Are more thriving small businesses really better for the country?

[King]

Every campaign season I hear the same stuff about cutting taxes for small businesses and getting small businesses hiring because small business is the heart of our successful capitalist system.

But then I visit small businesses.

You have the mom and pop restaurants.  Food is pretty good, though it can be slightly unhealthier as they don't hire nutritionists like chain restaurants.  They certainly treat their employees better.  These guys are important I spose.

You have lawyers and small medical practices.  Frankly, decent sized law firms and medium sized clinics are far more efficient.  

Car dealers... lol.

And then you have crap.  Maybe I'm forgetting something, but every small business that isn't a restaurant is an overpriced unnecessary specialty shop, a needlessly independent subcontractor for a big business, are run by a con artist, or a combination of the three.  They are also incredible volatile to even the most minor economic swings and tend to over expand in the good times and over correct with the cut backs in the bad times.

As much as the left hates big business and the right hates the government, both are probably the only reason we have anything.  How many things do you own that were acquired from a small business?

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Although you are just trolling with contrarian attention whoring, the answer is yes, more thriving small businesses are really better for the country.

Big business and big government are both enemies to a healthy, free, and productive society.

[??????????]

more thriving small businesses are really better for the country.

While Billy Jo's consignment shop creates a job or two and is great for a community what we really need are some serious heavy industry manufacturing jobs (Bethlehem Steel, etc) to have a serious recovery.

[King]

I understand they contribute a lot to the GDP and employee a ton of people but do they really do important tasks on their own?  I'm not sure I can think of a small business that photosynthesizes to our economy.

more thriving small businesses are really better for the country.

While Billy Jo's consignment shop creates a job or two and is great for a community what we really need are some serious heavy industry manufacturing jobs (Bethlehem Steel, etc) to have a serious recovery.

And it's not just the jobs.  We can live without a consignment shop.  It's not an important task.  

(Oh yeah, and what better way to revitalize the steel industry then to can public rail projects? )

[patrick1]

You are also forgetting that most big business started out as small business. Microsoft, Starbucks, McDonalds, Coke etc etc.

[John Dibble]

I'm not sure I can think of a small business that photosynthesizes to our economy.

I can't think of a big business that does that either, given that photosynthesis has to do with converting water and CO2 into carbohydrates and oxygen while using light as an energy source. That is to say that it has nothing to do with economics.

We can live without a consignment shop.  It's not an important task.

We can "live" without a lot of things. Even so, that doesn't mean they aren't useful to someone. As long as any business has sufficient amount of use or value to a sufficient number of people to financially sustain it, it's going to stay around regardless of it's size.

[Vepres]

Politically, I think most big businesses get a bad reputation they don't deserve. It's a few incompetent ones like GM and Lehman Brothers, or ones that don't care about the American worker like IBM or Walmart.

I think small businesses are very important in our economy, but that politicians emphasize them way too much (without many policy changes to back it up) because it is a good talking point.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

more thriving small businesses are really better for the country.

While Billy Jo's consignment shop creates a job or two and is great for a community what we really need are some serious heavy industry manufacturing jobs (Bethlehem Steel, etc) to have a serious recovery.

Heavy industry isn't necessary for a successful economy. Industrialization is the source of many modern societal problems. 

[tpfkaw]

Thriving small business = good.
Thriving big business = good.
Thriving government = bad.

Although it must be noted that 2 is usually a symptom of 3.

[Beet]

Small businesses may not look impressive, but you have to consider how many of them there are. Fully half the workforce is employed by small businesses.

Big businesses are also important.

[opebo]

They are neither clearly positive or negative, but there is no doubt that in the current neo-liberal right-wing state of governance, they pay so little that they create more social problems than they solve.  (kind of maggots-in-the-corpse without proper regulation, unionization, etc.)

[phk]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'm agreeing with what a lot of people are saying on here in terms of saying that small businesses are good. I have a point or two of my own to add:

If not for small businesses, we'd probably just have monopolies over every industry, because one business formed, and noone else started a business to create competition

[The Mikado]

more thriving small businesses are really better for the country.

While Billy Jo's consignment shop creates a job or two and is great for a community what we really need are some serious heavy industry manufacturing jobs (Bethlehem Steel, etc) to have a serious recovery.

Heavy industry isn't necessary for a successful economy. Industrialization is the source of many modern societal problems. 

This is a very odd argument.  Both sides seem to have come out of a time warp.

[Associate Justice PiT]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

     I more or less agree with this. If we encourage people to start small businesses, most of the businesses will be useless, but some will make more important contributions to the economy. As patrick1 pointed out, every business is a small business when it starts out; even something like Google or Apple.

[Frink]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

     I more or less agree with this. If we encourage people to start small businesses, most of the businesses will be useless, but some will make more important contributions to the economy. As patrick1 pointed out, every business is a small business when it starts out; even something like Google or Apple.

Careful now; your starting to sound like a nanny statist.

[phk]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

     I more or less agree with this. If we encourage people to start small businesses, most of the businesses will be useless, but some will make more important contributions to the economy. As patrick1 pointed out, every business is a small business when it starts out; even something like Google or Apple.

Careful now; your starting to sound like a nanny statist.

To further elaborate. There are small businesses who are not interested in increasing economies of scope. I once interned for a self-employed sole proprietor insurance underwriter who simply had 2 interns. One to cold call and one to do clerical/admin work. These types aren't exactly the type that can grow to provide and create jobs.

Its the types that require angel and VC investors.

[Gustaf]

You can't really encourage the creation of big business.

[tpfkaw]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

     I more or less agree with this. If we encourage people to start small businesses, most of the businesses will be useless, but some will make more important contributions to the economy. As patrick1 pointed out, every business is a small business when it starts out; even something like Google or Apple.

Not true - some businesses started out big.  A good example would be the Home Depot - the whole innovation behind its business model was that it would be big.

[phk]

More important than small business in on its own, a society with entrepreneurial spirit at least spurs creativity.

     I more or less agree with this. If we encourage people to start small businesses, most of the businesses will be useless, but some will make more important contributions to the economy. As patrick1 pointed out, every business is a small business when it starts out; even something like Google or Apple.

Not true - some businesses started out big.  A good example would be the Home Depot - the whole innovation behind its business model was that it would be big.

Not counting retail or mining, most tech businesses started out in garages, bedrooms. living rooms, attics, dorm rooms, etc.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Some of the small businesses in my area that provide a lot of jobs and drive the regional economy:

Anderson Windows
Marvin Windows
Anderson Fabrics
Arctic Cat
Polaris
Nortech
North Country Business Products
North Central Door (garage door manufacturer)
Northland Fishing Tackle
Northwoods Lumber

Many independent contractors
Small biotech firms
A toilet manufacturer
Great Lakes Natural Gas (they maintain the natural gas pipelines in the area)

And then you have the utilities..
Beltrami County Electric Cooperative
Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative
Otter Tail Electric
Mid-Continent Communications
Qwest (not small business, obv)

And an absolute crap load of small community banks.  Minnesota is famous for small community banks.  I can name 10 banks in my city of 30,000 that only operate in the immediate area... and only one nationally (or even regionally) known bank.. Wells Fargo.

So yes, small business is very important for the economy.  It has been these small businesses that have kept economic growth going here despite the sour national economy. 

[memphis]

Ideally yes as small business are less likely to produce the idle fortunes that large businesses create. However, when a politician speaks of aiding small business, you can bet the farm he talking about giving more money to the super rich.

[Gustaf]

Ideally yes as small business are less likely to produce the idle fortunes that large businesses create. However, when a politician speaks of aiding small business, you can bet the farm he talking about giving more money to the super rich.

Actually, the probability of large businesses producing idle capital is virtually zero. For small businesses the probability is probably a little bit higher, but in general idle capital is extremely rare in a modern society.

[phk]

Ideally yes as small business are less likely to produce the idle fortunes that large businesses create. However, when a politician speaks of aiding small business, you can bet the farm he talking about giving more money to the super rich.

Actually, the probability of large businesses producing idle capital is virtually zero. For small businesses the probability is probably a little bit higher, but in general idle capital is extremely rare in a modern society.

He likely is referring to having a high % of cash to assets.

But even than, the cash is lying around in a bank and not in briefcases, ready to be loaned.

[Gustaf]

Ideally yes as small business are less likely to produce the idle fortunes that large businesses create. However, when a politician speaks of aiding small business, you can bet the farm he talking about giving more money to the super rich.

Actually, the probability of large businesses producing idle capital is virtually zero. For small businesses the probability is probably a little bit higher, but in general idle capital is extremely rare in a modern society.

He likely is referring to having a high % of cash to assets.

But even than, the cash is lying around in a bank and not in briefcases, ready to be loaned.

Of course, but, as you say, that isn't "idle."

The only capital which is idle is really cash in a mattress and that seems slightly more likely to be true of revenue generated by small business than by big business.