Jobs, Taxes and Small Business: It’s All About the Numbers
Wednesday, March 11, 2009Politico carried a good story today about the impact of President Obama’s budget and tax proposals on small business, “Small manufacturers cry uncle.”
In an attempted response at the TNR blog, The Plank, “Politico Hearts the GOP Business Lobby,” Clay Risen makes the claim that “very, very few small businesses actually make above $250,000.”
Well, it all depends on how you define a few. There are more than six million businesses in the United States. When you compare that to 196,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers, well, it makes that number look small. Six million = big, 196,000 = small.
Here’s another way to look at it: Eight percent of the United States unemployed, 92 percent of the United State employed. News to cheer about? Not if you’re one of the 8% unemployed.
So, If you happen to be one of those small manufacturers who is going to face a substantial tax increase, then that number will probably seem a lot more significant. And, if you happen to be one of the people employed by a small manufacturer, who suddenly finds themselves among the 8 percent of Americans who is unemployed, well…you get the point.