Issue Position: Economic Recovery
Issue Position
Bill's Way Forward to Healthy Economic Growth
The financial crisis has touched us all. We find ourselves either stricken and slowly picking our way through it, or unscathed yet nervously avoiding the economic fallout. The mess continues to cause tremendous economic pain across the area. When our essential sources of stability your (job) and security (residents) are at risk, it is easy to feel the system is at a stand-still and if you haven't already fell into the trap of loosing your job or home you're thinking you could be next.
The threat is real and present here in the 5th Congressional District. As been reported as recently as January, demands at local homeless shelters has outstripped supply, with shelters having to resort to turning away some homeless people, the overflow can be seen in our parks and public seating area downtown. Even in more affluent areas we are seeing a spike in unemployment. Indeed, we have seen an 11 percent increase in unemployment across the 5th district and in June 2010 we have saw 17% poverty rate in Davidson county.
Bill gives the Obama Administration credit for pulling us back from a major economic depression when there was no clear path to navigate. But while we seem to have stopped our economic from dipping lower we still have a lot of work of to do.
In the short term, this means a focus on getting Americans back to work by supporting small business. It means reducing the costs of health care, energy, and education--all of which are rising faster than inflation and making it harder for most families to keep up. In the long term, it means building an educational system, which will better prepare us to compete in the global economy, and reducing our massive national debt. If we don't address these issues, we will not only undermine our own economic growth, but make it much more difficult for the next generation to succeed.
Finally, many have asked what the proper role of government should be in the economy. Bill believes the government's role should be limited. Government can never replace the innovation of industry. Government can never stand-in for an individual's hard work. Government can never provide the same love and support that a family does. These are the things that make our economy work. What government can do is help create the conditions that allow these things to thrive and expand. Bill's goal as your Representative is to make sure government does just that. Nothing more, nothing less.
Revitalizing Small Business
It is difficult to overstate the importance of small businesses to our economy. Small businesses are companies with 500 or fewer employees. These businesses account for 50 percent of GDP and more than half of employment. 65 percent of new jobs came from small businesses over the past 15 years. 20 percent of jobs are from companies with 20 employees or less. Government can help fuel this essential engine of economic growth.
Three of the main roadblocks impeding small business:
1. Poor access to loans;
2. High health care costs -- on average 18% more than for large firms; and
3. Poor support for research & development
Improve Access to Loans
Because many banks are pulling back from making loans to small businesses, Bill supports legislation that would allow the government to temporarily provide credit to small business. The government can accomplish this by providing guarantees for loans made to small business, and by providing incentives for community banks to lend to small business.
Lower Health Care Costs
Regarding health care costs, while larger firms enjoy economies of scale and a corresponding reduction in health insurance premiums, small businesses pay on average 18 percent more per worker. Small businesses give scale to our economy itself, and deserve to be allowed to pool their risk with other similarly situated employers so they can get group rates and greater choice. That will not only lower the cost of business, but it will also lower the cost to hire new employees.
Research and Development
Finally, as a group, small businesses produce a disproportionate number of patents for our country. This is exactly the kind of innovation that will make us competitive long into the future. For that reason, Bill advocates stronger incentives to improve America's research competitiveness. Bill would like to make the Research and Development Tax Credit, which must currently be renewed every two years, permanent. That way small businesses--and all businesses--would have a strong and steady incentive to invest in their future, and our own.
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