Blog: Keeping Our Small Businesses Moving

Statement

Running a small business is hard, but important. These businesses are the lifeblood of our state and national economy. They're filled with hard-working families providing goods and services to people at the lowest cost and highest quality possible. They want their neighbors' lives to be better. They value an honest day's work.

It's not always easy to keep the doors open and the lights on in a small business, especially in today's economy. I know firsthand. For most of my professional life, I've worked at the small business I helped found in Tupelo. I know what it's like to make payroll, to cut costs in tough times and to keep a balance sheet in the black.

Washington doesn't seem to know what it's like. Over the past two years, they've spent like drunken sailors, raised taxes by billions, and passed or threatened dozens of new regulations. When a small businessman looks at those policies, they see n othing but uncertainty. They ask, "What will my profits look like tomorrow if Congress doesn't extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts before January? What will the new red tape that is coming along with ObamaCare cost me? Will inflation erode my savings if Congress keeps spending this way?"

Those questions are preventing small businesses from hiring, and they're keeping unemployment high. Economists have reported that billions in investment capital are sitting on the sidelines, simply because small businesses are unsure what tomorrow will look like.

This week Congressman Childers signed on to extend the tax cuts for one year. This does nothing except keep businesses on edge about what's to come.

We've lost 22,000 jobs in Mississippi's First District since Congressman Childers took office. We need to change the leadership in Washington, and that starts with changing the man that we send to represent us.

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