Chairman Smith: 'Help Needed’ Store Windows Sign-Ons Small Business’s Cry for Relief in Biden Economy

Washington DC – As small businesses increasingly prepare for the recession, „Going Out of Business” signs may soon start going up and down major streets across America. For more than two years, small businesses have faced a number of crises, including fewer workers, smaller inventories and lower returns, skyrocketing prices, uncompetitive wages in the labor market, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, or rising interest rates.

Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (MO-08) It released the following statement after the May jobs report:

„Wherever you go in America, small businesses need help. The Ways and Means team is taking to Main Streets across the country to ask working Americans about how the Biden economy has destroyed their communities. How families have to take on second jobs to pay the bills, how small businesses hire workers, They told us they had to expand their businesses, keep products on the shelves, or in the worst case scenario, close. Congress should focus on providing relief from the Biden economy so that families, farmers and workers can enjoy their hard-earned money and small businesses have the tools they need to expand, hire and grow. .An important step in that direction is the Fiscal Responsibility Act — legislation that will help fight today’s inflationary crisis by curbing reckless spending and lift more Americans out of poverty and into the workforce — heading to the president’s desk.

Biden economy failed workers and small businesses:

• Unemployment rose to 3.7 percent from 3.4 percent.
• The annual increase in hourly earnings (4.3 percent) since Biden took office has not kept pace with inflation (4.9 percent) or the 15.3 percent rise in prices.
• Inflation has already cost the average American family $10,000.
• GDP grew by just 1 percent in the first quarter of 2023, predicting a recession later in the year.
• A majority of Americans (55 percent), including Democrats, think America is currently in a recession, according to a Winning the Issues survey.
• 1 in 6 retirees are considering returning to work, and 55 percent of retirees who went back to work did so because they needed more money.

In their own words: Small businesses are struggling in President Biden’s economy

In Ways and Means field hearings across the country, small businesses have testified about how their families and small businesses are struggling under President Biden’s economic policies:

• West Virginia – Ashley BachmanMother of three and local restaurant owner: „Unfortunately, we are in another crisis after covid. The crisis of rising prices of everything…our little restaurant is bleeding money with all the increased costs, and I don’t know how much longer we can keep going up like that…” February 6, Field The State of the US Economy: Appalachia
• Oklahoma – Chuck MillsOwner and operator of his family’s manufacturing company: „Labor shortages and supply chain issues, combined with inflationary pressures, have made this the most difficult economy I’ve dealt with in more than four decades.” March 7, Field Inquiry into the State of the US Economy: The Heartland
• Georgia – Matt LivingstonOwner of a small home construction business and family restaurant: „I’m sure nothing I can say will change the minds of those who believe that this economy is booming or that it’s the best it’s ever been. No one with those beliefs has ever visited my small town. April 21, State of the US Economy: South