The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to a close last week after Democrats capitulated, thanks to pressure from their constituents, labor unions, small businesses and the GOP majority.
“The end of the Democrat Shutdown is welcome news for America’s 36 million small businesses,” said House Committee on Small Business Chairman Roger Williams (TX-25). “Each day of gridlock cost Main Street lost access to capital, delayed contracts, and weakened confidence. With the U.S. Small Business Administration lending and federal programs back online, entrepreneurs can again focus on growth, hiring, and rebuilding momentum after weeks of Democrat-inflicted uncertainty across Main Street.”
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) reports that continued uncertainty impacted small business optimism. According to the latest NFIB report, the Small Business Optimism Index for October was 98.2, down 0.6 points from September but remaining above its 52-year average of 98.
“As optimism declined in October, so did the level of uncertainty. The Uncertainty Index fell 12 points from September to 88, the lowest reading of this year (but historically high). A decrease in owners reporting that they are uncertain about expansion outlook contributed most to the fall in the Uncertainty Index,” the report warns.
“Good that the government has re-opened,” said Bruce de Torres, Director of Communications for the American Small Business League. “Sad that it does next to nothing for the 99.9% of all businesses that are small businesses, despite its celebrations to the contrary. Small business contracts continue to go to big businesses, with the president and the SBA and the Senate and House small business committees looking the other way. If small business optimism is high (fluctuating a little month to month), that’s because entrepreneurs are the bravest among us. How we would thrive if the federal government did the main thing it is supposed to for small businesses, which is to steer 23% of its contracts to small businesses. It says it does, but it doesn’t. All other conversations about what the federal government does for small businesses are distractions.”
Another concern of Main Street is the expected spike in healthcare premiums designed by the Affordable Care Act. Small business owners are bracing for a potential quadruple increase in their personal and their employee premiums due to the expiration of pandemic-era tax credits provided by the Biden administration at the end of this year.
“We are going to see a lot of people lose health insurance, entirely…cutting employee hours, or shutting up shop entirely to seek out other work at an employer that provides healthcare insurance, ” Bloomberg news reports.
Come January, Democrats and Republicans will again have to negotiate to keep the government open as Obamacare tax credits were not included in the bipartisan continuing resolution to reopen the government.
Democrats are proposing to extend the taxpayer-funded Obamacare subsidies to keep premiums artificially low, but President Trump has signaled that he will not sign another bill that rewards insurance companies.
Instead, Republicans are working on a series of solutions to replace the “Unaffordable Care Act,” proposing reforms related to increased competition, transparency, and, according to President Trump, sending money back to the people instead of the “big, fat, rich insurance companies who have been ripping people off. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!” the president posted on social media.
As Main Street prepares for another potential government shutdown at the beginning of next year, coupled with sticker shock of soaring healthcare premiums, K Street and Washington DC politicians are playing games with other people’s money. Small businesses don’t have that luxury.
Small businesses cannot subsidize failure with other people’s money, they either learn from their mistakes or close up shop. Obamacare was supposed to lower premiums, but after 15 years, premiums have continuously increased while insurance companies have made record profits while denying coverage.
It’s past time for politicians to stop subsidizing failure and replace the Obamacare exchanges by empowering the people and small businesses who are the engine of the U.S. economy.
Dr. Michael Busler, Ph.D., is a public policy analyst, economics expert and a professor of finance at Stockton University in New Jersey.
