A recent Labor Department report found that the smallest of businesses accounted for a disproportionate share of job losses.  Companies that employed fewer than five workers – where 5.1% of the private sector workforce is employed – accounted for 14.5% of the job losses in the last quarter of 2008.  Since this report runs through the end of 2008, it shows the early impact of the recession on small business owners.

It is clear that most small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open during the current economic downturn.  And what are our policy makers in Washington, DC doing?  Looking at adding new mandates and costly new taxes on our small businesses – at a time when they can least afford it.

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In an attempt to stem the spending spree that has taken place this year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has put forward a set of recommendations to balance the federal budget.  

Unfortunately some of the people that will take the biggest hit are working families and small business owners.

Just a few of the CBO's recommendations:

• Increase the individual income tax rates.
• Eliminate tax subsidies for child care.
• Eliminate or limit eligibility for the child tax credit.
• Require self-employed and employees to pay the same amounts in payroll taxes.

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Last week as the Cash for Clunkers car program announced all the money was gone after only a week; it reminded me of a quote Thomas Jefferson left for us. " A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." As the deficit soars and the spending escalates, what happens when we run out of money to fund a government run health care system?  We better think about these things.  After all, we the people fund the government.  Government doesn't make money. 

We can breathe a sigh of relief that Congress will break for August without voting on health care reform.  Let's hope the American people will voice their opinions to these federal elected officials that we need to let the free market work.  We need alternatives to "Obamacare" that will not kill small business jobs and not destroy the private insurance market.

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