Without attempting to steal any of the thunder from labor unions this Labor Day, I would just like to slip in a mention that the person working alongside all the employees of a small business is the small business owner herself or himself.
In fact, that small business owner is the first to greet his or her employees when they show up for work in the morning and wish them a good evening when their day ends. Before, after, and in between, they are also putting in their time producing the products or providing the services customers are seeking, not to mention making sure the vending machines are stocked, the catering trucks have a place to park, and the restrooms are clean.
Fat chance if you work for Tesla or Facebook you’ll ever meet Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, but the small business owner is the one who hired you, will always remember your name, the names of some of your family, and will become a mentor to you.
The difficult times small business owners have labored under since the COVID pandemic have not let up in any big way, especially in California. Congress continues to dawdle over whether to make the Small Business Deduction, which expires in 2025, a permanent feature of the federal tax code. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that created it also contained breaks for big businesses, which do not expire. How is that for showing gratitude to the mom-and-pop enterprises of the nation that employ almost half of our nation’s workers.
This year, Congress exacerbated matters along Main Street when it forced more than 32 million small businesses to comply with a paperwork behemoth called the Corporate Transparency Act. “By the end of this year, small business owners and their senior employees must register their personal information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. If they don’t, they’ll face the loss of their business, criminal penalties and even jail time,” writes Jeff Brabant, vice president of federal governmental relations for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Not to be outdone, California saddled its small business owners with its own compliance nightmare by demanding every business have a Workplace Violence Prevention Program in place. Add to that the retail theft epidemic, which is particularly pronounced in California, and the legislative threats of ever more paid leave laws, higher and higher minimum-wage rates, and extending unemployment benefits, which only businesses pay into, to workers who choose to strike, and it has become impossible to utter the words ‘Golden State’ without a sarcastic sneer.
Through it all, some small businesses still manage to endure. Not as many as there once were, which any stroll down a Main Street in California will attest with its vacant store fronts. So, this Labor Day, when workers are enjoying a well-deserved day off, I can’t help but spare a thought for the small business owner back at work using the time to comply with all the mandates local, state, and federal governments throw at her or him.
No economy anywhere on earth has ever been a strong one without having a vibrant small business sector, first and foremost—a law of economics policymakers should never forget and take to heart.
2 questions: who’s the guy in the pic? Did Brandon write this or does the author want to remain anonymous?
Hi Tom, my bad, the article of this author is John Kabateck, who is a political strategist and blogger. The byline has now been corrected. The man in the stock photo attached to this article is a model 😁
The guy is a right-wing extremist anti-union blogger who worked for REPUBLICAN Gov. Pete Wilson & Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, director for the California Restaurant Association that’s dedicated to Unite Here 11’s complete destruction. Now a PR rep for National Federation of Independent Business, dedicated to ending any & all labor rights.
You say all that as if it’s a bad thing!
It’s good to know! He’s my kind’a guy and I will give him my business.
But ….. what and where is his business?
You make it sound as it it’s an onerous burden.
What’s the big deal about filing papers with your personal information?
Not to become conspiratorial but it almost seems there is some grand scheme to get rid of these mom-n-pop businesses by making it almost impossible to stay in business by these onerous and very expensive rules and regulations.
And I tell such people to seek the advise of a qualified Mental Health Professional because they have exceeded the scope of my training in this area. Several options are available to you Mental Health – Health Services Los Angeles County.❤
the guy who wrote the piece received over 60k in PPP loans he did not have to pay back while ordinary working people struggled to pay rent and bills during the pandemic but he’s not gonna mention that one at all
So what’s your point?
Small business face unbelievable challenges here in California. It’s a very anti-business environment. Hats off to all the businesses out there that survive these challenges and still call California home base.