President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last night, February 12, 2013, left something to be desired for small businesses, according to published reports. In fact, if it wasn't for a brief mention of the need to simplify the tax code, small businesses would have not even been on the radar during the State of the Union.
Some of the proposals in the State of the Union would actually harm small businesses: raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, for example. Many small businesses need to hire employees for less and will often turn to teenagers and college students for entry-level help.
According to a prepared statement by the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), President Obama neglected to mention the vital role that small businesses and entrepreneurs play in the economy, as well as the policies that create more businesses and recognize that small businesses and entrepreneurs are responsible for job creation.
"If Congress were serious about helping small business, it would do something that will really help the majority of small businesses – support business start-ups with business assistance and microloans," CAMEO's statement said, referencing the SBA PRIME Program, the Microloan Technical Assistance programs, Women Business Centers and Small Business Development Centers. "To create jobs, America need strategies that will harness the entrepreneurial spirit of all small business and cultivate homegrown local businesses."
Which is exactly what was missing from the President's speech, by all accounts.
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