Small Business Bullshit

One thing we've heard from "conservatives" throughout both the campaign and the economic crisis is that the backbone of the American economy rests on the backs of the small businessmen(women.) These are the "can do!" people that best exemplify what America's all about; these are the people that take the risks and employ everybody else while gunning for the American Dream. No handouts for them, thank you very much - just a real chance to compete in the open market.

Meanwhile, we also keep hearing from conservatives that should Obama raise taxes on these people even one dollar, they'll all simply crumble away to dust, taking the economy with them. Which, to me, seems to fly in the face of what I spoke of in my first paragraph.

Let's say, for example, Jim Orioles owns a small copy shop. Last year, after all taxes and expenses, he cleared $65,000. Now here comes Obama taxes...let's say because of them, after a year Jim Orioles brings home $45,000. Yes, going backwards $20k sucks. But the conservatives would lead you to believe that this would mean Jim Orioles has to shut down his operation, sending his employees and their discretionary spending to the poorhouse. But if Jim Orioles does what conservatives say his character would lead him to do when they're waxing poetic in front of a camera, he'll hang in there for his business and his employees - either weathering the drop for the year in an obvious economic downturn, or using some of that "magical American can do it-ness!!" we all like to talk about to come up with more ways to create revenue. Hell, $45k profit is still $45k profit - they can't tax more than you bring in. In folding up shop because of some new taxes instead of re-igniting his entreprenureal juices (which, after all, isn't that what the right claims is all anybody's asking for, a chance in the open market?), Jim Orioles would be espousing a "Can't-do" philosophy, which means maybe we shouldn't be proclaiming these to be the people worth basing our economical decisions on.

Also, cutting and running as soon as profits dip for a moment reflects the course hyper-Corporations take - not that their companies are in danger of going under, but that their maximum profits may have peaked, so it's time to cut and run with their wads of cash.

Perhaps "conservatives" themselves have lost track of how a small business, aka "the backbone of America" works; perhaps they should know that a small copy shop is not necessarily guaranteed to act the same way someone like Enron might.

But hey, they're the REAL America, right?