Dems Choose Gov’t Waste Over Small Business Jobs

April 19, 2012

Instead of Letting Small Businesses Keep More of What They Earn to Create Jobs, Democrats Fight for Wasteful Spending Sprees

  • The House is preparing to approve new small business tax cuts today that would give America’s job creators much-needed relief from the hostile conditions of the Obama economy.
  • President Obama and Democrats are vowing to block the measure, despite the pleas of small businesses for the economic relief and job creation opportunities these tax cuts would provide.
  • It appears Democrats would rather hoard tax dollars for their wasteful spending sprees rather than help small businesses grow and create jobs.

The House is preparing to approve new small business tax cuts today that would give America’s job creators much-needed relief from the hostile conditions of the Obama economy:

HOUSE TO VOTE ON SMALL BUSINESS TAX CUTS TODAY: (Susan Crabtree, “White House Threatens to Veto Cantor’s Small-Business Tax Cut,” The Washington Times, 4/17/2012)

JOB CREATORS WITH LESS THAN 500 EMPLOYEES WOULD GET A 20% TAX CUT: (Susan Crabtree, “White House Threatens to Veto Cantor’s Small-Business Tax Cut,”The Washington Times, 4/17/2012) 

STUDY: TAX CUT WOULD CREATE JOBS, BOOST “MOM AND POP STORES” AND “SMALL MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE COMPANIES”: “The Cantor plan would lower tax rates on millions of small businesses, from mom and pop stores to small manufacturing and service companies, allowing them to invest, expand, and hire workers.” (Gary Robbins, Fiscal Associates Inc., “Analysis of Small Business Tax Cut,” YG Network, April 2012) 

194,000 NEW JOBS TO BE CREATED BY SMALL BUSINESS TAX CUTS: “Over time the plan would yield $112 billion more in GDP, create 194,000 jobs, and lead to a 2.24% increase in business capital. Our cost benefit analysis shows that this increased economic activity and growth would offset much of the government revenue loss.” (Gary Robbins, Fiscal Associates Inc., “Analysis of Small Business Tax Cut,” YG Network, April 2012)

PLAN WOULD CREATE 100K SMALL BUSINESS JOBS A YEAR ONCE FULLY IMPLEMENTED: “Once fully implemented, over time the 20% small business tax cut will create more than an average of 100,000 jobs per year.” (Gary Robbins, Fiscal Associates Inc., “Analysis of Small Business Tax Cut,” YG Network, April 2012)

SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY: 72% ARE HOLDING OFF NEW HIRING OR LETTING WORKERS GO: (Small Business Outlook Survey, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, March 2012) 

52% OF SMALL BIZ BLAME ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, 33% BLAME WASHINGTON FOR HIRING FREEZE: (Small Business Outlook Survey, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, March 2012)

President Obama and Democrats are vowing to block the measure, despite the pleas of small businesses for the economic relief and job creation opportunities these tax cuts would provide:

OBAMA THREATENS VETO OF SMALL BUSINESS TAX CUT: “In a written statement, the White House said Obama’s top advisers would urge him to veto the bill if it reached his desk.” (Alan Fram, “White House Threatens to Veto GOP Business Tax Cut,” Associated Press, 4/18/2012)

GARY GLOVER, PRESIDENT OF PURITAN CLEANERS, RICHMOND, VA: “It’s no secret that the economic downturn has hurt businesses such as Puritan Cleaners over the last several years. We’ve had to make tough decisions on how we spend our money and the direction that we take our business. Congressman Cantor’s 20% Small Business Tax Cut will help us immediately as we look to expand our business by possibly adding a new location or even rehiring employees that we were previously forced to lay-off. Frankly, it puts us back into a position where we can better take care of our employees and serve our customers and our community.”  (“What Small Businessmen and Women Are Saying,” Office of the Majority Leader, Accessed 4/18/2012)

JAY SMITH, PRESIDENT, COX TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, ASHLAND, VA:“The 20% across the board federal tax cut for small businesses is exactly what is needed to encourage business owners and investors to regain the confidence that the federal government is actually going to stand up for job creators and allow them and their businesses to flourish. This will enable small businesses to be more competitive with their goods and services, and allow a greater opportunity to jumpstart real growth in the private sector and offer a return for such investment. For too long, high taxes coupled with burdensome government regulations have stymied small business growth. This is exactly the type of leadership we need to put more Americans back to work. I hope Congress will adopt this common sense approach at a time when it is needed most.” (“What Small Businessmen and Women Are Saying,” Office of the Majority Leader, Accessed 4/18/2012)

WHY BLOCK SMALL BUSINESS TAX RELIEF? PERHAPS, AS WITH KEYSTONE REJECTION, PRESIDENT OBAMA DOESN’T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO GET THE CREDIT: “The White House lobbying effort, including phone calls from the president to Democrats, signals that the vote could be close when it heads to the floor Thursday. The president is trying to defeat an amendment that would give election-year fodder to his Republican critics who have accused him of blocking a job-creating energy project at a time of high gas prices.” (Manu Raju, “Obama Lobbying Dems Over Keystone XL Pipeline,”Politico, 3/7/2012)

It appears Democrats would rather hoard tax dollars for their wasteful spending sprees rather than help small businesses grow and create jobs:

DEMOCRATS’ WAR ON OFFSHORE DRILLING HURTS SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO:

“HIDDEN VICTIMS” OF OBAMA DRILLING PERMITORIUM ARE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES, ACCORDING TO GREATER NEW ORLEANS INC. REGIONAL ECONOMIC ALLIANCE: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

50% OF GULF OF MEXICO BUSINESSES HAVE LAID OFF WORKERS DUE TO MORATORIA(“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

“39% OF BUSINESSES HAVE REDUCED SALARIES AND/OR HOURS”: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,”GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

46% OF BUSINESSES HAVE MOVED ALL OR SOME OF THEIR OPERATIONS OUT OF THE GULF OF MEXICO: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

82% OF BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE LOST PERSONAL SAVINGS BECAUSE OF PERMIT SLOWDOWN: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)                                                   

13% OF BUSINESSES HAVE LOST ALL THEIR PERSONAL SAVINGS BECAUSE OF PERMIT SLOWDOWN: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

41% OF LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE NOT MAKING A PROFIT: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

“76% HAVE LOST CASH RESERVES”: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

SEN. MARY LANDREIU (D-LA): SMALL BUSINESSES ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF OBAMA’S DRILLING MORATORIUM, NOT “BIG OIL COMPANIES”: “I want to say that, despite the administration’s arguments that are laid out, that you all are all guns blaring and green lights for drilling, the facts that I checked, and if you disagree tell me, only 21 permits for offshore drilling have been issued by this date. In 2010, there were 32 permits. I just left the annual conference of LOGA, which is Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, Mr. Secretary, yesterday. They are beside themselves with not being able to get their permits processed and to answer you, Mr. Franken, let me just say Exxon and Shell may be making record profits but according to a study recently done by the Greater New Orleans, Inc., 41 percent of our oil and gas independent operators and service companies, I’m not talking about Exxon and Shell that have operations all over the world, I’m talking about companies in the Gulf Coast, in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Let me tell you what the studies show about their profits: 41 percent of them are not making a profit at all, 70 percent have lost significant cash reserves, 46 have moved operations away from the Gulf, and 82 percent of business owners have lost personal savings as a result of this slow down.” (Remarks from Sen. Mary Landrieu, U.S. Senate Hearing, 2/28/2012)

WHILE DEMOCRATS CONTINUE TO DEFEND THEIR WASTEFUL SPENDING SPREE:

“OBAMA’S TAX AND SPENDING POLICIES WILL YIELD $6.4 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT DECADE”: “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline — even after taking credit for reduced war costs.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012)

“EVEN IF OBAMA WERE TO GET HIS WAY ON ALL FRONTS,” DEBT WOULD “NEARLY DOUBLE AGAIN” TO $18.8 TRILLION IN 2022: “That said, the picture is grim, and even if Obama were to get his way on all fronts, the federal debt held by the public would nearly double again from $10.1 trillion at the end of 2011 to $18.8 trillion at the end of 2022.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

OBAMA’S BUDGET ENSURES DEBT “WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE”: (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

REUTERS: “OBAMA UNVEILS BIG SPENDING ELECTION-YEAR BUDGET”:(Alister Bull and Laura MacInnis, “Obama Unveils Big Spending Election-Year Budget,”Reuters, 2/13/2012)

NEW BUDGET “LADEN WITH STIMULUS-STYLE INITIATIVES”: “The president’s plan is laden with stimulus-style initiatives: sharp increases for highway construction and school modernization, and a new tax credit for businesses that add jobs.” (Andrew Taylor, “Obama Budget: New Spending with Recycled Tax Ideas,” Associated Press, 2/11/2012)

“GSA MADE UP ‘JACKASS AWARD’ TO JUSTIFY DINNERS” PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS: “Officials at the General Services Administration invented fake awards as an excuse to hold taxpayer-funded dinner events at conferences, according to an interview transcript obtained by Roll Call.” (Jonathan Strong, “GSA Made Up ‘Jackass Award’ to Justify Dinners,” Roll Call, 4/12/2012)

ALREADY UNDER MAJOR SCRUTINY FOR VIOLATING “SCORES OF RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING SPENDING” TAX DOLLARS: “GSA is under fire because the inspector general revealed in an April 2 report that the agency spent almost $823,000 on an October 2010 Las Vegas conference for about 300 people. The inspector general also said officials violated scores of rules and regulations governing spending of taxpayer dollars.”(Jonathan Strong, “GSA Made Up ‘Jackass Award’ to Justify Dinners,” Roll Call, 4/12/2012) 

GSA SPENT $330,000 FOR RELOCATION ON A SINGLE EMPLOYEE, “LIKELY ‘MILLIONS’ ON OTHERS OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD”: (Dana Bash, “Employee Says GSA Spent ‘Millions’ on Relocation,” CNN, 4/12/2012) 

OBAMA’S GSA ALSO TREATED INTERNS TO A CONFERENCE AT A RESORT:(Larry Margasak, “GSA Interns Treated to Conference at Resort,” Associated Press, 4/12/2012)