Free Republic

Passage of the $42 billion small-business bill is virtually assured after two lame-duck Republicans joined 59 Democratic senators voting in favor of the bill on Thursday, but don't expect this new stimulus bill to help the economy avoid a double-dip recession. Why? Look no further than the two key components of the bill: $30 billion to boost lending to small businesses and $12 billion in targeted tax cuts for qualifying small businesses. First and most important, the $30 billion won't actually go to small businesses in the form of loans; it will go to small banks in the form of...

Barack Obama’s small business jobs bill contains a dangerous loophole that could encourage billions of dollars in fraud in small business contracting programs, and protect fraudulent companies from prosecution. The bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate. Section 1341 of H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, contains provisions that would allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop policies and procedures that would protect large businesses that have misrepresented themselves as small businesses from prosecution for felony contracting fraud. Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have found billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts...

I just received a robo call "service call" from Obama admin to help me apply for a grant...non refundable grant for my small business. Never asked for anything. Press 1 to talk to an expert. Why would they do that??? Why are they in such a hurry to spend..er...my money? A robocall to push people to apply for a grant?

Small businesses feel squeezed by Obama policies By V. Dion Haynes Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, September 6, 2010; 12 Last year, even as he struggled through the worst of the recession, Chris Upham said revenue at his District-based real estate and construction businesses doubled -- allowing him to hire two agents. But Upham said he hasn't increased his staff thus far in 2010 and he doesn't expect to for the remainder of the year. That's because his taxes rose sevenfold. And he said he anticipates they'll increase again if the Bush tax cuts for people earning $250,000 and above...

With the economy sliding during Wreckovery Summer and jobs growth falling behind the number of new workers with each new jobless report, one might think that Democrats would have figured out that they need capital to get back in the game. One way to entice wealth back into economy-expanding service would be to extend the tax cuts that expire at the end of the year, especially those at the top end of the spectrum, in order to keep potential investors from sheltering it instead. The Wall Street Journal reports that Democrats and the White House have decided to mischaracterize the...

The War On Small Business By Addison Wiggin 09/02/10 Baltimore, Maryland – Today, we revisit a recurring theme: the assault on enterprise. It was the subject of our symposium in Vancouver in July. In this episode, we look at a particularly vulnerable segment of the economy: small businesses. To help set the stage, let’s look at some important stats from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Small businesses: •Represent 99.7% of all employer[s] •Employ just over half of all private-sector employees •Pay 44% of total U.S. private payroll •Have generated 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years •Create...

You could take what Obama knows about small business and the mindset of the people who own them and shove it up an ant's a** and it would rattle around like a marble in the Super Dome. Neal Boortz

My wife and I recently shot our wad on some high-grade advertising, in a desperate bid to resurrect our (formerly successful) small construction business. That advertising is suddenly producing new leads better than we ever imagined it would. Our phone is literally off the hook. We're being inundated with calls for our services, and are scrambling to answer them all. Trouble is, we're in no position to properly service all of this sudden demand, mostly due to the lack of some basic equipment, and a fully operational crew. Finding the qualified labor is no problem, but to produce the product...

We know about the backroom deals made to get Congressmen to vote for ObamaCare but there were also favors cut out for unions, drug makers, and even small business to get them to support the program. Guess what? The "credit" offered to small business to help them pay for the increased health care costs-due to ObamaCare mandates- turns out to be not much help at all. Many businesses cannot take advantage of the tax credit to reduce their cost of providing health insurance. Business Week reports: Eager to promote the new small-business tax credit, the government this spring mailed 4...

Why Small Businesses Aren’t Hiring By Scott Shane Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Filed under: Economic Policy, Boardroom, Government & Politics, Public Square In the recoveries from the previous two recessions, small businesses led job creation. This time, however, small businesses aren’t hiring. Here’s why. In the recoveries from the previous two recessions, small businesses led job creation. This time, however, small businesses aren’t hiring. That about-face has left a lot of economic prognosticators scratching their heads. I think the reason is clear. The collapse in home prices is holding back small-business hiring. And unless we fix the residential real estate...

On Friday the White House announced four recess appointees to key positions in the Obama regime, the official press release missed a few important details. Maria del Carmen Aponte (involvement with a Cuban spy) and Richard Sorian (LGBT candidates for the Obama regime.) Tucked in between Aponte and Sorian was Winslow Sargeant the new Chief Counsel of Advocacy for the Small Business Administration. ...research on Winslow Sargeant and discovered a fascinating article by Lloyd Chapman that appeared in the Huffington Post (of all places) on June 11, 2009.

The maneuvering behind a Harry Reid-backed sweeping new energy tax that will hit small business and the middle-class in a down economy ... " Late yesterday Majority Leader Reid re-filed a substitute to the small business jobs bill. In addition to the substitute, there is a first degree amendment relating to the modification of the expanded 1099 reporting provision enacted as part of the health reform bill. The modification is an alternative to the Republican amendment to repeal the provision. The Republican provision is offset with spending cuts. The Democratic alternative introduced by Baucus is proposed to be paid for...

Even before Obamanomics made a shambles of the US economy, Mom & Pop construction businesses were hustling hard to stay busy. Unfair competition from contractors who utilize illegal alien labor to undercut fair market prices has been hurting small construction businesses for well over a decade, and many have lost the battle to keep their doors open. Those Americans in small business who’ve resisted the lure to play in the mud with their less-than-ethical competitors, now face an almost nightmarish scenario in their chosen fields of expertise, because a downturned economy has been added to the equation. I am intimately...

Small Business Optimism PLUNGES: Firms See Lower Spending And More Layoffs Ahead Joe Weisenthal Aug. 2, 2010, 5:28 PM Image: Gallup The latest Wells Fargo/Gallup small business survey is out and it's UGLY. In keeping with other indications that the state of small business is very bad, the survey indicates a level of pessimism about future results that's worse even that during the worst of the crisis. What's more, small firms seem lower spending, lower cash flows, and lower headcount in the future. As you click through the service, think of the contrast with the upbeat earnings and outlooks you've...

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While the battle lines at first glance seem straightforward enough, what the NYT carefully did not mention in its article above is that at least some small businesses will see a tax increase (one of almost 5%) under this system; a lot of businesses report their earnings - perfectly legally and openly - as individual income. The effects of changing this? The Wall Street Journal reports ‘doom:’

Anyone heard about the coming fall of small business? Speaker at a business seminar last week stated that during the next year $3 Trillion of loans for small business would be belly up. That means more unemployed, more home foreclosures and a lost less places to look for jobs. If we lose small business as the backbone of this country there will be nothing left but government jobs - oh wait.... that's what Obama wanted anyway - well here you go!!

In order to finance Obama’s Ponzi – like healthcare scheme, small businesses will be required to “issue” 1099s to vendors like Staples, Home Depot and Pet Smart if they purchase more than $600 in goods from these firms. In other words if a dog walker in the upper West Side of Manhattan buys $610.00 worth of “doggie treats” to make her day a bit easier, SHE will have to issue Pet Smart a 1099 at the end of the calendar year. It’s not all bad news While the choking tentacles of Obamacare are destroying the rest of America, a recent...

Obama and his team speak the language of redistribution and entitlements — not the language of opportunity and prosperity. And Main Street is listening. I asked a businessman two weeks ago why he said that he was neither hiring nor buying new equipment. He started in on “rising taxes.” “But wait,” I interrupted. I pointed out that income-tax hikes haven’t taken effect. The old FICA income caps are also still applicable. Health-care surcharges haven’t hit us yet. He countered with “regulations” and “bailouts.” I said, “Come on, get specific.” He offered up “cap and trade” and “the Chrysler creditors.” I...

All tax increases are bad, but there are some that are just plain unfair and punitive for no logical reason. The marriage penalty, the small business penalty, the retirement penalty, and the death penalty are in that category.Everyone except the most clueless “mushrooms” of our society know that tax rates will return to 2000 levels if the Democrat-controlled Congress does nothing to stop them.And they have shown a real skill for doing nothing but legislative carnage to this country in the last 18 months. That carnage has included the publicly unpopular Health Care Deform bill, the House-passed Cap and Trade...