Republicans oppose tax cuts and access to credit for small business.

President Obama presented his first State of the Union address last night.The speech he gave is probably a little bit different than one he might have made if Democrat Martha Coakley was the Senator Elect and not Republican Scott Brown. He was treading a thin line, trying to appear strong and resolute, but also trying to appease the Republicans with an effort to reach across the aisle in a spirit of. bipartisanship..

The Republican weren't buying it,  or rather, they appearred to have made a pact to not respond possitively to anything Obama said, even if it was something that they supported and argued for.

The most obvious snub came when Obama proposed cutting taxes for small businesses and recovering TARP money from the big banks that were bailed out , and diverting it to make it available for loans to small businesses. There was no response from the Republican side of the chamber. All I saw was the dour crossarmed glare. They seemed agry that Obama actually had a good idea, that he actualy proposed a tax break for someone.
This should come as a loud message to small businesses that the Republicans are not on their side. They seem to be all for bailouts and tax breaks for giant corporations but  lack the same support for small businesses. They liked the idea of renewing offshore drilling and nuclear power but were not moved by Obama's enthusiasm for small businesses making solar panels and developing biofuels.

Perhaps they don't understand that small businesses make up a significant portion of business in America . They can also do something that big businesses cannot do; recover from downturns and return to their former levels of  earning and employment much faster than big corporations . When a big factory closes down and lays off thousands of people, those jobs are not going to reappear any time soon. It takes years and maybe decades for the giant corporations to grow to their giant size and employ thousands of people. When those companies go bancrupt, there isn't going to be another giant company rising out of the ashes overnight. Granted their are always other established companies that may fill the void, but those companies reap the benefits of a greater market share that do not necessarily translate into new jobs. Even when they choose to expand and build, the process of deciding to expand, getting financing, devloping plans, getting all the necessary permits and approvals,  can take years before the first shovel even breaks into the ground. And then maybe a few more years before permanant non contruction jobs appear.

Small businesses on the otherhand, can appear seamingly overnight. Someone gets an idea, puts together a plan, secures financing and finds an existing facility to work out of, hires employees and opens for business in a much shorter time frame than the giant corporations can.

Drive around anywhere in the US and you will find empty storefronts, offices and warehouse and abondoned factories just waiting for some enterprising small businesses to move in. Small businesses can fuel the recovery and rebuild employement and become profitable, taxpaying enterprises much faster than the struggling mega-corporations can.

The naysayers may argue with this and point out the many large comapnies that have already recovered and are making profits again. Off course they are, they received huge bailouts to help them do that while small businesses were left in the shadows to die. They also have fewer employees to pay as they haven't been rehiring people as fast as they laid them off.

Obama is proposing making the money available as loans, not as a bailout or a grant. The small businesses that borrow the money will have to repay it and are not going to reap windfall profits and pay themselves seven figure bonuses.

A small business that had to lay off half it's staff and closed facilites in the past two years could very easily , in a recovering economy,  hire as many people back and grow much sooner than a big business can. Multipy that by thousands of small businesses and the nation could see positive job growth much sooner than we would if it were left to big corporations alone.

There are many laid off people who just can't find work so they turn to starting their own business. Some of the small businesses of today will be the giant corporations of tommorrow. It's time to turn our attention to the small businesses for a change. Then instead of the American workers relying on big business to create jobs for them, they can create jobs for themselves, and others along the way.

There are  two reason I can think of why the Republicans would oppose tax breaks and loans for small businesses. First is that small businesses cannot afford to make large contributions to politicians or pay for lobbyists to champion their interests. The second is that if small business were given the chance to step up to the plate and were successful in making their contribution to rebuilding the economy, that would make Obama look good. That is something the Republicans must avoid at all costs, even if it means holding back the recovery for working class families. The cause of rebuilding the Republican Party's strength in Washington is far more important to the party than solving the problems that America is struggling with. After all, they all have a steady paycheck and health insurance. They don't feel the urgency that the millions of laid off workers across the country do. They claim that their "rise to power" that came with one single extra vote in the Senate, was fueled by the frustration of independent voters over the way the economy is being handled. But they are willing to delay real substantive solutions for the sake of political ambitions. The same independents who turned against the Dems in Massachusetts and swept Brown into office, could very easily turn against the Republicans  before the next elections in November. Turning their backs on support for small businesses could undo the gains they've made.