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- U.S. Chamber of Commerce in The Hill Newspaper:
“There is no more urgent priority facing this Congress than preventing the U.S. economy from going over the fiscal cliff on January 1, 2013. Failure to act will slow growth and kill jobs—at the worst possible time.”
Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Joe Walsh will examine the fiscal cliff’s impact at 10:00 AM tomorrow. - Chairman Sam Graves on aviation user fee proposed by President Obama at today’s hearing:
“The Committee shares the concerns of many aviation small businesses. They fly on tight budgets and pay taxes on fuel. A new fee, in addition to rising fuel costs, is asking too much.” - ICYMI watch today’s full committee hearing on the Obama Administration’s proposed user fees on the aviation industry.
- Martha King of King Schools on the Obama Administration’s proposed aviation per flight user fee at today’s hearing:
“A $100 per-flight tax on all turbine powered aircraft would be devastating for thousands of small businesses like mine. I hope this important committee will put an end to this nonsensical proposal once and for all.” - Chairman Sam Graves examines the affect of the Obama Administration’s proposal to raise fees on aviation operators LIVE at 1:00 PM, tune in here:
- Survey by NSBA - National Small Business Assoc. cites uncertainty as the top concern for more than 2 out of 3 small businesses while only 19% reported hiring.
- Chairman Sam Graves hosts a full committee hearing today on the President’s proposal to increase user fees on general aviation operators. Watch LIVE at 1:00 PM.
House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
The fiscal cliff contains a middle class tax hike that will raise taxes an average of $2,800 on over 28 million households.
If Congress doesn’t act to prevent the $92 billion tax increase, the number of households facing the alternative tax would increase to 32.9 million from 4.4 million, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That’s an average unanticipated tax increase of about $2,800.House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
Thursday Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Joe Walsh will examine the impact of the fiscal cliff on small businesses.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office warned last month that going over the fiscal cliff will result in significant recession" and the loss of some 2 million jobs.House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
via Inc. Magazine:
The percentage of young people in the current workforce is the lowest it has been since 1955. In August, the unemployment rate for young people rose to 16.8% from 16.4% in July.House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
via The Wall Street Journal:
“Small business owners are worried about potential tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled to take place in 2013. The NFIB said 22% of owners view the current period as “a bad time to expand due to...political uncertainty.” That share was a record high for this business cycle.See More
However, business owners are a bit more confident about the future once the fiscal situation has been resolved.”- Over 1,300 days ago President Obama claimed that unemployment would be 5.5% today if the Democrats stimulus was passed. It has been over 8% every day since.
House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
August saw historic amounts of Americans leaving the labor force and a drop in average hourly earnings. Via The Wall Street Journal:
“No Presidency has done worse by the middle class since Jimmy Carter's in the 1970s.”- The Wall Street Journal shows the drastic fall in labor force participation. Last month 36.5% of able-bodied, non-elderly Americans had given up looking for work.
House Committee on Small Business shared a link.
Small businesses created “essentially zero” jobs in August, Chairman Sam Graves:
“If we want to successfully address our nation’s unemployment crisis, we must promote policies that provide confidence to small businesses. If we want to see Americans get back to work and our economy recover fully, we must start with our nation’s best job creators — small businesses — and remove obstacles that prevent growth and job creation.”- Chairman Sam Graves Op-Ed in The Hill Newspaper:
“While some may focus on the jobs that were created last month, this jobs report is nothing but horrendous. I welcome any jobs, but American workers giving up on employment in the weakest re...covery since the Great Depression is cause for alarm, not celebration.See More
If we want to successfully address our nation’s unemployment crisis, we must promote policies that provide confidence to small businesses. If we want to see Americans get back to work and our economy recover fully, we must start with our nation’s best job creators — small businesses — and remove obstacles that prevent growth and job creation.” - via The Wall Street Journal:
“The decline in the unemployment rate wasn’t because more people had jobs. In fact, the number of people employed as measured by the household survey declined by 119,000. The fall came from fewer people looking for work in August and dropping out of the labor force.” - Only 96,000 jobs were created in August while 368,000 dropped out of the workforce. In other words, for every job that was created almost 4 people gave up looking for a job.
LIKE and SHARE if you find this unacceptable. - Chairman Sam Graves on the August unemployment report:
“I welcome any jobs, but the weakest recovery since the Great Depression is still not cause for celebration. The unemployment rate has not fallen below 8 percent for the past 43 months. The labor force participation rate is at the lowest level in 31 years. We're still experiencing a significant jobs crisis." - Chairman Sam Graves to the Treasury department on a Treasury department report that would alter the definition of “small business” resulting in about 18 million fewer small businesses in America:
“If the [Treasury] department has concerns regarding the existing definitions, it is puzzling why those concerns were not raised with either the SBA or the congressional committees of jurisdictions” - via The Hill Newspaper:
Tax policy will be one of the main subjects of debate for the next several months, "so Graves and Snowe believe that we should look to what the law says is a small business, not make up new definitions for political convenience.” - Chairman Sam Graves and U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe on the Treasury Department’s proposal to change the definition of small business:
“At a time of economic and regulatory uncertainty, when small businesses, our nation's most prolific job creators, are struggling to keep their doors open, the department's development of an arbitrary new definition adds unnecessary confusion and complexity” - Chairman Sam Graves in a letter today to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
“The administration is using questionable legal authority in its attempt to change the definition of small business, a move which could skew the impact of current tax policy discussions.” - Ron Kensey of Kennon Aircraft Covers to our Open Mic forum:
"We don't want the federal government to do anything except take care of their own budget and leave ours alone."
LIKE and SHARE if you agree. - “Mistrust of government” should never contribute to the United States slipping down the global ranking of the world’s most competitive economies:
The United States has slipped further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive ...economies, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on Wednesday. The world's largest economy, which was placed 5th last year, fell two positions to the 7th spot - marking its fourth year of decline. A lack of macroeconomic stability, the business community’s continued mistrust of the government and concerns over its fiscal health were some of the reasons for the downgrade, according to the annual survey.See More - Another survey shows cites uncertainty in the slowing of small business growth:
“PayNet’s findings are in line with other surveys and reports that point to an overall slowing of business at small companies. The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that the manufacturing industry, which includes many small companies, had its third straight drop in activity during August.” - Access to capital remains an issue for small businesses who want to expand and hire:
“When small-business owners can’t access capital, it can lead to their paying vendors slower and can have a ripple effect hurting other small businesses and lead to job loss.” - NFIB:
"The House of Representatives has passed significant legislation to help small businesses, but unfortunately the Senate has failed to act on virtually all of it. From protecting small businesses from tax increases, to repealing Obama...care and to stopping the tidal wave of upcoming regulations, the Senate has not taken up the important issues that cause so much of the economic uncertainty facing small business owners."See More
LIKE and SHARE if you believe that the Senate should take up the 30+ jobs bills passed by the House this Congress. - NFIB:
“The small-business community is worried. A sense of uncertainty, on top of several years of lower sales, is overwhelming their ability to plan ahead, to invest in their businesses and to hire new workers. This uncertainty is tied directly to government; concern over government action, or inaction, is a top concern of small firm owners according to a new NFIB study that asks owners to rate 75 issues of concern.” - via Forbes:
"Increased taxes for Medicare, payroll and potential increased hikes for costs to insure staff have had a chilling effect on small business owners’ confidence." - via USA TODAY:
"More than three years after the Great Recession ended, the U.S. has recovered slightly less than half of the 8.8 million jobs that vanished in the downturn" - via The Washington Post:
"Franchises have suffered along with other small businesses in the last five years. The number of franchises in the U.S. — for example, an individual McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts shop or Days Inn — fell by 37,790, or...nearly 5 percent, between 2008 and 2011, according to the International Franchise Association. The trade group estimates that the number of franchises will rise this year for the first time since 2008, gaining 1.7 percent to 748,680. But that’s still more than 3 percent below 2008’s 774,016."See More - via The Wall Street Journal on the affect that the Fiscal Cliff is already having on small businesses:
"There is substantial uncertainty out there," with many small-business owners asking themselves, 'Why make a big decision now?' " - Congressman Mike Coffman
"The view from this Fiscal Cliff looks far too steep for small business owners" - Congressman Mike Coffman in the Denver Business Journal:
"With an already unsettled economic climate, this country can’t afford to have small businesses fall off of a cliff." - "On Jan. 1, 2013, small businesses could be staring down a fiscal cliff of about $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts, harming our already-fragile economy. Of course, that’s only if Congress fails to reach a compromise."
- via NFIB:
Uncertainty and "government action" make the list of top problems facing small businesses, another sign that the Fiscal Cliff is already having a negative impact on small businesses.
"This year's survey was conducted on the heels of the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s. The high level of uncertainty cited by small employers helps to explain the sector's inability to recover and expand." - NFIB:
"Fears over increasing health insurance costs continue to dominate the list of concerns for small businesses." - "Asked if they could offer advice to the next president and the next Congress, the survey participants said both should focus on reducing regulation and the size of government and reducing or keeping corporate taxes low."
- via Fox Business:
"59% of U.S. small-business entrepreneurs think the current environment for entrepreneurs is 'unfavorable.'
"We must make it more attractive for businesses to conduct operations in the USA. This means simplifying the tax code." - via The Wall Street Journal LIKE and SHARE if you support a simpler tax code:
"The current corporate tax structure is driving manufacturing outside the country." - Chairman Sam Graves with Congressman Jeff Landry at yesterday's small business forum in Broussard, LA
- "Concern over future economic growth, and the amount of costs related to red tape when preparing loans for small businesses, have also put a damper on lending by banks."
- via Reuters
A majority of U.S. small businesses are having a tough time accessing funding, holding back job growth and stunting economic growth, Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, said in an interview.
Our early sense is that the lack of access to capital is having the biggest impact on job creation. - Chairman Sam Graves with Congressman Jeff Landry meeting with small business owners at this morning's forum in Broussard, LA
- via The Wall Street Journal:
"A key driver of higher wages in the 1980s and 1990s was a surge of capital investment in computers, plant and equipment, which made Americans workers more productive. When Mr. Obama pledges to raise taxes on i...nvestment income (capital gains, dividends and small-business profits), he is making it costlier to innovate and modernize. That plays out over time into slower gains in productivity and wages."See More - More than 9 out of 10 of the businesses owners who plan to make investments from their business’ profits, the President wants to raise taxes on more than 900,000 of these small businesses. This tax hike means less money for small businesses to invest in their business, less growth and fewer jobs created.
- Via Gallup:
“Given the high unemployment rate and increasing gas prices, it seems unlikely small business owners will see an improved sales outlook anytime soon.” - Median household incomes have dropped more during the “recovery” than they did during the recession. More evidence that now is not the time to raise taxes on American families.
"From June 2009 to June 2012, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 4.8 percent, to $50,964. Incomes have dropped more since the beginning of the recovery than they did during the recession itself." - Congressman Alan Nunnelee at small business town meeting in Tupelo, MS:
“Uncertainty is the most common word I hear. Small businesses are the backbone of mainstream America, and current policies have squeezed these businesses into uncertainty.” - ActivitySeptemberPeople Who Like This7