Small Business Majority and former SBA Chief Discuss Economic Agenda Policymakers Should Follow to Help Economy Thrive

Oct. 22 - Washington, D.C.̢??‰?? Karen Mills, Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School and former Small Business Administration chief, joined an interactive call with members of Small Business Majority̢??‰?s 30,000+ small business owner network to discuss her current work on three key economic issues, including access to capital, infrastructure investment and support for entrepreneurs.

Policy recommendations on all three issues are included in Small Business Majority̢??‰?s Economic Agenda for America̢??‰?s Future ̢??‰?? which was released last month and provides a set of short and long-term policy recommendations government leaders can follow to ensure an environment where entrepreneurs, and our economy, can thrive. The Agenda outlines things Washington can do to drive economic growth by pushing policies that bolster small business.

At Harvard Business School, Mills̢??‰? work focuses on small business and entrepreneurship, and strategies for driving competitiveness and innovation. In July she released the working paper ̢???The State of Small Business Lending: Credit Access During the Recovery and How Technology May Change the Game,̢???? which offered a definitive look at the impact of the recession on small business credit and issues that have impeded a full recovery of the small business loan market.

Wednesday̢??‰?s call, which was free and open to all small business owners and the media, featured Small Business Majority̢??‰?s Founder & CEO, John Arensmeyer, who in addition to the areas Mills discussed, offered details on the recommendations included in the Agenda, which range from action on taxes, access to capital, infrastructure, healthcare, immigration, minimum wage, workforce training, clean energy and exports, and are all tied to creating economic opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Small businesses represent 99 percent of employer firms, employ half of all private sector employees and pay around 40 percent of U.S. private sector payroll. Small businesses and entrepreneurs have long been America̢??‰?s engine for job growth and today more jobs are created by small businesses and the self-employed than any other way in America.

̢???Nonetheless, Washington, when it̢??‰?s able to get anything done at all, persists with policies that favor large corporations over Main Street. And, too often small business is perceived as just another interest group, not the key to our long-term economic success and security,̢???? Arensmeyer said. ̢???Worse, small business is often hijacked to justify policies that have no benefit to, and in some cases actually harm, the real needs of America̢??‰?s entrepreneurs. This is made even worse by a Washington so paralyzed by partisanship that even those trying to enact pragmatic policies are thwarted by the oppression of inaction.̢????

The Agenda outlines things Washington can do over the next couple months that will create greater opportunity for entrepreneurs, which include:

• The president can take executive action to allow more legal immigrants into the United States to ensure small businesses have access to skilled workers, at both the high and low skill level.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission can release final rules for crowdfunding (after having spent more than two years deliberating on them) to provide small businesses more opportunities to get capital and investment in the growth of their businesses.
• Health and Human Services can make sure the online small business insurance marketplaces work on Nov. 15 (after being delayed for a year) so small business owners and their employees have greater access to affordable coverage.
• Congress can pass a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, not an extension of a few months, to ensure small businesses (for whom nearly 90 percent of its transactions were for in 2013) have the ability to compete for customers in the global market.

Read an executive summary of the agenda online at http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/economic-agenda/downloads/Economic-Agenda-2014-Executive-Summary.pdf or view the full report at http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/economic-agenda/