Small business really is the engine that drives Georgia’s economy.
Small businesses account for 98 percent of all employers in the state, and they employ 46 percent of the state’s nongovernment workforce, according to government estimates.
Our economy can’t be strong unless small business is strong and, right now, small business is hurting. The National Federation of Independent Business just released the results of its small business optimism index survey for October.
The sampling size is too small to break out numbers by state, but nationwide the number of small-business owners planning to increase employment and make capital outlays is declining, and most don’t think they’ll see a big jump in sales anytime soon.
That’s in line with what NFIB/Georgia is hearing from its members.
So, what do Georgia’s small businesses need?
President Barack Obama is still pushing his $447 billion jobs package, but if he’s serious about helping small businesses, he’ll keep the money and leave small businesses alone.
The president’s solution is a big stimulus package focused on temporary tax breaks and infrastructure, but according to NFIB’s index survey, taxes are only No. 2 on the list of problems facing small businesses right now. The No. 1 problem is “poor sales.”
If sales are down, a temporary tax break isn’t going to convince anyone to start hiring. What small businesses really need is for Washington to take a serious look at tax reform. Obama also can inspire confidence on Main Street by supporting efforts to strip out the most harmful provisions of the federal health care law, (the employer mandate, the new tax on health insurers, etc.) which will increase insurance costs and do little to improve the quality of care.
The president also should back off on the torrent of new regulations already in the pipeline. There’s been a 60 percent increase in major federal regulations since 2005. Today, there are upward of 4,200 environmental, labor and other regulations pending at the federal level, and that makes it hard for small businesses to plan ahead. It also discourages them from expanding and creating new jobs.
Instead of doing anything as bold as backing off, the president is simply offering more of the same, and that’s a shame. He could accomplish so much more by doing so much less.
For more information about small businesses, please visit www.nfib.com.
Kyle Jackson is state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/Georgia.
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