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John Boehner: Small business is key to recovery

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12:43 PM Friday, November 20, 2009

Last week, a break in Congress’ legislative calendar allowed me the opportunity to travel the 8th District and meet with a number of constituents and area small business owners. Without a doubt, top concerns continue to be jobs, jobs, jobs.

Widespread joblessness is causing continued suffering among Ohioans. A recent study by Miami University Hamilton’s Center for Civic Engagement on the recession shows that 40 percent of households surveyed reported trouble affording essentials such as food or medicine. Thirty percent of Ohio households suffered a job loss by one of its members.

Immediate action is needed to create jobs and provide relief to Ohio families. Unfortunately, the majority party continues to believe its failed big-government policies will turn the economy around.

Despite pledges from Democrats that unemployment would not go over 8 percent if the “stimulus” passed, nine months later the national unemployment rate is 10.2 percent. Over that time, 3 million private sector jobs have been lost. More than half of those losses have come from small businesses employing less than 50 workers.

This is particularly troubling considering how vital small business is to the strength of our economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, small businesses have generated 60 to 80 percent of new jobs annually over the past decade. Furthermore, small businesses employ half of all private-sector employees and represent 97 percent of all identified exporters.

As a former small businessman, I know firsthand how government can be an obstacle to job creation. That’s why I’ve grown increasingly concerned as Democrats press ahead with their jobs-killing agenda that includes, among other costly proposals, a national energy tax, a $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care, and yet another “stimulus.”

More spending, taxing and borrowing does not mean more jobs for the American people. It is time to scrap the Democrats’ failed policies and enact common-sense solutions to put money back in the hands of the true drivers of economic growth; American families, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

That’s why House Republicans are proposing fiscally responsible solutions to help small businesses create good-paying jobs and get our economy moving again. Our common-sense solutions include:

• Allowing small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income. This will immediately free up funds for small businesses to retain and hire new employees.

• Lowering taxes for all taxpayers by reducing the current 15 percent rate to 10 percent and reducing the current 10 percent rate to 5 percent. This will provide an immediate increase in income to every taxpaying family in America and free up capital to help small businesses hire more workers.

• Increasing the net operating loss carry-back from two to five years to provide struggling employers with additional resources to keep their doors open.

These ideas and others were included in letters Republican leaders and I sent to President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month, urging them to consider common-sense GOP solutions to help put Americans back to work.

The road to recovery will not be an easy one. No phony jobs created or saved list can whitewash the situation our nation finds itself today. But by working together to enact fiscally responsible solutions to aid small businesses, we can create jobs, provide relief to Ohio families and get our economy back on track.

U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., represents Ohio’s 8th District.

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