America’s small businesses took a beating during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many in Central Washington were lost to the economic disaster that followed. Upon the economy’s reopening, small businesses were optimistic about a fruitful recovery, but instead were met with the highest inflation seen in this country in over forty years due to the Biden Administration’s economic policies.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners have long been known for bringing jobs, culture, and economic opportunity to our communities, especially in rural areas. But in the world today where the average American household is having to spend over $11,000 a year more than the year before, consumers are not so quick to visit Main Street for goods and services. The most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed the inflation rate currently resting at 3.7 percent year over year. The report also notes that the inflation rate and labor issues were tied as the top issues facing small businesses, with 43 percent of them failing to fill new or vacant jobs. Prices are rising, financing lenders are becoming more selective, and small businesses are not equipped to seek high-interest credit as the Federal Reserve continues to increase rates.
Getting back to an economy that works for small businesses is not an easy task, and there must be an appetite on both sides of the aisle to prioritize policy that moves in that direction. Under one-party rule in Washington, D.C., the federal government spent tens of trillions of dollars on initiatives that both drove inflation up and punished small businesses through tax and interest rate hikes. In the meantime, unemployment payouts kept workers at home and out of the labor pipeline needed to support small businesses. This is not an acceptable practice.
Since the beginning of the 118th Congress this year, we have been working to mitigate the harm done by those dangerous economic policies seen over the past several years. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, I am fighting to balance the budget and bring a common-sense conservative approach to federal spending policies.
Small businesses need a government that promotes entrepreneurship, not punishes those that have an idea to creatively compete in a market. They need a government that incentivizes employment, not entitlements that pay workers to stay home. They need a responsible approach to policies that prioritize sustainability, and it is our duty in Congress, in our state legislature, and in our communities to see to it they are successful.
