Small businesses don't need talking points
It seems everyone is a populist suddenly. We have to take on those
Wall Street fat cats and their bonuses. We are going to save the
"middle class" with child care credits and other nebulous magic
tricks. The fact is that this recession has taken a huge buzz saw to
American small businesses and the constipated lending system has not
improved enough to start moving things back in the right direction. I briefly ran for mayor of Peachtree City, Georgia until 9/11 sent me
back into uniform. My passion then was small businesses and the fact
that 50% of U.S. jobs are created there. Today I employed by a small
business and my passion is even greater. Real action needs to happen
or this "jobless recovery" will end up being another dip. I caught this article online from the Denver Post
(http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14289805) that offers an in
depth look at what the numbers are telling us and they are
fascinating: 1) SBA guaranteed lending fell nationally by 27 percent from nearly
$18 billion to $13.1 billion. 2) In Colorado, the results were worse: SBA-guaranteed lending plunged
41 percent, from $556 million in fiscal year 2008 to $330 million in
fiscal year 2009 3) National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism
index, which had hovered pretty steadily around the 100 range since
the end of the 1993 recession, plunged to the low 80s, well below
earlier recessions. 4) The December NFIB index remained stuck at 88, not nearly high
enough to trigger job growth. 5) Hiring plans "remain in negative territory," according to Wells
Fargo Economics, which reported on the NFIB index January 15. This interesting paragraph showed the wide perception gap remaining:
"At a recent small-business summit hosted by Sen. Michael Bennet,
business owners described the perception gap between small businesses
and the financial sector. In an example of how the spiral of redlining
has gotten out of control, business owners said they were interested
in getting loans but perceived the banks as unwilling to lend. Lenders
said they were willing to make loans but perceived borrowers were shy
about taking on new risks." Being a populist is always an easy place for politicians to run when
their numbers fall but the fact is that on Main Street folks need more
than rhetoric-- they need real action. We are all troubled by the
$700 billion in TARP to big banks that are now giving out monster
bonuses again so they can devise new ways to split dollars and clone
new ones. Nobody would care if small business owners weren't draining
their personal savings accounts to keep themselves going. Its not a talking point issue or sales pitch problem. Its a real
action problem. Hopefully the leaders in DC will start listening
instead of pursuing agenda's that will drive up business costs in the
short term. Let's recover first. Just my two cents.
Wall Street fat cats and their bonuses. We are going to save the
"middle class" with child care credits and other nebulous magic
tricks. The fact is that this recession has taken a huge buzz saw to
American small businesses and the constipated lending system has not
improved enough to start moving things back in the right direction. I briefly ran for mayor of Peachtree City, Georgia until 9/11 sent me
back into uniform. My passion then was small businesses and the fact
that 50% of U.S. jobs are created there. Today I employed by a small
business and my passion is even greater. Real action needs to happen
or this "jobless recovery" will end up being another dip. I caught this article online from the Denver Post
(http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14289805) that offers an in
depth look at what the numbers are telling us and they are
fascinating: 1) SBA guaranteed lending fell nationally by 27 percent from nearly
$18 billion to $13.1 billion. 2) In Colorado, the results were worse: SBA-guaranteed lending plunged
41 percent, from $556 million in fiscal year 2008 to $330 million in
fiscal year 2009 3) National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism
index, which had hovered pretty steadily around the 100 range since
the end of the 1993 recession, plunged to the low 80s, well below
earlier recessions. 4) The December NFIB index remained stuck at 88, not nearly high
enough to trigger job growth. 5) Hiring plans "remain in negative territory," according to Wells
Fargo Economics, which reported on the NFIB index January 15. This interesting paragraph showed the wide perception gap remaining:
"At a recent small-business summit hosted by Sen. Michael Bennet,
business owners described the perception gap between small businesses
and the financial sector. In an example of how the spiral of redlining
has gotten out of control, business owners said they were interested
in getting loans but perceived the banks as unwilling to lend. Lenders
said they were willing to make loans but perceived borrowers were shy
about taking on new risks." Being a populist is always an easy place for politicians to run when
their numbers fall but the fact is that on Main Street folks need more
than rhetoric-- they need real action. We are all troubled by the
$700 billion in TARP to big banks that are now giving out monster
bonuses again so they can devise new ways to split dollars and clone
new ones. Nobody would care if small business owners weren't draining
their personal savings accounts to keep themselves going. Its not a talking point issue or sales pitch problem. Its a real
action problem. Hopefully the leaders in DC will start listening
instead of pursuing agenda's that will drive up business costs in the
short term. Let's recover first. Just my two cents.
