Most Americans are probably unaware that there is a Small Disadvantaged Business program in America that they own and operate. There is a website: SBA.gov (http://www.sba.gov/content/disadvantaged-businesses). Don’t worry, for most persons, it is not for you.
Instead, it is for “advantaged” small business for which special consideration is given in the procurement process to favor special interest groups with set asides.
They call them “disadvantaged,” but that is a misnomer. Let me provide some for instances.
“Small Disadvantaged Businesses
As you may already know, disadvantaged businesses can compete for certain federal contracting opportunities. You qualify for these specific opportunities if you "self-certify" your business as:
- Veteran-owned
- Woman-owned
- Minority-owned
- Owned by a person with disabilities
Collectively, these characteristics identify what is called a disadvantaged business. When you register your business in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), you may also self-identify as belonging to one or more of these groups.”
Who in America today would argue against giving Veterans and Disabled Veterans special consideration when awarding business contracts from the Department of Defense? Don’t you think most Americans would agree that veterans have earned the right to compete for a piece of the pie with “advantage”?
Legislation should be passed declaring: The American Advantaged Program -- Vets first in Defense procurement.
Now, what about other categories and in other departments? So long as there is a need for a Voting Rights Act, there is a need to consider Minority-owned small disadvantaged businesses? The question is, what minorities: African Americans, Latino Americans, who else?
I wrote an article about small businesses and lobbyists earlier today that hints at how the lobbyists craft advantage and favor. It is a profession with the law and a math-driven science.
What about women? Well, women aren’t represented proportionately in government, nor are they represented proportionally in business. Is it correct and desirable to have lobbyists and the government engineering equality and proportional distribution of opportunity for women?
The news today is that the Obama administration has decided that Arab-Americans should not be put on the “disadvantaged” list.
My concerns are beyond list making and favoritism. They are more about the criteria for conducting business with the government. It seems to me that a business should be commercially viable as a prerequisite to contracting with the government. If a business cannot serve commercial customers in the competitive marketplace, they have no business selling services to the government no matter what list they are on.
“Administration won’t put Arab-Americans on ‘disadvantaged’ list
By Ben Goad - 03/04/13 03:18 PM ET
The Commerce Department has denied a petition seeking to make Arab-Americans eligible for federal business assistance.The U.S. Commerce Department has denied a petition seeking to put Arab-Americans on the list of disadvantaged groups eligible for federal business assistance.
In rejecting the bid, the department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) acknowledged that Arab-Americans have been subject to prejudice. But advocates for the group were unable to show that the discrimination has translated to the business world, the agency concluded.
“In too many instances, Arab-Americans have faced prejudice that has resulted in incidents of violence, assault, and other undeniably adverse treatment,” the agency said in a decision to be published Tuesday. “But the Petition fails to connect this evidence to a showing of impediments in the business world for members of the group that are not common to all business people in the same or similar business and marketplace.”
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed the petition with MBDA in January of last year, seeking access to management and technical assistance programs offered by the agency. On Thursday the group's legal and policy director complained that the Commerce Department did not indicate earlier that the petition was insufficient.
"We are pretty upset that they didn't get back to us for a year," Abed Ayoub said, adding that their group plans to file an amended petition.”
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