A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> panel is pressing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a> to be more forthcoming in a probe into alleged government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/censorship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">censorship</a> that is also the subject of a lawsuit brought by The Daily Wire.
GOP lawmakers, who are looking into whether the government funded private entities to discredit small businesses and their owners over their political speech and views, <a href="https://smallbusiness.house.gov/uploadedfiles/01.08.2024_-_letter_3_to_global_engagement_center_re_censorship.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a letter</a> on Monday to James Rubin, coordinator of the agency&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-twitter-files-twitter-and-the-fbi-belly-button">Global Engagement Center</a> (GEC), <a href="https://smallbusiness.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=405837" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contending</a> the organization&#8217;s previous delivery of information to Congress &#8220;appears to be incomplete&#8221; with dozens of awards doled out in recent years seemingly omitted from the tranche.
“The GEC award recipients revealed in its partial production have caused enough concern that the Committee is requesting more detailed information to understand the reality and scope of what these companies are using taxpayer dollars for,&#8221; wrote Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations.
&#8220;The GEC’s initial production was provided to the Committee over five months after the requested due date of June 21, 2023. The result was a five-page spreadsheet; there is no reason the GEC would need one month per page of production. The Committee needs all relevant documents to ensure all American small businesses are able to compete online without interference from the federal government,&#8221; they added.
On its website, the GEC touts how it is focused on <a href="https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-public-diplomacy-and-public-affairs/global-engagement-center/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;proactively&#8221; leading</a> interagency efforts to counter disinformation and propaganda from foreign adversaries. But Republicans suspect the center is surreptitiously propping up activities that suppress free speech at home, particularly on social media as has been illustrated by the &#8220;Twitter Files,&#8221; and they have talked about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jim-jordan-unveils-budget-wishlist-to-fight-weaponized-federal-agencies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulling taxpayer dollars</a> from the GEC.
A deadline of January 22 was given for the additional documents and information requested by the lawmakers.
A State Department spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the agency is &#8220;committed to being responsive to congressional oversight and continues to work with the House Small Business Committee on its requests.&#8221; The spokesperson added, &#8220;However, as a general matter, we do not comment on our communications with Congress.&#8221;
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-us-state-department-conspiring-censor-american-media-companies-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> with The Daily Wire and The Federalist last month in suing the State Department, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-and-the-federalist-sue-biden-state-department-over-censorship-effort" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accusing the government agency</a> of funding censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets with disfavored political opinions. The lawsuit seeks to put a stop to the alleged effort to boost censorship organizations that regularly target conservative media outlets with the stated goal of limiting ad revenue.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/technology/state-department-disinformation-criticism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a report last month</a> that said Rubin rejected claims that his organization censors Americans&#8217; comments online. “What we do not do is examine or analyze the U.S. information space,” he said.
Also noted in the article was how the Supreme Court is poised to weigh in on a broader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-scores-victory-against-order-blocking-contact-with-social-media-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media censorship case</a> brought by the GOP attorneys general from Missouri and Louisiana in the spring following an appeals court panel ruling that said there was &#8220;no indication that State Department officials flagged specific content for censorship, suggested policy changes to the platforms or engaged in any similar actions that would reasonably bring their conduct within the scope of the First Amendment’s prohibitions.&#8221;

Rep. Roger Williams

House GOP Twists Screws On State Dept In Censorship Probe

Censorship

Congress

House Republicans

Ken Paxton

Politics

Small Businesses

State Department

The Daily Wire

The Federalist

U.S. House of Representatives

As early as grade school, American children, especially from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds, are being told they should pursue social activism or even political revolution in order to make the country a better place.
But Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network and the son of Mexican immigrants, argues that private enterprise would be a more effective way to achieve positive social change.
“If you want to make America a better place for everyone, especially minorities, forget social activism,” Ortiz said. “Instead, start a business.”
Ortiz notes that unlike activists and politicians, entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunities, not only for themselves, but for the people around them. The approximately 44 million small businesses in the United States provide roughly ⅔ of all new jobs.
Ortiz also notes that, relative to their share of the American population, “minorities start businesses more often than their white counterparts.”
According to the Kaufman Foundation, 360 out of 100,000 Americans will start a business in any given month, but among Hispanics, 540 per 100,000 will do so, and that disproportionate likelihood of starting a business has had rapid economic impacts.
“The ratio of household wealth between whites and Hispanics went from 8:1 to 5:1 between 2013 and 2019 as Hispanics became entrepreneurial,” Ortiz said. “There are 10 million minority-owned small businesses in America, generating $2 trillion of annual wealth and employing 10 million people.”
Ortiz cites the example of the Guthrie brothers, co-owners of Detroit Chassis, which assembles frames for motorhomes and trucks. The Guthries grew the company from a small workshop into a major manufacturer that brings in more than $100 million every year and employs more than 150 people, most of whom, like the Guthrie brothers, are black.
Ortiz argues that the American system is not rigged, and that people of all racial backgrounds can and will succeed if given the opportunity to do so. However, he argues that a large, redistributive state will cause the opposite of its desired effect by favoring large and well established firms over new businesses, limiting economic mobility.
“Small businesses, because they are small, are much more vulnerable to bad government policies.”
Minimum wages, inflation, rising energy costs, and many other hardships brought on by government policy disproportionately cut into the slim profit margins of small, local firms. Without profits, small businesses cannot develop new products, or hire new workers — if they start taking on losses, they may not even be able to operate.
“To lift up minorities and close the racial and ethnic wealth gap,” Ortiz says, “we should look to the millions of economic pioneers, many of them minority entrepreneurs, who are risking everything to make their lives, and our lives, better every day.”
WATCH:
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Want A Revolution? Start A Business.

Economy

Money

PragerU

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Small businesses</a> impacted by the current <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> tumult are filing for bankruptcy at levels last witnessed at the outset of the lockdown-induced recession, even as President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> touts an uptick in new business ventures.
Economic phenomena such as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inflationary pressures</a>, as well as the rising <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/interest-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interest rates</a> caused by monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve, had produced an increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses filing for bankruptcy, according to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-credit-crunch-bankruptcy-bank-crisis-svb-fed-inflation-markets-2023-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">note</a> from investment bank UBS obtained by Business Insider. Fears of a credit crunch amid the failure of multiple banks worsened the rise in bankruptcies. The number of business closures surpassed the peak witnessed three years ago when governments implemented lockdown mandates.
The number of monthly bankruptcy filings reached nearly 32,000 as of February 2023, an 18% rise from the 27,000 bankruptcy filings seen in February 2022, according to <a href="https://www.abi.org/newsroom/bankruptcy-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the American Bankruptcy Institute. Chapter 11 bankruptcies, which are typically used by larger businesses because of their more complex nature, increased by 83% over the same period.
Communications from the White House have nevertheless downplayed the present economic challenges and the burdens they create for small businesses. Biden has repeatedly cited the overall higher rates of new business formation over the past three years, as noted by <a href="https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/pdf/bfs_current.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Census Bureau, without noting the phenomena which have simultaneously weighed upon entrepreneurs.
“When I came into office, this economy was reeling. Small businesses were hurting. Literally hundreds of thousands of small businesses had closed across the country. Millions of Americans, many of whom worked in small businesses, lost their jobs through no fault of their own,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/03/27/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-sba-womens-business-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last week. “To jumpstart American economic recovery, we needed to help the small businesses and we needed to help them fast. So we got to work.”
The commander-in-chief claimed that the American Rescue Plan boosted the economy by delivering emergency loans to millions of businesses. Critics have asserted that the stimulus package <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-continue-to-opt-out-of-the-workforce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worsened</a> labor shortages by extending enhanced federal unemployment benefits established amid the recession, a reality which thereby increased price levels.
The budget proposal unveiled last month by the White House would increase the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before 2017. One in four businesses registered as corporations are small businesses, according to <a href="https://www.atr.org/biden-budget-violates-his-small-business-tax-pledge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> compiled by Americans for Tax Reform, implying that the higher taxes would negatively impact smaller employers.
Biden has likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-celebrates-economic-progress-even-as-inflation-remains-four-times-higher-than-at-the-beginning-of-his-term" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contended</a> that his policies have lowered inflation in recent months while neglecting to mention that price level increases are currently four times higher than the rates observed when he assumed office two years ago. “We are making progress in the fight against inflation,” he said last week in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/31/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-february-pce-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The fight against inflation isn’t over, and every day my administration is working to give families more breathing room.”
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Inflation has a more severe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wharton-economist-warns-that-inflation-is-hitting-poor-americans-the-hardest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impact</a> on low-income households, which typically allocate a greater portion of their monthly income to core living expenses relative to wealthier families. Real wages plummeted 1.9% between February 2022 and February 2023, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On 2024 Budget Plan In Philadelphia

Small Business Bankruptcies Reach Worrisome Level As Biden Touts Rising Business Formation

Small Business Bankruptcies Reach Worrisome Levels

Biden Administration

Business

Inflation

Restaurant and bar owners in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/houston-taqueria-where-patron-shot-and-killed-would-be-robber-gets-robbed-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Houston</a> are sleeping in their establishments, armed, in order to protect them from robbers.
The restaurant owners have resorted to sleeping in their businesses in order to prevent a recent rash of break-ins that have taken place in recent weeks. The owners said that their businesses have been broken into repeatedly, sometimes by the same suspect. They placed the blame on Houston&#8217;s bail policies, which have resulted in more criminals out on the streets.
“We’ve been broken into six times now,&#8221; Tod Jones, the owner of Glitter, a karaoke bar in Midtown Houston, told local news outlet <a href="https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-restaurant-bars-burglaries/285-6667ff6d-562d-4173-9594-be37661e754b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KHOU</a>. “They’re coming in, grabbing as many bottles as they can, throwing it in a bag and then they’re out. Both my windows are broken, and I’m like, &#8216;Man, I don’t even want to fix them because they’re going to be broken again in the next few days.’”
Jones said that the thieves have caused more than $20,000 in damages and stolen alcohol. “At this point, you don’t even want to claim it on your insurance, because you don’t want to lose your insurance,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You just have to fix it yourself.” KHOU reported that Jones now sleeps at the bar from closing until morning to protect the property.
Raul Jacobo, the owner of Cobos Barbecue in the East Downtown neighborhood, is also sleeping in the back office of his restaurant with a gun waiting for burglars. The restaurant was broken into twice in less than two weeks, despite being a block away from a Houston Police Department office. In one instance, Jacobo and a security guard caught a would-be thief and held him until police arrived. &#8220;Police got there, he had his bag with all his tools in it, ski mask,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Then, next thing I find out, he’s out the next day.”
“We are literally one street away from an [HPD] substation and we have a criminal that is breaking in twice in four days and doesn’t care about any consequence,&#8221; he added.
“I have been burglarized 15 times in the last year,” Lindsey Rae, the owner of Two-Headed Dog in Houston, said during a recent city council meeting, via the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/19/armed-bar-owners-in-texas-sleeping-in-shops-to-stop-criminals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. “We’re seeing, if they are getting caught, they’re getting re-released because of the cash bond issues we’re having,” she added. &#8220;They can come back and rob us again.”
A 2021 investigation from ABC affiliate <a href="https://abc13.com/feature/harris-county-bond-system-repeat-offenders-houston-crime/11250980/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KTRK</a> found that Houston&#8217;s bail policies have allowed more criminals back onto the streets. The outlet found that in 2011, just 3.5% of cases filed in Harris County court resulted in the defendant being released on felony bond; in 2021, the defendant was released in 18.8% of cases, nearly six times as often. The most frequent charges for defendants who posted felony bond were: felon in possession of a weapon; possession of a controlled substance; or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The investigation also found that criminals were committing more crimes while out on bail. In 2011, just 3.5% of cases involved a defendant who was already out on at least one existing felony bond; in 2021, that number leaped to 19%. Of those cases, 968 accused felons allegedly committed four or more new crimes since being released on bond. One case investigated by the outlet found that the offender was out on 13 separate bonds.

Guns

Houston Restaurant Owners Are Sleeping In Their Businesses, Armed, To Keep Out Burglars Because Of City’s Lax Bail Policies

Houston Restaurant Owners Are Sleeping In Their Businesses, Armed, To Keep Out Burglars Because Of City's Lax Bail Policies

Crime

Houston

Robbery

Texas

The owners of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/portland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Portland, Oregon</a>, clothing store have closed the shop, blaming “unrelenting criminal behavior” in a note left on the door that also warned the far-left city is “in peril.”
Rains PDX has been burglarized 15 times in the last year and a half, its owner, Marcy Landolfo, <a href="https://katu.com/news/local/portland-business-permanently-closes-citing-concerns-with-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told KATU.com</a>. Damages from the break-ins, looted inventory, and the lawless environment of what may be America’s most liberal city prompted them to give up. Her insurance policy won’t even cover losses at this point, she said.
“Our city is in peril,” Landolfo wrote in a note affixed to the locked door. “Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city&#8217;s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The owner at Rains tells me after five break-ins in about three weeks, she made the sudden decision to permanently close. Staff here are putting pressure on the city to look after small businesses dealing with ongoing challenges with crime. <a href="https://t.co/XyP2p6PR6W">pic.twitter.com/XyP2p6PR6W</a>
&mdash; Megan Allison (@mallisonKATU) <a href="https://twitter.com/mallisonKATU/status/1596602817942548480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Portland has seen a huge crime spike over the last few years and its downtown has not recovered since city officials allowed protesters to run amok in the summer of 2020. In addition to criminals, homeless people and drug addicts camp out on sidewalks and in other public spaces.
Landolfo told <a href="https://katu.com/news/local/portland-business-permanently-closes-citing-concerns-with-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KATU.com</a> merchants can’t survive the city’s lawless climate.
&#8220;It’s just too much with the losses that are not covered by insurance, the damages, everything. It’s just not sustainable,&#8221; Landolfo said. &#8220;The products that are being targeted are the very expensive winter products and I just felt like the minute I get those in the store they’re going to get stolen.”
Last month, beleaguered Mayor Ted Wheeler pledged to offer Business Repair Grants to help business owners fix damage from break-ins. But Landolfo said the offer was too little, and too late.
“Paying for glass that&#8217;s great, but that is so surface and does nothing for the root cause of the problem, so it&#8217;s never going to change,” she said.
Last week, acclaimed Salt &amp; Straw ice cream shop said it was considering bailing on the city, citing rampant crime, drug use and homelessness.
“We would consider all options,” co-founder Kim Malek told <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2022/11/salt-straw-co-founder-says-i-cant-stay-here-if-portland-hq-employees-arent-safe.html">Oregon Live.</a> &#8216;We don&#8217;t have concrete plans. But our intention is to be at the table working with the city and county to find a solution and not move. Portland is part of the soul of our company. We love this city. This is about having a safe place for our team to work.”

Black Lives Matter rallies in Portland, Oregon

READ IT: ‘Our City Is In Peril’: Portland Clothing Store Closes, Leaving Epic Note On Doors

'Our City Is In Peril': Portland Clothing Store Closes, Leaving Epic Note On Doors

Portland

Woke Culture

Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee sat down with Ben Shapiro on this week&#8217;s episode of &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-133-bill-lee">The Sunday Special</a>&#8221; to discuss why American businesses and citizens across the United States have relocated to the southern state.
Lee, who operated a family-owned business for 25 years before becoming governor, said creating a business-friendly environment ranked as one of his top priorities before entering office in 2019. Since he was sworn in, the state has garnered 272 project commitments to create almost 40,000 jobs and $12.9 billion in capital investments, according to the state website.
&#8220;Americans right now look around the country, and they see things that are worrisome,&#8221; Lee told Shapiro. &#8220;They want to be reminded that America is the greatest nation in the world, they want to see places that remind them that America hadn&#8217;t lost their way, and I think when they look at Tennessee — they see that and a whole lot of them have decided they want to be there.&#8221;
According to a report by the <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/california-business-exits-soared-2021-and-there-no-end-sight">Hoover Institution</a>, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas have attracted California businesses — like The Daily Wire — and others from predominantly blue states. States like Tennessee, which offer fewer regulations, taxes, and workforce development strategies for business owners, help create jobs and opportunities for its residents.
<a href="https://chiefexecutive.net/best-worst-states-business/">The Tax Foundation</a>, a nonpartisan think tank focusing on state and national tax policies, ranks Tennessee 3rd for quality state business climates.
&#8220;Tennessee is a place that values opportunity and security and freedom,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;And those things are things that Americans are looking for.&#8221;
But it&#8217;s not just the state&#8217;s business environment driving new residents and companies into Tennessee. The governor has been fighting against the federal government&#8217;s COVID policies since the early days of the pandemic.
Shapiro said the COVID response from individual states opened a wide gap between areas with strict protocols and those more focused on freedom. While legacy media praised states like California and New York for shutting down businesses and schools early and mandating face coverings, states like Tennessee &#8220;didn&#8217;t get enough credit.&#8221;
Lee said his background as a business owner in the private sector helped navigate his decisions to keep the state open as much as possible, despite the massive pushback he received from the media and the federal government.
&#8220;At the end of the day, I decided we can trust Tennesseans more than we can trust anybody else, frankly, because they know best,&#8221; he said.
Lee said the philosophy that people should be given the freedom to make their own decisions also extends to parents making choices about their children&#8217;s education and health care.
As a proponent for funding students over school systems, Lee also discussed how Tennessee became a pro-school choice state for families and why lawmakers are working on legislation for parents to moderate the content taught in the classroom and shared in the libraries.
&#8220;The Left says we&#8217;re attacking this or attacking that,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;What we really are doing . . is we&#8217;re just protecting and preserving.&#8221;
Lee commended Daily Wire host Matt Walsh for his exposé on Vanderbilt University Medical Center&#8217;s transgender treatment of minors, which led to lawmakers demanding an investigation into the Nashville pediatric gender clinic.
&#8220;Whenever we can expose and make transparent things that are going on that people don&#8217;t know about — that&#8217;s a good thing,&#8221; he said, adding adults should not allow children to make life-altering decisions for themselves.
&#8220;It&#8217;s sad, and it shouldn&#8217;t happen.&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;It&#8217;s wrong on every level.&#8221;
Lee&#8217;s office also said he would contact state lawmakers about legislation regarding transgender care for minors after shocking videos showed a Vanderbilt doctor calling certain transgender surgeries &#8220;huge money makers.&#8221;
Gov. Lee also shared his optimism for the country&#8217;s trajectory ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, believing Americans &#8220;tend to stay on track when the country gets too far&#8221; on either side of the political spectrum.
With many Americans worried the country could fall apart without any uniting principle, Lee said Americans recourse to stand together rather than rely on the federal government.
&#8220;We make a course adjustment,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve done it for 300 years . . . and we find ourselves moving down the path of a more perfect union. And every time we make that adjustment, we become a little bit more of a perfect union.&#8221;
WATCH the latest Sunday Special episodes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/sunday-special">here</a>.

Key Speakers At Conservative Political Action Conference

‘A Place That Values Opportunity, Security, And Freedom:’ Gov. Bill Lee Explains Why Americans Are Drawn To Tennessee

Gov. Bill Lee Explains Why Americans Are Drawn To Tennessee

Ben Shapiro

Bill Lee

General

School Choice

Sunday Special

Tennessee

A majority of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business</a> owners would rather see Republicans take power in the upcoming <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">midterm</a> elections than Democrats, according to a new <a href="https://monthlymonitor.jcnf.org/app/uploads/2022/11/JCN-Monthly-Monitor-OCTOBER-PPT-10-31-22-Master.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from the Job Creators Network.
The monthly survey, taken from a nationally representative sample of 500 small business employers, found that 55% of respondents believe Republicans would “do more to help small businesses,” while 29% said the same about Democrats. Support for the latter party was strongest in the western and eastern portions of the country, while those in the south were more likely to back the former party.
“The midterm elections are upon us and it’s clear Mainstreet has a horse in the race. According to our polling, a majority of small business owners prefer Republican candidates to perform well on Tuesday, saying the outcome will better help the small business community,” Job Creators Network Foundation President Elaine Parker said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire.
A similar question asked whether Republicans performing well in the midterms would help or hurt small businesses. Roughly 58% of employers said that Republican victories would “help,” while 19% anticipated “no impact” and a mere 15% anticipated “hurt.” The trend held among female-owned businesses, while an even larger portion of minority-owned businesses indicated a preference for Republicans.
“It’s not a surprise why: entrepreneurs want Congress to be a bulwark against Biden administration policies, not a rubber stamp,” Parker continued. “Out-of-control government spending, backwards domestic energy policies, and the threat of higher taxes and more government red tape has put the economy on ice.”
Businesses with fewer than 20 employees held a double-digit preference for Republicans, while businesses with more than 20 employees slightly preferred Democrats.
The poll results came as the Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unemployment-spikes-upward-as-economy-deals-with-rate-hikes-and-elevated-prices-biden-reacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> showing that unemployment reached 3.7% last month, marking a 0.2% increase from levels recorded in September as policymakers at the Federal Reserve increase target interest rates.
Other surveys have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unemployment-spikes-upward-as-economy-deals-with-rate-hikes-and-elevated-prices-biden-reacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> that voters generally trust Republicans over Democrats to handle economic issues such as record-high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks. President Joe Biden reacted to the most recent employment news, which also showed an uptick in payrolls, as a sign that the labor market “remains strong” under his watch.
“Inflation is our top economic challenge, and I know that American families are feeling squeezed. The global inflation that is raging in other countries is hitting us as well. I’ve got a plan to bring costs down, especially for health care, energy, and other everyday expenses,” the commander-in-chief said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/04/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-the-october-jobs-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “We’re going to do what it takes to bring inflation down. But as long as I’m president, I’m not going to accept an argument that the problem is that too many Americans are finding good jobs.”
Beyond preferences in the midterm elections, the poll asked small business owners about the direction in which they see the economy trending. Although strong pluralities or slight majorities said last summer that the economy was getting “better” rather than getting “worse” or staying the “same,” an inflection point occurred at the end of last year, with the share of employers indicating a “worse” outlook on the economy quickly expanding. A strong jump in pessimism among small businesses last month aligns with many Republican candidates recently experiencing windfalls in the polls.

Packed boxes in closed cafe, small business lockdown due to coronavirus.

Small Businesses Would Rather Republicans Take Power In Midterms Than Democrats, According To New Poll

Small Businesses Indicate Support Of Republicans Rather Than Democrats, According To New Poll

2022 Midterms

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California’s</a> move to cut out all sales of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 will likely harm independent gas station owners in the state.
Owners of gas stations <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-10-30/la-gas-stations-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Los Angeles Times that the new rule will accelerate the loss of their businesses. 
“Most of the independents will be put out of business — completely out of business,” Charles Khalil, an owner of two gas stations, said. “We are all going to suffer through it.”
Adnan Ayoub, another independent proprietor, said the zero-emission rule “is not going to be fun for a lot of us.”
“When the gas [cars] go away, I don’t know how many customers I would lose,” Ayoub, who has worked in the industry for over thirty years, said. “I’m kind of on the way out, looking for something else to do.” Ayoub thought about putting electric vehicle charging facilities at his gas station, but when he saw how much it would cost, it didn’t make sense. 
Bob Reed has been operating a gas station since the 1970s.
“In my life, I will never sell it, because it took me a while to get this,” he said, adding, “My son and grandson will be the ones who are going to feel it.”
There are 5,081 small owner gas <a href="https://www.convenience.org/Media/Daily/2022/Nov/1/1-Cali-EV-Mandate-Worries-Independent-Operator_EV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stations</a> in the state that also have a convenience store. Loren McDonald, a consultant in the electric car industry, looked at five years of information from the National Association of Convenience Stores, and estimated that almost half of these single owner stations in California would shut down by 2035, with the assumption that the locations will start to shut down at a 3% annual rate and go up to 6% per year.
The California Air Resources Board <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-moves-accelerate-100-new-zero-emission-vehicle-sales-2035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greenlit</a> a new regulation in August that would make it so that all new cars and light trucks for sale in the state would be zero-emission by 2035. 
“Rapidly accelerating the number of ZEVs on our roads and highways will deliver substantial emission and pollution reductions to all Californians, especially for those who live near roadways and suffer from persistent air pollution,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said at the time.
Although people will still be driving gas-powered vehicles in California for several years to come, the quick transition is reminiscent of other environmental steps the state has taken in order to quickly move to green energy options, all at the expense of the reliability of the state’s power grid. 
In 2019, Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/12/governor-gavin-newsom-signs-six-bills-to-move-california-away-from-fossil-fuels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> six measures to move the state off of fossil fuels, and the state is <a href="https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2021-03/california-releases-report-charting-path-100-percent-clean-electricity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempting</a> to have an entirely carbon free electric <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/09/21/california-is-awash-renewable-energy-except-when-its-most-needed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grid</a> by 2045. In August of 2020, there were rolling <a href="https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2021-01/caiso-cpuc-cec-issue-final-report-causes-august-2020-rotating-outages" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blackouts</a> across the state during a heat wave.

F62DBFC3-3314-4938-B397-F1C42250AC5E_1_201_a

Independent Gas Station Owners Expect Loss Of Business With California’s Gas Car Ban

Independent Gas Station Owners Expect Loss Of Business With California's Gas Car Ban

California

electric vehicles

Energy

Small American businesses, crippled by rampant inflation, higher gas prices, soaring supply chain costs, and a concomitant plunge in consumer spending, are growing in their inability to pay their rent, according to a recent survey.
Alignable&#8217;s October Rent Report shows that in October, 37% of small business owners surveyed <a href="https://www.alignable.com/forum/rent-delinquency-jumps-7-to-37-in-u-s-in-october" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> they were unable to pay their rent. The rate of delinquency was 30% in September. The 7% increase represented the biggest, fastest increase month to month in 2022.
 A total of 59% of small business owners told Alignable that consumer spending at their businesses plunged in October.
Small businesses in the education sector saw their delinquency rate soar to an astonishing 57%.
The automotive and restaurant sectors reached new delinquency highs at 49%, the highest of the entire year. The automotive shops said supply chain issues meant soaring prices for metals and electronics as well as a scarcity of inventory. The restaurant industry’s 49% delinquency rate rose 13% from 36% the previous month.
About 43% of retailers admitted they couldn’t pay their rent, up 12% from September. The transportation industry jumped from 38% in September to 46% in October. Real estate and construction companies’ delinquency rate rose from 27% in September to 37% in October.
Northeastern states took a hit; Massachusetts had 51% of small businesses saying they couldn’t make the rent. New Jersey had record-breaking rent delinquency rate of 49%, and New York followed with a 45% delinquency rate.
California and Pennsylvania almost tied New York with a 44% delinquency rate.
Meanwhile, according to real estate tracker <a href="http://zumper.com/blog/rental-price-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zumper</a>, cities all over the country have seen rent increases skyrocket in the past year, led by New York City, where a one-bedroom apartments had a $3,860 median rent. Six of the nine cities following New York City in the top ten hailed from California.
Yet President Biden insisted last week that he was doing a good job on inflation despite the fact that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) was less than a percentage point below the record highs from earlier in the year.
“You’ve referred to the midterm election as a choice rather than a referendum. Given record inflation, why should voters choose Democrats,&#8221; a reporter asked Biden in Syracuse, New York.
“Because it&#8217;s not record inflation anymore. I&#8217;m bringing it down. Look what we inherited,” Biden claimed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Q: “Given record inflation, why should voters choose Democrats?”
Biden: “Because it’s not record inflation anymore. I’m bringing it down. Look at what we inherited.”
 <a href="https://t.co/88Kp0JYXNq">pic.twitter.com/88Kp0JYXNq</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1585987393777287176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pay Rent Note On Calendar

October Disaster: Soaring Number Of Small Businesses Can’t Pay Rent, Poll Shows

Soaring Number Of Small Businesses Can’t Pay Rent, Poll Shows

Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gretchen-whitmer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gretchen Whitmer</a> (D-MI) attempted to demonstrate her support of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan</a>’s small businesses Tuesday, promising her commitment to the local economy.
The governor <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWhitmer/status/1582495236495810561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> her stand with small businesses from her official account and was promptly met with <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWhitmer/status/1582495236495810561/retweets/with_comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backlash</a> from social media users and business owners who still remember how the state’s local economy was fettered by Whitmer’s lockdowns during the COVID pandemic.
“Supporting Michigan’s small businesses means supporting the vitality of our local communities,” Whitmer said. “The data shows that small businesses are at the forefront of driving innovation, jobs, and economic growth in our state, and I’m committed to getting them the support they need.”
While few people would disagree with the governor on the importance of small businesses for a thriving economy, Michigan small business owners criticized how she portrayed herself as a warrior for local business.
Diane Schindlbeck and her husband Eric opened a restaurant in rural western Michigan six months before the onset of the COVID pandemic to fulfill their American dream. The couple’s steakhouse survived the first lockdown, and the Schindlbecks kept their staff by providing meals to first responders through the first 12 weeks of the pandemic. In the summer of 2020, the restaurant reopened, but a <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2020/11/15/covid-19-restrictions-3-week-lockdown-shutdown-high-schools-colleges/6305432002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second shutdown</a> from the Whitmer administration in November 2020 was too much, and the Schindlbecks closed their doors permanently.
“This governor put fear into our hearts and in our minds and in our businesses because no one knew what the rules were,” Schindlbeck told The Daily Wire.
On March 16, 2020, Whitmer <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/News/2020/03/16/governor-whitmer-signs-executive-order-temporarily-closing-bars-theaters-casinos-and-other-public-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> public spaces such as bars, theaters, bowling centers, and casinos to close, and only allowed restaurants to serve food via delivery and pick-up orders. For months after the onset of the pandemic, the Whitmer administration continued to order restaurants to limit the number of customers they could serve and required that businesses enact social distancing and mask requirements. Theaters and bowling centers had to <a href="https://thecountypress.mihomepaper.com/articles/its-a-disaster-looming-over-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shut their doors completely</a> from mid-March 2020 through the end of that summer. Then, Whitmer <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/whitmer-lets-detroit-casinos-open-limits-northern-michigan-indoor-bars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> casinos in Detroit, the state&#8217;s most populous city, to reopen in late July 2020 while forcing small bars in northern Michigan to shutter indoor service.
The governor’s COVID restrictions affected the state’s small businesses for over a year after a second shutdown in November 2020. The restrictions on businesses finally <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/22/covid-updates-michigan-restrictions-mask-mandate/7774556002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended</a> in late June of 2021, nearly 16 months after the governor signed her first emergency order.
Schindlebeck and her husband bought property in February 2021 and recently opened Schindy’s, a new restaurant and general store they hope will give them another shot at their dream. However, an economy trying to come back after the lockdowns and reeling from a supply chain crisis has made life difficult for the small business owners. Schindlebeck criticized Whitmer’s tweet and questioned how the governor was backing up her words with action.
“The comment of ‘I’m committed to getting [small businesses] the support they need,’ where is that support?” Schindlebeck asked.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Whitmer’s Republican opponent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-governors-race-much-closer-than-previously-suggested-new-poll-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tudor Dixon</a> has regularly criticized the governor for her lockdown policies, arguing that the lockdowns harmed local businesses and negatively affected other areas of Michigan life.
“Gretchen Whitmer implemented the most draconian and extreme lockdowns in the country throughout the pandemic,” Dixon told The Daily Wire Thursday. “She destroyed our small business community, stole years of schooling from our kids, and forced hard working Michiganders to follow her intrusive orders that picked winners and losers.”
Dixon then revealed how she would have taken a different approach. “As governor, I would have instead partnered with our community leaders, neighboring states, and the people of Michigan to follow the science, share the facts, and enable individuals to make choices for themselves,” she commented. “There would have been no extreme lockdowns, no extended school closures, and no restrictions and mandates that were outright confusing and cruel.”
After Whitmer’s lockdowns, 36% of Michigan’s small businesses were forced to lay off staff, and over half of those businesses let go of all their employees, according to a 2021 <a href="https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Global-State-of-Small-Business-Report-March-2021.pdf#page=30" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> sponsored by Facebook. The same study found that two-thirds of small businesses in the state saw a 10% decrease in sales following the shutdown. More Facebook data <a href="https://www.crainsdetroit.com/small-business/michigan-leads-nation-small-business-closings-facebook-data-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> that Michigan led the U.S. in small business closings this past summer.
As the businesses that survived the pandemic and Whitmer’s lockdown looked to get back on their feet, the governor <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/26/whitmer-vetoes-652-m-federal-covid-relief-second-time/7019359002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twice vetoed</a> hundreds of millions in federal relief funds for small businesses. Whitmer then <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/25/whitmer-vetoes-bill-businesses-tax-break-ppe-purchases/5351688001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vetoed</a> bipartisan legislation aiming to give tax relief to small businesses that had to purchase personal protective equipment, arguing that she supported the tax break, but the way the legislation was crafted would make it ineligible for federal relief under the American Rescue Plan.
Another small business owner, Karla Wagner, lives in Rockford, a small town just north of Grand Rapids, where she runs a restaurant called Belle’s Kitchen and Bostwick Lake Antiques. She told The Daily Wire in an interview that over the past two years, there have been many ways the state’s small businesses should have been helped, but weren’t.
“I think [Whitmer] has been given opportunities to help us, but she refused to do it,” Wagner said, explaining that the governor often claims to help small businesses by directing money to programs that don’t address the direct needs of small businesses. Wagner said her business “barely made it” out of the pandemic and Whitmer’s shutdown, but she still doesn’t believe the economy has made it back to normal, pointing to many businesses limiting hours and a shortage of labor seen across the state.
While Wagner’s business survived the long shutdown and COVID restrictions, the owner’s outlook on an economy overseen by the current governor was grim.
“We’re not going to survive another four years of Whitmer,” she said.

Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer Says Small Businesses Have Her Support. These Small Business Owners Haven’t Forgotten Her Shutdowns.

Whitmer Says Small Businesses Have Her Support. These Small Business Owners Haven't Forgotten Her Shutdowns.

2022 Election

COVID

Lockdowns

Michigan

The vast majority of American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business</a> owners are concerned about an expanded <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/internal-revenue-service-irs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS</a>, according to survey results from the Job Creators Network Foundation exclusively provided to The Daily Wire.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden two months ago, allocated $80 billion for officials to hire up to 87,000 new IRS employees over the next decade, thereby <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-inflation-reduction-act-would-allow-irs-to-hire-up-to-87000-new-employees-raise-taxes-report">more than doubling</a> the agency’s size. A poll of 500 small business owners conducted by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting economic freedom, discovered that roughly 70% oppose doubling the size of the agency.
&#8220;No one likes getting audited by the IRS, especially those who can&#8217;t afford to fight it,” Job Creators Network Foundation President Elaine Parker said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “The easiest audit for the IRS is one without a fight, where they send out a letter and squeeze more money out of those who won&#8217;t challenge them. Why else do you think the IRS audits the poor at five times the rate of everyone else?”
While correspondence audits involve the IRS sending a request for the provision of more tax information, field audits are more extensive. The former is less costly for the IRS, yet the latter tends to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-joe-bidens-new-irs-army-will-impact-your-taxes">yield more revenue</a>, especially for higher earners. As of 2019, only 11% of correspondence audits resulted in the IRS concluding that the taxpayer had accurately covered their liability, according to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-examination-coverage-recommended-and-average-recommended-additional-tax-after-examination-irs-data-book-table-17b-discontinued">data</a> from the agency.
“The tax code is already convoluted and intentionally difficult to navigate. For small businesses, it is even more so,” Parker continued. “Big businesses can afford high-priced accountants to navigate the complex system, but many small businesses handle their taxes themselves. If an audit comes, they&#8217;ll be woefully unprepared. The simplest move is to just pay up rather than engage in a time-consuming fight they&#8217;re unlikely to win. More IRS agents will mean more audits, more audits mean more targeting of small businesses and poor Americans.”
Officials in the Biden administration have nevertheless vowed that the expansion of the IRS would not translate to more audits for lower-class and middle-income taxpayers. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, for instance, promised that new funding would not be directed to increase audits for American households earning less than $400,000 per year “relative to historical levels.” However, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-vows-irs-audits-wont-rise-for-middle-income-americans-but-theres-a-catch">failed to clarify</a> that “historical levels” of audits were far higher as recently as one decade ago. According to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104960.pdf">report</a> from the Government Accountability Office, audit rates for Americans earning between $25,000 and $200,000 fell 76% between 2010 and 2019, while those earning less than $25,000 saw audit rates fall by 61%.
“A strong IRS is critical to the economic success of this country,” she commented during a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-a-strong-irs-is-critical-to-the-economic-success-of-this-country">speech</a> in Maryland, “and I am heartened that we are finally reflecting that in our funding decisions.”
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig likewise sought to ease lawmakers&#8217; concerns regarding heightened tax burdens. “As an extremely proud American, I’m grateful for your support of the IRS and our dedicated employees,” he said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irs-we-will-absolutely-not-target-everyday-americans-with-new-army-of-agents">letter</a>. “I cannot be forceful enough in emphasizing that these resources will be transformative for the agency and for American taxpayers.”

Poll: 7 In 10 Small Businesses Oppose Expanding The IRS

7 In 10 Small Businesses Oppose Expanding The IRS

Inflation Reduction Act

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

As <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation">inflationary</a> pressures continue to stifle the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy">economy</a>, American small <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/business">business</a> owners are increasingly pessimistic, according to a Tuesday report from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).
The group’s Small Business Optimism Index declined to 89.5 — a 3.6 point drop, marking the sixth consecutive month in which the metric stayed below the nearly five-decade average of 98. Rising inflation is top of mind for business leaders, with 34% of owners calling the phenomenon their “single most important problem” — the highest level since 1980.
“As inflation continues to dominate business decisions, small business owners’ expectations for better business conditions have reached a new low,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg remarked in a <a href="https://www.nfib.com/content/press-release/economy/small-business-expectations-for-future-conditions-hit-all-time-low/">press release</a>. “On top of the immediate challenges facing small business owners including inflation and worker shortages, the outlook for economic policy is not encouraging either as policy talks have shifted to tax increases and more regulations.”
From May to June, the net portion of owners expecting real sales to increase fell by 13% to hit a net negative of 28%. However, 69% are raising average selling prices, while only 4% are reporting lower selling prices.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-for-businesses-continues-at-double-digit-pace">increased</a> 10.8% from May 2021 to May 2022, according to the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. The index’s rise was driven largely by energy costs soaring 5% during the month of May and transportation expenses increasing nearly 3% — a phenomenon that occurred as gas prices surpassed a national average of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gas-prices-hit-grim-national-average-of-5-per-gallon">$5 per gallon</a>, which has since eased to $4.66 as of Tuesday, per <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">AAA</a>.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, therefore, told reporters on Monday that Consumer Price Index (CPI) data slated for release on Wednesday will not accurately reflect the current state of the economy. “We expect the headline number, which includes gas and food, to be highly elevated, mainly because gas prices were so elevated in June,” Jean-Pierre <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/07/12/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan/">said</a>. “Gas and food prices continue to be heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine. And there are a few important points to keep in mind when we get this backwards-looking data.”
On the other hand, 19% of small business owners are planning to create new jobs over the next three months, while 50% are reporting that they have job openings they are unable to fill — a finding that the group characterizes as “historically very high.” Meanwhile, Biden administration officials have pushed the tight labor market as an economic silver lining.
“When we look at where we are economically — and we are stronger economically than we have been in history,” Jean-Pierre <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-again-claims-u-s-stronger-economically-than-we-have-been-in-history">commented</a> last week. “When you look at the unemployment numbers at 3.6%, when you look at the jobs numbers, more than 8.7 million of new jobs created, that is important.”
Although the unemployment rate has improved significantly from the 14.7% level <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">seen</a> in April 2020, the labor force participation rate — the portion of eligible Americans who either have a job or are actively looking for one — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-continue-to-opt-out-of-the-workforce">continues to lag</a> behind pre-recession levels, contributing to inflationary pressures as business owners are forced to hike wages.
Even as nominal wages rise, real average hourly wages — which account for the impact of inflation — <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm">dropped</a> 3% from May 2021 to May 2022, meaning Americans must tighten their budgets to experience the same standard of living seen last year.

Small business closing during COVID-19 pandemic.

More Small Businesses Are Calling Inflation Their ‘Single Most Important Problem’

Small Business Optimism Plummets Due To Inflation

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