Arguments for Kerry, re: Small Business.

[ronabop]

I've been chatting with an undecided about the candidates, and while they refuse to vote shrubby (out of personal distaste for his record), they don't want to cast a vote for Kerry unless they feel their vote will help, rather than hurt, them, and that they are making an educated decision about the candidate. So, I asked them if they had a major issue, and their core issue is their struggling small business.

What does Kerry have in this department?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Kerry has said

that he has plans for tax cuts for small businesses. I know that he also has a plan that would allow small businesses to be able to afford to offer their employees health insurance. Since I work for a small business and don't have health insurance, I'm very interested in this.

[NMDemDist2]

2. as a small biz owner myself, i have looked into that a bit

he wants to stream line the paper work we have to do for employees and taxes. there is a lot more here.. http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/small_biz.html

[blm]

3. That's one of Kerry's best issues.

He was on the Small Business Committee for years.

His healthcare plan is also aimed at easing that burden off small business owners reducing their premiums.

Check out his site on the issues, and follow the links to the more detailed plans.

www.johnkerry.com

[Toots]

4. The very large proportion of my customers are not the very

wealthy. They don't buy a thing from me. Those that I sell to are other small business and individuals of middle class. My business will improve if the middle class is benefited from government assistance like with health care , head start, etc. , repairing our infrastructure (dams, roads, water/sewer systems, airports and harbors etc. etc. More jobs that stay in the US and more money into the economy which is made up of mostly "small business". Democrats are very good for small business because more money gets spread around and not accumulated so much at the top. Call it socialism or what ever you will but I call it keeping your country healthy.

[Only Me]

5. Kick up, more people that have small businesses should read.

Important subject to many folks.

[sandnsea]

6. www.biz4kerry.com

Quite a bit of stuff at that web site. Here's some of what was passed when Kerry was chair of the Small Biz Committee:

Bills Introduced by Senator Kerry, Signed into Law

S.442 Internet Tax Moratorium 1997 was cosponsored by Senator Kerry of Massachusetts and was heard by the Senate Commerce Committee on May 23, 1997.

S. 918 1991 – cosponsor original `Military Reservists Small Business Relief Act'
The MREIDL program was again introduced by Kerry in 1999 - and enacted under Public Law 106-50, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act - to assist the thousands of small businesses that suffer when reservist employees are deployed.

S.2478 : Business Development Opportunity Act of 1994 Kerry sponsored a bill to amend the Small Business Act to enhance the business development opportunities of small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and for other purposes.

S.512 Small Business Credit Availability Act of 1993 - Establishes the Venture Enhancement and Loan Development Administration for Smaller Undercapitalized Enterprises (Velda Sue) as a Federal instrumentality to: (1) develop uniform underwriting, security appraisal, and repayment standards for qualified loans; (2) determine the eligibility of certified poolers to contract with Velda Sue for specific mortgage pool guarantees; and (3) provide timely repayment guarantees of the principal and interest on certain qualified obligations.

S. 1594 New Markets Venture Capital (NMVCs) Firms. NMVC firms will provide incentives to increase the availability of venture capital in low and moderate-income communities for small businesses. Expert guidance will be made available to small business entrepreneurs in inner city and rural areas through the program. Ten to twenty NMVC firms are planned. SBA will match the equity and technical assistance of private investors.

S.856 : A bill to reauthorize the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes. The STTR program funds cooperative research and development (R & D) projects between small companies and research institutions such as universities or federally funded R & D laboratories.

The U.S. Senate late last night unanimously passed H.R. 774, the Women's Business Center Amendments Act of 1999. The legislation, that will substantially increase funding for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Women's Business Centers program, is based on legislation introduced by Senators John F. Kerry (D-MA) and Max Cleland (D-GA) last year in the Senate.

Disaster Mitigation Coordination Act 1999 Working to enact a program that emphasizes prevention in dealing with natural disasters, the bill Senators John F. Kerry (D-MA) and Max Cleland (D-GA) first introduced in the 105th Congress has passed both the House and Senate and is on its way to the President for signature. This bill makes low-cost, long-term loans available to small businesses to take preventative measures before a natural disaster occurs.

[CaTeacher]

7. That is the stuff!

Many small business owners I know vote Repug (so that they don't have to increase the minimum wage of their employees, or pay for health care, or deal with unions etc).

This is VERY short sighted. These policies do not hurt small business--they HELP. By taking care of the workers--the business is taken care of as well.

People who claim that these policies hurt their small business are selfish and short sighted.