Small businesses in the last decade consistently generate more jobs and more innovation than any other segment of the economy, but there is no organized lobbying group to make sure this group gets a fair slice of the bail out pie.
Montana businessman Andrew Field has a solution for SMBs on the brink.
He thinks the government should make available to small businesses $20,000 in unsecured loans for each full-time employee. “The logic is simple: The government is borrowing 10-year money at about 2.5 percent, so this plan makes it available to SMBs at 5 percent, with interest-only payments for the first five years and an expectation of complete repayment over the next five.” Details of his plan are spelled out in this Forbes.com post.
Compared to the auto industry bailout or that offered to the banks, this is a much cheaper investment. The beauty of Field’s plan is three fold: it keeps the doors open for small businesses, it helps reduce the growing unemployment rolls and it builds economic confidence. Sounds like a good idea to me.
–Linda Muskin