You Small Business Owners? Repugs are your friends

[boutons_deux]

The Consequences of Republicans’ Small Business Obstructionism

URL to article: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/...paign=alternet

This post originally appeared on the Washington Monthly.

A month ago yesterday, there was reason for optimism on the small-business bill pending in the Senate. The aid package included tax breaks, new incentives, and an attempt to expand credit through a lending program that utilizes local banks, and with 59 supporters, the Democratic majority only needed one GOP vote to overcome yet another Republican filibuster.

They didn’t get that vote. Shortly before the Senate broke for its recess, Republicans threw a bit of a tantrum over the number of amendments they were allowed to consider, and unanimously blocked the chamber from voting on the bill.

The consequences of GOP game-playing are as discouraging as they are obvious.

Small businesses have put hiring, supply buying and real estate expansion on hold as they wait out the vote on a small-business-aid bill that stalled in the Senate earlier this summer.

The much-debated legislation offers tax breaks and waived loan fees. But it also comes with more divisive components, such as a $30 billion fund that would help community banks give loans to small businesses…. Many small businesses had hoped the legislation would pass the Senate by the end of July. With two weeks left until Congress reconvenes, those firms are in a holding pattern.

“I’m still waiting for Congress to sign off on the bill,” says Amarjit Kaur, who runs a convenience store and gas station in Wood Village, Ore. She leases her property but has a chance to buy it. With the waived-fee provision, Kaur says she could save about $35,000 on her pending loan.

Keep in mind, the bill doesn’t add to the deficit. The only reason Republicans blocked a vote was because they demanded that they be able to offer amendments to the small-business package that have nothing to do with small businesses — including measures related to border security and Bush tax cuts. They don’t really expect the amendments to pass, but GOP leaders hoped (a) that the votes would put Dems in an awkward spot; and (b) the process of considering them would take up more floor time, and make it impossible to consider other legislation this year.

The Democratic leadership balked, so the vote on the bill was put off. And as a result, about a thousand small businesses are ready to expand, but are instead just sitting there, waiting for our political system and the Republican Party to be less ridiculous. (Whether the GOP did this deliberately, worried that small-business expansion before the elections might help the economy and interfere with Republican election plans, is unclear.)

Often, when the political world considers the GOP’s scandalous obstructionism on Capitol Hill, we’re reminded of an exasperatingly dysfunctional policymaking process. But it’s worth remembering from time to time that the nonsense carries with it real-world consequences.

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Repugs just prolonging, deepening, worsening the economic pain for November advantage.

[redskinfan]

crickets.......

[boutons_deux]

All destructive/obstructive Repug politics, all the time.

Refudiate when ready

[Spurminator]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100830/..._obama_economy

Obama: GOP should let small business bill through

By JULIE PACE, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama exhorted Congress on Monday to make passage of a long-languishing small business aid package its first order of business when it returns next month from its summer break.

"I ask Senate Republicans to drop the blockade," Obama said in the Rose Garden after meeting with his economic advisers.

Acknowledging that the economy still remains extremely fragile, the president said he'd also have other specific ideas in the days ahead.

He mentioned extending Bush tax cuts due to expire this year for households making under $250,000 a year, upping the nation's investment in clean energy, rebuilding more roads and highways and tax cuts designed to keep jobs in the United States.

"My economic team is hard at work identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term and increasing our economy's compe iveness in the long term," he said.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later said that in addition to initiatives already unveiled that are bogged down in Congress, the administration would roll out a variety of targeted measures designed to spur the economy and create an environment conducive to hiring.

None of the measures will be as major as last year's stimulus bill, Gibbs said. "There's only so much that can be done," he added.

"Those in America are frustrated. Those in the West Wing are frustrated" about the slow pace of recovery and an unemployment rate hovering near 10 percent, Gibbs said.

In a week likely to be dominated by foreign policy, Obama is trying to show he's still minding the economy after his 10-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard.

A string of weak economic reports in recent weeks has fed fears that the economy would fall back into recession, only slightly offset by Monday's government report that consumer spending had increased in July after four down months.

"Every single day, I'm pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that's been done to the middle class over the past decade and promoting the growth we need to get out people back to work," Obama said in his statement.

Obama said action on the package of small business tax cuts and credit incentives is "one thing we know that we should do" as soon as possible. Republicans have been blocking the bill, calling it misguided.

However, Obama said it was being "held up by a partisan minority that won't even let it get to a vote."

"The bill is fully paid for. And there's no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics," he said.

[Wild Cobra]

crickets.......

Why respond to spin. I knew weeks ago this would happen, been alot about this on conservative talk radio for weeks. The democrats are playing games, with provisions in the bill that they know republicans have to kill.

They are playing for your vote. Learn the facts before jumping to conclusions. Remember, the MSM's are on the democrats side, so don't expect to hear both sides of the argument unless you start listening to conservative programming.

[boutons_deux]

"only reason Republicans blocked a vote was because they demanded that they be able to offer amendments to the small-business package that have nothing to do with small businesses — including measures related to border security and Bush tax cuts. They don’t really expect the amendments to pass, but GOP leaders hoped

(a) that the votes would put Dems in an awkward spot; and

(b) the process of considering them would take up more floor time, and

make it impossible to consider other legislation this year."

Repugs want to deepen, prolong the economic pain of America as a campaign tactic, to obstruct every single Dem move to get America moving again. Repugs don't give a about America or Americans.

[Wild Cobra]

"only reason Republicans blocked a vote was because they demanded that they be able to offer amendments to the small-business package that have nothing to do with small businesses — including measures related to border security and Bush tax cuts. They don’t really expect the amendments to pass, but GOP leaders hoped

(a) that the votes would put Dems in an awkward spot; and

(b) the process of considering them would take up more floor time, and

make it impossible to consider other legislation this year."

Repugs want to deepen, prolong the economic pain of America as a campaign tactic, to obstruct every single Dem move to get America moving again. Repugs don't give a about America or Americans.

Correction...

That's what the media is telling you.

Do you really believe everything they say?

[Spurminator]

Correction...

That's what the media is telling you.

Do you really believe everything they say?

Then what is the real story?

[Wild Cobra]

Then what is the real story?

The biggest thing is that you have liberals, again, picking winners and losers. They choose the banks that get the money to lend. This along with regulations that favor big banks, could destroy the smaller banks.

Wow... how the weeks go by. It's two month now since the last record vote on the bill. The vote the article talks of was for an amendment. not the bill. The bill is not dead, and had action after the 7/29 58-42 vote, until 8/5/10.

Record Vote Number: 202 for H. R. 5297.

Just how is giving money to banks going to make them want to make bad loans? Stimulus needs to come from incentives. Not borrowing.

[Wild Cobra]

Want a quote or two?

One of the amendments the Republican leader was trying to get permission to offer to this bill is a motion I would like to make to commit this bill to the Finance Committee with instructions to report it back to the Senate with an amendment to address the biggest problem facing small businesses at this time. And that problem is the threat of the largest tax increase in history that is due to hit this country like a monster tsunami in just 155 days.

In just over 5 months from now, on January 1, a good share of America's most prolific potential job creators--small businesses that generally employ between 20 and 500 workers--are going to face large tax increases unless Congress acts to stop them. The problem is that President Obama and many of his allies in Congress have already made it clear that they have no intention of stopping these increases.

The President called on the Senate yesterday to pass this legislation to help small businesses so they can create jobs. But, ironically, he and his supporters just cannot seem to see that their support for allowing these massive tax increases to hit these fastest growing small businesses will do far more harm than the good that could come from this bill as it now stands.

Let us briefly review what it takes to create a private sector job in our economy. First, we need an entrepreneur--a risk taker. Second, we need an idea. Third, we need some capital. Finally, we need some certainty so that the risk the entrepreneur is facing is manageable.

We have plenty of entrepreneurs in our economy. America has always had these, and they are a big part of what has made this country great. We also have lots of good ideas for new businesses. This is another area in which our Nation has never lacked.

We also have lots of capital in our economy. Studies indicate that banks are flush with money and corporations have more cash on their balance sheets that at any time in the past 50 years. Investors have money too and are just waiting for the last ingredient.

And that last ingredient is what is missing. A degree of certainty that the business climate will begin to improve, or at least not get any worse. This means stable tax rates, a manageable level of regulation, and customers who are not worried about the future.