Johnston Sunrise - Whitehouse Talks Jobs with Small Businesses

News Article

By Meg Fraser

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse took his seat in Taso's yesterday morning, apologizing for his late arrival. He was on his way to the Atwood Avenue restaurant to meet with local business owners when a call came from former President Bill Clinton.

"Happens to me all the time," joked Deborah Giannini, president and CEO of Alpha Metal-Works in Johnston.

But Giannini and seven other business owners weren't there to talk about politics, the debt ceiling or other national issues. They were there to talk about issues affecting small businesses in Rhode Island and find out how Whitehouse intends to help them.

"I think it's everybody's intent to get back to a jobs agenda, which is where we should have been all along," Whitehouse said.

In particular, he lauded the Job Creation Tax Credit Act, which he introduced in June that offers refundable tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed workers. The legislation expands on the HIRE Act of 2010 and is a component of the senator's ongoing Making It in Rhode Island plan.

Among the problems facing businesses is financing.

"The banks aren't lending," said Thomas Thomaidis, a financial advisor for Wells Fargo and the son of Taso's owner, Anastasios Thomaidis.

Whitehouse described a Small Business Fund currently being created, which would direct billions of dollars into banks specifically for business lending. In order to be eligible, though, banks must apply and be approved. Whitehouse hoped to have a list of eligible banks in the coming months and promised to make that available to constituent business owners.

"It's good to hear from you that eventually it's going to come around," Thomas Thomaidis said.

Financing has also been a challenge for David Paratore, the president and CEO of NanoSteel. While he also owns the Homestyle retail store in Providence with his wife, he finds the nanotechnology business to be more challenging. His company is looking to create a lighter weight steel, but the focus on research and development means they're not making an immediate profit. Instead, NanoSteel must use some government financing to survive.

"That's the part that's really in limbo right now," he said. "Companies like us; it's pretty hard to do what we do without government support in some way."

He has seen first hand what outsourcing can do to an industry and doesn't want to see the United States lose out on any more business.

Bob Ricci, who owns a metal finishing company, has been chasing foreign companies for years.

"Imports are killing us. Everything went to China," he said.

In 1998 Ricci had 75 employees. Now, he has only 28 and had to mortgage his home to repay business loans. While he recognizes that foreign products are often cheaper, he wishes Rhode Islanders, and Americans, would support their own. Ultimately, it could lower prices and make the United States more competitive.

"It seems like we have to go back to the old values," Ricci said.

"I try to support Rhode Island businesses. I think we're all going through the same thing," Thomaidis added.

Whitehouse agreed that China is a major target when it comes to sniping business. He criticized China for "wholesale international industrial espionage" and said it is the U.S. government's responsibility to bring things back in line.

"The enforcement on the domestic side is laughable," he said of the Chinese regulatory system.

Streamlining the regulatory process here in the United States, he added, is a priority of his and of President Obama.

As a niche business owner, Giannini is one of a limited number of welding companies in this country. As such, much of her business comes from around the country.

She would like to see more business come from Rhode Island and wants her customers to recognize that buying cheaper products doesn't always lead to positive results.

"There is something to be said for stuff made in the United States. You get what you pay for," she said.

She also encouraged her fellow business owners not to let bad economic times back them into a corner. Recently, one of her biggest customers owed $1,500 on their bill and came in to have something fixed in a hurry. Giannini would not return the finished product until their account was paid up.

"Sometimes you have to flex a muscle a little bit," she said.

In Washington, Ricci hopes legislators will do a little less flexing and get more work done for taxpayers.

"We've got to do what's good for the country. You guys have got to put your guns in your holsters," he said, referring to the oft-publicized bickering among federal legislators.

Two other business concerns that emerged Wednesday were tourism and the Internet.

Daniel Pritsker from Providence Diamond Co. encouraged Whitehouse to push forward the Main Street Fairness Act in order to stop tax-free online sales.

"It's completely unfair. It's a huge revenue stream we're missing out on," he said.

Online powerhouses like Amazon.com have vehemently opposed changing the tax structure for online sales, but Whitehouse assured the group that it was something he supports.

On the issue of tourism, Whitehouse said it is largely left to state and local officials. He did say that he continues to advocate for the America's Cup to return to Rhode Island and also believes the state's ports to be an important, but underutilized, asset.

Ultimately, the business owners shared a positive outlook for the future. Pritsker called Rhode Islanders "resilient" and laughed when he said, "I honestly feel things in Rhode Island can't get worse."

As the economy turns around, Thomaidis is hopeful that business will pick up accordingly, for his father and for other Rhode Island small businesses.

"I believe in Rhode Island," he said. "Rhode Island always bounces back."

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