinton inherited 4.2T ND from Bush Sr, and increased the ND 5.7T=36%
bush jr. inherited ND of 5.7T from Clinton and increased it to 11.3T=98%
So, my fellow American-Who are the really big spenders of taxpayers and borrowed money?
Jank, with her usual misinformation, has no response to why Republicans today killed a bill to help small businesses with loans--instead she offers this nonsense:
"It makes us wonder why the stimulus bill ($825 Billion) had nothing in it for small business. Did Harry Reid just now learn that small business provides 80% of the jobs in the country? The stimulus money was supposed to stimulate jobs, yet small business was left out."
That's your answer to why the Republicans did this today?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/pol...
What a joke.
Oh, and did you and Boftx somehow miss this a year ago, about aid to small businesses from the stimulus bill? Apparently so. That's what happens when you don't remove your noses from Rupert Murdoch's derriere--oops--I mean FOX News!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_offi...
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-arti...
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/...
AP
Boftx writes:
"I don't understand how Democrats and others who believe that deficit spending is good can look at themselves in the mirror. They are bankrupting our future generations, and at the same time preach about how we owe those future generations a better world."
What a joke. You know very well that Reagan tripled the deficit, Bush I doubled it, Clinton paid it down, and that Bush II doubled it again--plus handed off a completely imploded economy to Obama. And what is the classic economic recipe for an imploded economy? Answer: to temporarily forget about balancing the budget and to use the govt to spend the economy back into life again. Which is what Obama did with the stimulus bill.
You know all that. You just pretend that you don't.
And you also pretend that the last three Republican administrations did not create this country's massive national debt.
Well, unlike you, the graphs don't lie:
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/fede...
(the massive bulge in debt--equivalent to what the nation ran up during WWII, is due to Reagan, Bush I and Bush II. The dip is when Clinton was in office)
AP
boftx, the dems are saving the stimulus money for bills to pay them and theirs, cash. The repubs want to use the stimulus and payoff the bill.
Yet the dems are blaming the repubs.
I know children that act older than most politicians.
Since the three Republican presidents--Reagan, Bush I and Bush II created the nation's enormous national debt--I find the Republicans' sudden "concern" about deficit spending rather hilarious. Especially when everyone knows that you can't "stimulate" a dying economy--which Bush II created--without deficit spending.
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/fede...
http://www.ontheissues.org/2004/Dick_Che...
AP
Just what we need....Fannie Mae Biz and Freddy Mac Biz to help low income business owners.
Is there a bailout plan for this new loan program? Fannie and Freddie Mortgage Loans cost $5 TRILLION to bail out those toxic assets.
Another reason Not To Vote For Harry Reid!
xtra writes:
"Just what we need....Fannie Mae Biz and Freddy Mac Biz to help low income business owners."
I guess you must be hard of hearing. No one said loans to "low income" business owners. They said that the Republicans stopped a bill yesterday to provide loans to small business owners. One of the many ironies of just saying "no" is that these same Republicans are always saying how the administration has not helped small businesses.
Most people would lable that "Hypocrisy" with a capital H.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/pol...
As far as your Fannie and Freddie nonsense, here you go:
http://www.slate.com/id/2240858
AP
American Patriot
Trust me..it is exactly what I said..and any small business who has survived obamanomics thus far doesn't need an obamanomic loan..
American Patriot
I did very well in 2008 and 2009 because I knew what was causing the eventual meltdown.
Only the people who didn't see it coming don't understand what did come...
That article in Slate is a bewildered floundering written by a person who la la'd right up to the meltdown in September of 2008.
I know what caused it..I knew when it was going to happen..and I know the economy is not recovering..
Since I know the economy is not recovering..I pay cash and forgo credit
Sound economic practice...
The government should be encouraging businesses to practice sound policies and get out of debt or the banks are going to be holding bad paper..
That is the Fanny Mae/Freddie Mac debacle deja vu
Now do you see..Get Out of Debt..is the answer..Not Easy Guvmint money..or the guvmint/banks is gunna be ownin' every dam business in this country..They already own all the houses..
I can walk on cash..cut my losses if the business goes under but if the economy totters me into failure then..a loan isn't going to help and it will be on the books..I can't walk on it
I walked in free and clear..and I plan to walk out free and clear
When the economy justifies the faith that the business can pay the loan and interest next year ..or next month..then I use credit
udde for President!
of outer mongolia!