Access to Capital
The U.S. economy needs small business, and small business needs capital. Yet, accessing capital is a constant struggle for today’s small businesses. Instead of lavishing federal dollars on large multinational corporations, we must steer those millions of federal dollars to boost small and medium-sized enterprises, jumpstarting the U.S. economy in the process.
A new public-private partnership to generate innovative small business loans
- Create a new government corporation within the Small Business Administration (SBA): the Small Business Capital Corporation
- Expand secondary markets for small business loans
- Create ever-more innovative small business loan products
- Alternative payment schedules
- Alternative sources of collateral
- Alternative financial instruments
- Ensure careful management by the Treasury Department
Targeted tax incentives for small business investment
- Reduce or eliminate taxes on capital gains earned through long-term investment in a small business
- Dividend tax cut discourages investment in small business in favor of big business
Revitalized SBA and other successful government small business programs
- Fund the SBA 7(a) loan program at late 1990s-levels
- Develop and promote women and minority entrepreneurship
- Microloan Program
- Minority-Owned Venture Empowerment (MOVE) Act
- Support venture capital programs in those regions that need it most
- New Markets Venture Capital Program
- Connect small businesses with existing sources of capital
- SBA’s Business Information Centers and Small Business Development Centers
- Cultivate an independent and empowered Office of Advocacy
Reform of small business disaster assistance programs
- Correct severe mistakes made in Hurricane Katrina small business relief efforts
- Revise procedures for effective structuring, processing and delivery of disaster bridge loans
Fairness in government procurement
- End unfair “bundling” of contracts
- Refine and enforce real definitions of “small business”
