What Small Business Wants From Washington

Read an interesting article in Forbes--and even wrote a comment (below):

Small Business Owners Weigh In On Tax Cuts, the Buffett Rule and the Election - Forbes: "When it comes to tax, everyone has an opinion about what’s best for small businesses. President Obama has told us what small businesses want. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has told us what small businesses want. Congress has told us what small businesses want. But small businesses haven’t really told us what they want. I suspect it’s because no one has bothered to ask. So I did. . . ."

My response:
Your article started "what small businesses want" instead of more accurately--"what small businesses want from government"--there is a difference. Generally speaking, it has been my experience that what small businesses want from government are:

1) to be left alone (hence small business has a small voice in Washington since we are not trying to get "handouts" from Washington unlike big corporations, welfare recipients, federal workers, etc.) nor are we trying to get "regulations" in order to limit or eliminate our competition;

2) that government "get its act together;" Washington today is dysfunctional--hence the crying need for "comprehensive tax reform and comprehensive entitlements reform" just to get to fiscal sustainability.

Bottom line--small business needs the federal government to "reform itself"--it is bloated, ineffective, dysfunctional, and fiscally unsustainable. Simpson-Bowles gave a framework on what to do--unfortunately neither the President nor Congress is willing or able to lead.

I wonder if anybody in Washington is listening?

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