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Is Obama Anti-Entrepreneurial? There seems to be a growing drumbeat among some small business owners against President Obama and his stance, perceived or otherwise, regarding entrepreneurship.Rarely a week goes by that, during our interviews with entrepreneurs on unrelated topics, Obama's policies towards business creation come into question. He gets it from all sides, too: Liberals seem to fault his Small Business Administration for allegedly being pro-big-business, while conservatives fault his tax policy and stimulus packages as, as they put it, taxing the rich and providing a safety net for the unproductive. Even those somewhere in the middle say he hasn't provided enough stimulus for small and medium-sized business owners; and they reserve particular venom for the federal bailout of institutions such as AIG and General Motors. "We need small-business stimulus," Chris Hurn, CEO of small business lender Mercantile Commercial Capital, told us recently, "more lending not more spending." While that point of view sums it up for many Main Street entrepreneurs, others more to the right of center feel that Obama has waged a "war on business," as one recent opinion piece was partially titled. In it, columnist Carol Platt Liebau writes: "The threat of greater regulation and potential antitrust litigation paralyzes companies and their management, chilling innovation and suppressing profits, right at a time when the struggling economy needs more creativity and forward thinking, not less." What do you think of the Obama administration's performance when it comes to entrepreneurs?
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It may still may be too early in the Obama Administration to determine if his policies are good for entreprenuers. It seems as though he understands that it's difficult to sell goods and services to potential customers who feel their world is crumbling all around them...can't get credit, loss of jobs, facing evictions..
With consumer spending being about 70% of total GDP, it is imperative that the Obama Administratiion continue to enact policies that are going to put those most effected by the economic downturn in a position to be able to afford the good and services that entreprenuers and business want to sale.
As a small business owner, I will say Yes. Here is why, I have been trying to secure a loan for more than 2 months now. It is increasingly difficult to get secured loans even with good credit history.
It would have been better if Obama gives tax cut to small businesses to stimulate economic recovery. Small businesses hire more people than the big ones. I think the stimulus package should have been used to help us rather the big banks on Wall Street.
Kiki
www.PRNewsExpress.com
I agree with John. The President didn't create this situation, but those of us who spent all our free time watching sports and wondering who the next winner of American Idol would be instead of watching what Congress was up to, and lining up at the polls to vote out conscience are responsible.
Take your country back from the big businesses who CAN afford legions of lobbyists who aren't so distracted by WWE smackdowns or American Idol that they risk losing their influence over our elected representatives.
It's true that we get the government that we deserve.
president obama is endowed with an ability to understand both sides of the equation so he balances the need for taxation as best as he can
We seem to overlook the fact thousand of small businesses are vampired into the very companies he started with. To pass money or credits to consumers to wipe out personal debt would not stop some pf the roof from falling in with our current state of economy.the bail out would not have been necessary or as much if we the american people would have spent more time watching BIG BUSINESS andless time with WWE Smackdown.If the solution seems confusing or unjust in how the solution began remember that millions of people benefitted for their own personal needs at the beginning of the problem,no one insisted you max out your credit cards or buy the house at the top of the hill.Answer can be found every day solutions may take even longer. Resolution to the situation takes each of us to commit to a start that benifits the majority in stress and not the individual who whines. Be patient your day to will come.
I work with small business people and entrepreneurs every day and every one of them gets why GM and big banks failed and think it was the wrong thing to bail them out. Most of these folks have had a failure or two themselves and yet they got back in the game and played smarter the next time.
They also get that the government is not working for them and in most cases is working against them, but they really don't care because they are not looking for any kind of bailout from anybody. They only thing they say is I know I am going to get screwed by the government, help me make it as painless as possible.
Small businesses are the life blood of economic growth in this country. The account for the majority of new jobs created and yet they are highly risky ventures.
What is interesting is the never say die of the American Entrepenuer. Everyday new businesses are created with the help of or in spite of the goverment. My blog stormdawg.com has several post about what small business want from the government and what they don't want from the government.
Check it out
Obama and his administration do not care about small business or supporting those trying to start a small business. Quit bailing out the corporate failures and banks with billions of dollars and create some programs that helps the "little guy". Big businesses are not hiring, they are cutting, and America needs Entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs need assistance in getting started or to continue to grow. Quit taxing us to death and give us a hand....the future of this country is counting on it.
Why would I want to start a business when -- if after taking the risks and working 70, 80 hours a week to get a start-up successful -- Obama & Co. will just come along and STEAL what I EARNED through higher payroll taxes, cap-and-tax, higher FICA taxes, penalties for making more than $1 million, and who knows what else next?
Of course Obama is anti-entrepreneurial. He and Rhambo want everyone to work for the Government. For the greater good, of course.
I think its pretty obvious to most of us entrepreneurs that Obama has not taken a strong stance of supporting small businesses during this economic crisis. Supporting crumbling and poorly managed corporations wont fix the internal problems that brought about their demise in the first place. When was the last time a sophisticated VC invested money in a company that will only use those funds to float the failing business a little longer before the inevitable crash? None. Why? Because VCs are interested in investing money in companies that will use those funds for expansion and growth. Is it really too much to ask for the government to select the companies it decides to save (with our tax dollars no less!!) with the same scrutiny? I dont think so. If the Obama administration was truly interested in helping small businesses and the American people they would have passed the money given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the American people simultaneously reducing personal debt and solving their financial crisis (think about that for a moment). The money would have ended up in their hands anyway, just with a lot less personal debt. The result? Less debt -> more spending -> economic stimulation. At least with the Bush administration companies had to have government contracts in order to receive tax payers money. With the Obama administration they just get it for free.