| Weekly Update from Sam |
Dear Friends,
In the State of the Union address, President Obama missed an opportunity to make small business growth a real priority. To my surprise, he only mentioned small businesses twice in the 59-minute speech. Small businesses are essential to a strong economic recovery. They create about 70 percent of all new jobs, and employ over half the American private sector workforce. With an economy that contracted by 0.1 percent last quarter, now is the time to free up the growth capability of our small firms.
The administration’s agenda of higher taxes, a growing regulatory burden and rising health care costs is working against the small companies that could be powering a recovery. Consider this testimony to the Committee on Wednesday from a small business owner: “There are also the impacts of the new health care law, commodity prices, fuel prices, unemployment insurance rates, U.S. dollar exchange rate and others. All of those factors cut into shrinking profit margins and create disincentives to business growth.” Despite these impediments to growth, the President is calling for yet another tax increase that would fall directly on many small business owners that file taxes as individuals. Small businesses should not be asked to foot the bill for spending above the national means. Small businesses will thrive again; first we need to get government out of the way.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves
Chairman
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Latest Committee Action
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On Wednesday, the Committee held a hearing on the State of the Small Business Economy. The hearing was the first of the 113th Congress for the Committee and will help guide the Committee as it examines many small business issues in the coming year. Small business owners remain pessimistic about the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business released a survey Tuesday showing small business confidence mired at the fourth lowest measurement of the poll’s history of nearly four decades. Many small firms face an anti-growth barrage of higher taxes, more red tape and increasing health care costs. Under Chairman Graves, the Committee is focused on reducing the regulatory burden and improving access to capital. |
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News from Washington
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On Monday, SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced she is stepping down from her post. She was helpful in the Committee’s successful effort to fully reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research program for the first time in a decade. Chairman Graves thanked her for her service, and urged the President to find a successor who will be an experienced and energetic voice for small businesses.
On Friday, the House of Representatives voted 261-154 for H.R. 273, a bill which would eliminate the statutory pay adjustment for federal employees for 2013. In a time of massive federal debt and yearly deficits in excess of a trillion dollars every year of the Obama administration, an across-the-board pay increase is not good government. The bill represents an estimated $11 billion common sense savings decision.
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| In Their Own Words |
Small business owners all over America are giving us their insight through our interactive online forum, Small Biz Open Mic. Here’s what they’re saying:
“For many of us small business owners, we went years without taking a commensurate salary for our investment of time, and then when we finally make a profit it is taxed at about 50% between state and federal. I could expand my business, buy a larger building, hire more Americans if I could keep more of the money that we have earned. In our 24 years of business we have never taken distributions from our profit, and instead let it remain as retained earnings to keep the business going, and yet it is all pass through to us personally for tax purposes so that we are counted among the rich.” – Aly Salz (Clackamas, OR) Righteous Clothing Agency, Inc.
“It is very interesting to read comments by other small business here. Like them, our situation is also in dire straights. All ‘profits’ are put back into the company and our true personal income is only just enough to pay our bills, a few of our employees who have been with us a long time actually make more than we do. This year our business has fallen to the lowest levels since 2009, and if things continue like this we stand to lose everything, the business, our home, all of it.” – Trish Oldham (Surprise, AZ) Horizon Aviation & Machining
“When is enough, enough? As the president of a small business that is the question I ask myself everyday. It appears that the harder you work and the more people you employ, the more the government wants to take… I have put capital expenditures on hold, not hiring more people and I am trying to figure out how I can continue to pay 100% of my employees’ health insurance. And if you are still successful in your business you are rewarded with a tax increase.” – Tom Schmidt (Elkhart, IN) Hoosier Crane
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| February 15, 2013 |
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| What We're Reading |
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Small Biz Resources
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| Tweet of the Week |
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SmallBizGOP @SmallBizGOP While the President claimed [tuesday] that health care costs have slowed, premiums are up $3,162 on #SmallBiz plans pic.twitter.com/Aww77P3C
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