Economy Alarm: “Small Businesses Feel Squeezed by Obama Policies”

President Obama: “Small Businesses Are the Backbone of the American Economy”

“Our nation’s small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and the main drivers of private job creation, and today’s approval of our Small Business Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative marks a new and significant step toward getting small businesses the financing they need to start up, expand, and hire more workers.” (“Statement by President Obama on House Passage of the Small Business Lending Fund and Small Business Credit Initiative,” 6/17/2010)

Credibility Crash: Backbone of American Economy Crushed by Higher Taxes, Job-Killing Mandates

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 expire at the end of the year.

As small businesses try to plot their recovery, attention is turning to what many owners consider burdensome policies — higher taxes, new accounting procedures and health-care mandates. Even as the government tries to help with an array of small-business initiatives, many owners say the intervention is as much a hindrance to hiring as the faltering economy.

Their perceptions are important because the Obama administration is counting on small-business owners like Upham, whose ranks represent more than half the U.S. workforce, to jump-start the economy, much like they did after downturns in the early 1990s and 2001. (V. Dion Haynes, “Small businesses feel squeezed by Obama policies,” Washington Post, 9/4/2010)

Small businesses feel squeezed by Obama policies http://bit.ly/b6YVgh #econalarm #gop