The Little Engine That Could

Today is one of my days of Zen, but I feel that I must for go those days because of the events in the past week demands that I stay on topic…….hopefully I can return to my whimsical posts on the weekends that have very little to do with the politic doings of the week…….bear with me for I am a sick puppy…….

We have heard both sides of the jobs debate calling the engine of the recovery will be small businesses….that any taxes will harm the recovery and kill those small businesses……and we cannot have that….now can we?  And then there was Obama’s new proposal to give tax cuts to small businesses that hire new employees…….

When you hear Obama or his opponents, the Repubs, mention the small businesses….what do you think of?  (pause here for a moment or two for thought)………I would bet that you think of that Mom and Pop grocery store on the corner of Main and 5th…..or maybe it is that cute little bakery in the walking mall……or how about that liquor store on the way home that you get relief from the day’s hassles…..am I close?

All in all you would be close but unfortunately….NO CIGAR!  Yes Mom and Pop would be a small business….but then according to the SBA so would a cigarette maker that employs 1000 people……I know…..huh?

The SBA Act also states: “…a small business concern is one that is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation.” Size standards vary by classification. The average standards, by occurrence in the SBA table, are 500 employees or $7 million a year in sales. A very general rule-of-thumb is the size of most manufacturers and wholesalers is determined by the number of employees while the size of the remaining businesses are determined by yearly receipts.

So you see about 90% or more of the companies in this country can be considered small business, as per the SBA definition……so when the Repubs talk about helping small business they are really talking about the larger companies…..you see….they are lying!  And when Obama talks about the tax cuts and incentives to get small business to create jobs…..he is talking about larger companies…..for they both know that a true small business doing its part even in this recession…..what they need is to help the larger companies enhance their profits with the hope that if they do that that they will hire a few people……

In closing…..it is a play on words…..it is a scam!  They are only helping those that can help them.  Mom and Pop are just the hook to get you to side with the larger companies…….it helps them sound like they are on your side…..but that is a lie!  It is ALL a lie and the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can start doing something about all the BS from Washington…..