Stimulus Bill and Small Businesses (loans, insurance, sales, writing)

[skchi]

I've been watching the news, looking for evidence of help for small business owners in the stimulus bill. We all know that there's help for big businesses - banks, auto manufacturers, insurance, but what about the small businesses? I haven't seen much that will help them.

Has anyone seen any help for small businesses in the stimulus bill?

[texdav]

If their were help I would think taht it would be listed as loans avilable thru the SBA. Doesn't seem to be much that I have heard about or seen.Seems like they shpud ahve made avialable loans just like to teh banks and auto industry. maybe that will be in the treasury plan that we hear about. there will be help for some in the massive spending contrcts on infrastructure tho.Hope ypour good at politcs as its like to be heavily politically given.

[goodbyehollywood]

There's nothing. Nada. Zip.

Sole proprietors don't even get the miniscule $400 paycheck rebate. And there's no help like UI, if your business goes under. Apparently, Pelosi's mice and those federal golf carts were much more important.

[skchi]

That's what I thought. I'm not a small business owner myself, but I think supporting small business is crucial to getting the economy fixed. I guess our government disagrees.

I was an Obama supporter, but I have to say that I'm disappointed in his leadership so far on the stimulus package.

[bale002]

I think the government defines small business as annual sales of around $1 million but not much less than that to be on the radar screen, among other such criteria. For those kinds of businesses, the so-called stimulus offers accelerated depreciation of investment.

As texdav mentioned, this might help politically well-connected small businesses that obtain sub-slices of government contracts trickling down through federal and state contractors.

I believe that anything less than $1 million in sales, certainly in the $100,000 range with, say, 1-100 employees, is considered very small or micro-business.

Usually for a business to qualify for state-level tax breaks for relocating, it must make a minimum investment and hire a minimum number of employees, you have to check details from state-to-state to see how they classify a significant business that is worth dealing with. The same goes for handing out federal government residence visas to foreign businessmen who may want to set up shop in the US, I know a lot of Venezuelans have qualified in southeastern Florida.

You can scour the SBA website for details on any small business loan programs. Again, as texdav mentioned, there may be some new ones, but it is much easier if you are a so-called minority and qualify for "supplier diversity". The same goes for big business: they have "supplier diversity" programs to outsource work to "minority-owned" businesses, not to mention overseas outsourcing.

I think you get the picture: unless you are a small business of significant size and politically well-connected or a minority or an overseas outsourcer, you will be on your own to scavenge for food, so to speak and maybe literally in 6-12 months from now.

Good luck!

[cobolt]

Didn't Obama run on the idea of doing more for small businesses since they're the number #1 creator of new jobs and help for the middle class as well? I don't see either of these things happening.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Didn't Obama run on the idea of doing more for small businesses since they're the number #1 creator of new jobs and help for the middle class as well? I don't see either of these things happening.

What's being forgotten here is that Obama had little to do with writing and passing this so-called stimulus bill. The bill was a creation of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, David Obey, and they rest of the majority leadership.

Had President Obama stepped up, shown leadership, and threatened a veto of any bill that looked like the one we got, things might have turned out a bit better.

[texdav]

It depoends on teh small business your in. materials for the infrastructure and places likie small cafes and the like will get a trickles down like most. The problem is that this may not occur for a year or two in many instances because even planned projects take time to get permits etc.