With 44% of the domestic GDP being generated by small businesses, the significance of the fact that more than 3 million of those companies have closed their doors since the onset of the pandemic cannot be overstated.
The chief concern that weighs heavily on the minds and shoulders of the entire world, much less the U.S. economy, is that a devastating ripple effect will occur if U.S. small businesses are not kept afloat. Just think about it. The probable chain of events that will occur, if the trend toward failures within the small business community continues, is frightening. A worsening unemployment rate is often pointed out as a repercussion of small business failures; however, the adverse impact of a small business community collapse is far more reaching than just that. Small businesses pay a huge portion of the tax revenues for cities, counties, states, and the federal government. Furthermore, the income, property, and sales taxes that the employees of small businesses pay is also dependent upon by government. Without tax revenue, governmental budgets and programs will be crippled and unable to meet their various local and national obligations.
While a new round of governmental relief funding will likely have a price tag that exceeds $1 trillion, the alternative of doing nothing would be far more costly. There is no other choice but to ensure the ongoing operations of small businesses across the country. If the government waits to act, the more small business casualties there will be and the deeper the cut will become with a much longer lasting scar on the U.S. economy.
It’s true. There are countless issues and challenges confronting us all, however we cannot fail to place the needs and survival of small businesses at the forefront. This is a pivotal moment in our country’s existence — so let’s get this right and let’s get it done now.
