It is getting more and more depressing to watch the news. It seems like every other story is filled with more despair than the prior one. Now being the positive person that I am, I believe small business owners will definitely have something to rejoice about in the upcoming year. President-elect Barack Obama realizes his greatest challenge is going to be the economy. Many Americans are angry (rightly so) that the government has seen fit to bailout Wall Street instead of helping American’s stay in their homes. Automotive industry giants such as Ford, GM and Chrysler are begging the government for assistance to bail them out due to lack of funds (perhaps, selling their corporate jets might help offset the cost!). Companies are filing for bankruptcy and laying off people in the thousands. The unemployment rate is the highest it has been in years. Yes, all of the aforementioned is incredibly gloomy news, so you are probably wondering, “Why should I be excited? President-elect Barack Obama has plans to reform the Small Business Administration (SBA). His plan calls for implementing the “Small Business Emergency Rescue Plan” he spoke about during his campaign. He realizes the important of saving “Main Street” instead of “Wall Street.” As President-elect Obama once noted in his speech, “Small businesses employ half of the workers in the private sector in this country, and account for the majority of the job growth…” I know things are not going to change over night, but the mere fact that he is acknowledging “Main Street” is music to my ears! I truly believe that if President-elect Obama works on strengthening small businesses by implementing more programs (i.e. Women and Minority Business Assistance programs) and enabling business owners’ greater access to grants and capital, the economy will pick up. Small business owners would have the funds they need to hire a staff which would reduce the unemployment rate and hopefully enable Americans to relive the prosperity we experience in during the 1990’s.
In my opinion, the government has catered entirely too long to entities such as Wall Street. Time and time again, companies of this magnitude have let Americans down by being fiscally irresponsible. It is time to give small business owners the “special treatment” those on Wall Street have received because they will not squander it because they have too much at stake. Small business owners need a chance to thrive instead of allowing them fall prey to failure because they are unable to receive a loan to start or expand their company. The majority of Americans work and reside on “Main Street,” so it is only fitting for President-elect Obama to stop by our neighborhood first.
