Small Business Owner? We Want Your Feedback

I AGREE, to all of the above! (nuff said)

You are RIGHT ON The MONEY !!!

I would also like to see a proposal that "workers comp"be shared by the employee, and not 100% paid for by employer's ( as is the case in Ohio).

My company is an S Corp so as the owner, I am taxed on profits at the married filing jointly rate. Everything I do for myself that is a benefit for anyone else, like health care contribution, is considered income on my personal tax and taxed as such. As an Indiana resident, I have to pay unemployment tax on my salary even though I have no right to collect it. It's such a joy to "be your own boss".

It seems obvious that this proposal was written by folks that believe small business to be the backbone of our economy and would like to see them survive. Unfortunately, though, it does not seem that Pres Obama is very concerned about the small business owners.

Off the top of my head, the greatest advantages:
--additional cash flow so that businesses could pay invoices lessen worry of bankruptcy
--possibility of being able to afford creation of new product

These are all great ideas, but...who is going to push it through for we the small business owner? I mean all the above ideas are all common sense, they would stimulate, and build jobs. But let's face it, this administration has other plans for what is right.

I love the idea of sharing worker's comp, that would probably take a lot of fraud out of the equation. I have lots of Utopian thoughts. I live in Michigan, now there's a mess!

I agree with your proposals as they reflect a "true stimulus" not the phony thing the Obama Democrats have crammed down our throats.

I would not be afraid to increase the size of my business. I am holding off and not buying more equipment because I am afraid of what may happen between now and spring of next year. I am sick of this adminstration and it has only been 6 months.

I think corporate income tax should be zero. It is only a pass through costs and would bring back many jobs to USA.

LIMITED GOVERNMENT! To HE** with our "Carbon Footprint," we need to attack the "GOVERNMENT FOOTPRINT!" We need to attache the "government footprint at most State levels and ESPECIALLY at the FEDERAL LEVEL.

CUT THE FED 40% BY 2016! I loved the Contract with America campaign. We now need a Second American Revolution. Go to www.USRevolution2.com order your flag, hang it outside your home and tell your neighbors: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"

My website launched on June 11, 2009 and in 14 days I had orders from each of our 50 states! You will find this flag popping up in Tea Parties across the USA (i.e. July 4th YouTubes for Olympia, Washington; Maui, Hawaii; Rockford, Illinois, and Raleigh, North Carolina to name a few).

Cutting taxes is one half of the only solution. Cutting government wasteful spending is the other half. I was able to pick up three foreclosure homes in the Phoenix area. If my corporate taxes were cut in half I could buy 6 to 10 more and accomplish the same as the first three. I would hire a rehab crew for about 5 weeks for each home, paying wages and providing jobs for about 5 people per crew. I would be able to purchase all the materials required to rebuild these homes stimulating retail sales and the production of all things construction related. I would participate in cleaning up neighborhoods that are falling into decline and I could provide affordable, safe, clean housing for middle to low income working families. I would also be relieving the banks of their toxic assets allowing them to increase their assets to liabilities ratios and thus free up more money to lend. I have been able to accomplish this for three homes and instead of repeating the process I am forced to dump huge sums of money into the black hole that is Washington DC. Paying for our government's poor management and to finance our elected official's pet projects is criminal and robs the American people of the assets necessary to grow out of this mess. We as hardworking Americans must make a stand and pray to God that it is not already too late.

The survival of our economy depends on lower taxes. It has been our basic fight ever since our forefathers pushed the British of shore. I agree with all your efforts to correct the problems. I have always been one to go back to the problem and solve it rather than continuing to add bandaids and patches to fix the problems. Our tax system is broke and with governemnt increasing as a portion of GDP to an enormous percent it is the problem and the current efoorts will only make it larger. Business big or small will no longer be able to survive with the higher taxes.

YES, WE CAN! The payroll tax is the largest obstacle to real, consistent economic growth - just look at the growth in the 50's and 60's (5%, 6%, 7% or more). A 50% reduction for two years is a good start, but we need meaningful long-term reductions for this to really work. The retirement benefit provides less than a 5% 401K would provide - so why should we give the government any more than 5% (employee and employer combined)? Add 3% for the bogus Medicare and the total should be 8% and we could get there in four years. The corporate tax rate is next - and none of the brackets should be more than 15%.

I think all of the above are good ideas. Here's an idea that combines all of the good ideas into one piece of legislation: It's the FAIRTAX Bill. The bill numbers are S.296 and HR 25. respectively.

This bill does the following:

1. Abolishes the income tax
2. Abolishes payroll taxes
3. Abolishes the "death tax"
4. Abolishes Corporate income tax
5. Abolishes the Capital Gains tax

6. Replaces all of the above with a revenue neutral national sales tax of 23% on all purchases of NEW items.
(used items are exempt from this tax).

7. Abolishes the IRS with companion legislation that repeals the 16th amendment (the one that allows the income tax in the first place).

For more info, check out fairtax.org

As with all complex crises, we need to take things one step at a time with the proper priorities. Reducing taxes will allow a better employment environment. As revenues to the various government entities improve, budget shortfalls and infrastructure needs should be addressed - this allows many projects to leverage job creation.

As we continue to ascend from economic doldrums, we can consider energy policy, renewable resource use and the research that will allow additional jobs, a cleaner envronment without tsalling recovery.

Finally, healthcare reform can be undertaken with a focus on stopping abuse (hospital billing & admissions more than insurers), creating a public-private partnership that covers catastrophic care, developing fairer underwriting standards that will reduce per capita cost and expand coverage. Standards of care should recommend (not mandate) appropriate practices and a reasonable limit set on damages awarded in medical malpractice suits. This will reduce the practice of 'defensive medicine' over time. The key: prioritize, monitor, adjust. The only timer on getting healthcare reform is a political one. With a system so complex, rushiong any part of it will make all of us losers...including the architects of the bills.

You got my support!!!!!

Newt - you always have my support, you are spot on point, the problem is this: not us, not you, not the GOP or conservatives -- Obama and the White House DO NOT LISTEN TO US BECAUSE THEY DO NOT CARE! Obama could not care less about what SBO's want - period! He is so far in bed w/ the unions and is so indebted to Acorn, and Michelle's staff and colleagues in Chicago that he does not care what is good for the USA. He has payback written all over his face every time he stands up and spews lies to the camera - we're up to what, 1 televised speech w/ his telepromptor per day now? He doesn't care what will kill us or hurt us or make us succeed. He is all about the union bosses - pay for play - and paying back those that funded his election. Our only hope is the 2010 mideterm elections being a bloodbath, and that 012013 will come quickly! Thanks for all you do for us Newt!

I completely agree with all of the above comments. Be as actively involved in spreading the word and letting your representatives know how displeased we are. I have a spreadsheet with all of my representatives contact info so I can mail merge letters to them daily. My staff is encouraged to do the same & we pick up the postage costs. I have also ordered preposted postcards from USPS that I can slap a label on & write a few words everytime I hear something else that makes it harder for us to keep our business operating.

I am a John Deere dealer w/ 4 stores. We are looking at 2 more but are holding off because of Obama and increased cost that will come from his actions. If this would be done (all of the above), we would go forth with our plans. I have been a dealer since 1976 and remember the Carter years and what if did to my business. This is working out to be very much like those years, but probally much worse.

Peterson

I AGREE, to all of the above! (neuf said) Let Congress know what you want.

I AGREE WITH YOUR STATEMENT.SUPPORT THE FAIRTAX.

I agree to all of your 4 points, but it does not go far enough toward correcting this disaster that is, and has been in control and destroying our country since they got control of the House in 2006. Things have been going down hill ever since. Health???care (sick care) should be an insurance policy that is purchased through your local insurance agent, not tethered to the company you are employed with. It should be rated just like auto or homeowners insurance is. There should be a base rate, then it should be rated by your risk factors. Smoking- increased premium, Overweight- increased premium, Alcoholic- increased premium, Hypocondriac that goes to the Dr. or ER every time they get a nose run or hot or cold- increased premium for abusing the system. You get the idea, EVERYONE would value the "health" insurance coverage they have alot more if they paid for it this way, and it would encourage people to be responsible for themselves, instead of looking to the Dr. for a pill to take. What ever happened to Common Sense? There would be a competitive market if we just allowed it to work, but that does not put any money in our greedy politicians pockets. AND just so everyone understands my comments, I AM a former insurance agent.

I support all of the above tax reforms, but we are also missing one of the single largest contributors to destruction of American business; tort reform. Doctors are forced to practice defensive medicine raising all health care costs, which is well documented. Business is also forced to practice defensively. Since when is a Chinese company afraid of a trademark infringement lawsuit? How many labor lawyers are there in China??? A big fat zero. If we want "hope and change" from Obama, when will he address one of the scourges of this free society? He is all to eager to cut the pay of honest and hard-working doctors but will not even DISCUSS tort reform.

I'm in agreement with most of what's been said. I believe that one of our largest problems is that more than 40% of the people don't pay any income tax, and the number who get more back from the Government than they pay in is significantly larger.
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This is sort of the reverse of the situation during the American Revolution - we have representation without taxation. To me this is the fundamental problem that allows our runaway government to keep going. There's no reason to consider restraining the government if there's no cost to you.
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Everyone needs to have some "skin in the game". Everyone should feel some of the pain of paying for our Government's excess.

Pelosi, Reid & Obama are not going to bend. They are on a path to provide government forced population reductions AT ALL COSTS. They can taste the blood of countless millions of pre-borns and euthanized elderly. Their power-play has them in the position their wet-dreams are made of.
Might not sound constructive, but brainstorming is about wild ideas, which lead to solutions.
The liberal majority party is barely rational (at best), so maybe it will take a response with more significant repercussions than contacting Senators (i.e. the ones, who cannot qualify for a license to operate both thumbs at the same time.)
Each small business can start each week by selecting an employee for lay-off. Each employee, who voted for the liberals goes to the top of the list. Imagine a million more jobless per week. Many are going to be out of a job as soon as Obama's taxation-without-representation Ponzi schemes start moving, so use the hostages (liberal employees) while they are still of "value".
I'm sorry if I offended anybody (conservatives only), but I don't see this situation as affording a political solution anymore. It is a hostile invasion of our government and a major threat to, or dissolution of the rule of just, Constitutional law. The longer we stand around saying 'that's not right', the farther down the toilet this nation has gone. We need a massive, unified "NO!" to hit Washington DC, like they have never heard before. Scare the crap out of them (that will take a lot of scaring...)

I know that this will help to create new jobs in the industrial park where we are located. All business owners and citizens need to join together to make the totally ignorant politicians in Washington truly understand what we need is ECONOMIC STIMULUS like tax cuts, to make this economy stronger! Taxes do not make an economy stronger, they destroy an economy. But I'm not so sure that that is not exactly what the politicians want.

While I don't disagree with any of your points, I do believe that the underlying cause of our disappearing economy is the lacking of a meaningful economic base. To have a sustainable economy we must produce tangle goods that are wanted outside of our borders. We cannot survive serving each other hamburgers and mowing each others lawns. My wife and I tried that and it we failed. Someone had to bring money in from outside the house.

First, if we would have done things right in the first place based on the true interests of our nation, we wouldn't be in this situation. That should be made clear to congress. Next, the idea of using the stimulus money to stimulate growth through lower taxes DOES NOT REDUCE THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT. We would simply be trying to stay ahead of a growing government (see first point). We are currently going in the exact wrong direction. I would like to suggest that we adopt the FairTax. It would 1) take power away from congress, 2) stimulate the economy and 3) make life much, much simpler for us small business owners. I can't stress point three enough! The FairTax would be a positive, proactive step instead of a mediocre reactive response to a problem we shouldn't have in the first place.

Dear fellow Americans: This entire (unholy) regeim is being run by design. Once you understand what Statism is, the sooner you will see what is going on. Each of the "liberal" rats in Washington is in this for their own (possibly) different agendas. But they are still united and in "bed" together all the same. Pelosi is in it for power, and probably to keep the Dem status quo. i.e, they will control everything in order to stay in power for all time. Obama is the worst kind of statist. He wants total and absolute control over every person, their liberty (or lack of it) their property and control over every aspect of our lives. just like a dictator. because he (I believe) is Evil.You do not have to ask "why" because there is no simple anwser. Just like there is no logical answer to any of the former "radicals" actions throughout history. This is nothing new. From the beginning of time, there have been evil people wanting to wreak havoc over the peasants. This is what George Washington knew as well as he knew his own name. And the rest of the people back then who helped him with the revolution, and the Constitution, knew it too.
God help this nation, because this is definately a war between godd and evil.

I agree with the four points you make (and really wish you'd run for President, Newt). I do want to add that Derrick Hesser has it right on the extra 5th point. Tort reform is an absolute necessity. We must stop frivolous lawsuits. My daughter is a physician and she, like most other doctors in Florida, cannot afford the cost of malpractice insurance. They either go without, notifying their patients upfront of the situation or move to another state than Florida!

The second thought I really want to mention is a long-term plan: As a former teacher (and a parent), we must educate our children (at the junior or senior level of high school) on how the economy works. Econ 101 should be taught before they attend college, then again in college. In addition, I strongly believe that anyone who wants to run for Congress or the Presidency should have an excellent education in economics PRIOR to being elected.

I totally agree with all of the proposals; however Congress/Senate does not want to listen or hear what we have to say.
I write my Congress/Senate at least twice a week and I have seen a few results but not many.
Unfortunately, obama, pelosi, and reid are pushing hard to destroy our Constitution and turn us in to a third world country.
I joined The American Citizens Grand Jury, http://americangrandjury.org, in the hopes that we can force obama to prove he is not eligible to be in the White House. I believe if we can get him out, pelosi and reid will follow.
If we regain control in 2010 the first items on the agenda should be; 1. Term limits, 2. delete any and all Welfare Programs and change them to Workfare programs, 3. Create jobs by reducing taxes, 4. Force Congress, Senate, the Pres and the Cabinet to pay their own insurance and pay into a retirement plan just like we do, 5. Cut the pay for Congress/Senate until they have balanced the budget and have a reserve, 6. Make it a law that no new programs be instituted unless 60% of the voting Citizens agree to them, 7. Secure our borders and send illegals back to their country by using E-Verify, 8. Increase our military budget to secure our Country, 9. At any time a Congressman/Senator breaks the Constitution they are immediately removed from office, 10. No bill can be passed without reading it and posting it on the internet for at least five days, 11. No more government funds for states, the states need to balance their own budgets.
I could go on forever, but I’ll end with this. I want our Constitution back and I want America back before it is too late.

My husband and I run a small business and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to survive in this environment. I see reading these comments we all know what needs to be done but since no one in Washington has ever lived in the real world or forgotten what it was like, they have no idea how to stimulate the small business.

The bull about making SBA loans available is hogwash. First, unlike the Federal Government, we don't want more debt. We just want to make an honest living and pay our bills. Second, they obviously have never tried to get an SBA loan, you would go bankrupt trying to wade through the paperwork!

We need exactly what is proposed here. Lower our taxes so we can spend the money growing our business and hiring more workers. It is that simple. If they lowered our taxes, we would willingly provide company paid health care enabling us to attract better employees. It would be good for us and for them.

We need to all stand up, some of us will actually have to get out of our comfort zone and run for office. Without unseating the life-time politicians, we will be subjected to their rule. We need to put regular business owners like ourselves in office to represent us. We are all going to have to work together to fund and support average American's in this quest. We can't use the excuse "not my representative, he is a good guy". If they "grew" up in Washington they are not "good guys". Let's take over DC and pass these measures before it is too late.

Two quick follow up points:

1) We are moving down stream at an alarming pace. Any effective "solutions" need to first overcome the current and then propel us in the opposite direction. Solutions that only slow us down a bit are actually part of the problem. I'm not sure Jeff Brodhead's recommendations are right or prudent but his assessment of the severity of the situation does seem right. We are bringing knives to a gun fight. I certainly don't wish it but if unemployment got to 30%, most independents and many liberals just might discover that their well being is coupled to a strong economy which is powered by productive businesses. I don't hear anyone making that point. Not effectively anyway.

2) I think that any suggestions that come out of all of this need to be more than just specific solutions to specific problems. There needs to be a written foundation that governs them. As Jerry McGuire would say "we need a mission statement". That may seem trivial but I don't think so. Without it, every point of view is subjective and it is just us against them. What makes us right? Principles do. The Constitution does. People need to know what we believe, why we believe it and why it is in their best interest. We are terrible communicators.

PS. I like Janet Rogers' action item list. It's simple, clear and concise. We need more of that. When we get caught up in the argument, we lose.

I can't believe American Solutions! You constantly rant and rave against the Obama administration with "little fixes." Why do you constantly harp on the crumbs from the "government cookie jar" when we the people own the cookie jar. We just need the courage to take possession of it again. We gave it up when the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913 and haven't gotten back the country since.

"The cookie jar" is the money and banking system. Why does American Solutions deal with the side issues that are all affected by this monster that we've created? Are we just used to doing no thinking about it ourselves and want others (the bankers and their minions) to do our thinking for us? These vultures are feeding on what's left of the country with the "debt money" and the"fractional banking practices" of the PRIVATE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK and all of the commercial banks in the country today.
Are we just to get tax breaks and other like measures to "get a piece of the pie?" Again, not only do we own the cookie jar, we also own the pie. It's the American Pie and if we don't deal with the usurious banking and money system working against every American in the United States their won't even be any crumbs left from the pie. What's the pie? Well for one, owning a home free and clear, for another owning and working a business that's fruitful and fulfilling because there are not the inflationary results of money borrowed from the PRIVATE FEDERAL RESERVE AND THE FRACTIONAL BANKING PRACTICES to dilute and pollute these two endeavors.

The way out that's easy and simple is to issue UNITED STATES NOTES straight out of the United States Treasury. They are our money, the people's money. Federal Reserve Notes are PRIVATE MONEY, favoring the CONSOLIDATION OF WEALTH AND POWER IN THE HANDS OF FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE. When will American Solutions recognize this fact and demand Obama or whoever is President use them and spend them into circulation and stop borrowing Federal Reserve Notes into circulation with interest to pay back for their use?

AT the very least American Solutions should demand the support of S604 in the Senate to audit the PRIVATE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK and get transparency on the TRILLIONS of dollars that the American people have been swindled out of. When will American Solutions deal with this issue and take a stand and stop groveling at the feet of the PRIVATE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK for PRIVATE FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES to conduct our lives? The Federal Reserve notes result in the favors,"tax breaks," that are doled out as a means of keeping the American people in line by not touching the current usurious, swindling,debt money fractional banking money system that's been maintained currently ever since 1913.

Thanks Rich, for sifting through my comment(s). Sometimes I need an interpreter...and you got the point.
The powers that be, have no respect for the opposition, because we play fair and they know it. We are no real threat.

Homebuilding is all I know. I have now had to turn back to remodeling to stay busy. The problem is I would love to hire a couple of guys and take on more work but seeing what's coming down the pipe scares the heck out of me.One thing I do know for sure is that something has to give! I am not the political candidate we need but find the right one and I will back them to last fight has been won.

A letter I recently wrote to every member of the US Senate:

I’m writing to express concern of the excessive government spending.

I graduated Baylor University in May, 2008. At 23 years old, I’m just starting to contribute a portion of my paycheck to the Federal government through income tax. In the future, I’m hoping to be a small business owner. Although I’m not in the higher tax brackets currently, I’m hoping to be at some point in my career. But, is this heavy-handed government spending going to tax away all of my future success?

Universal healthcare, stimulus and bailout packages, etc. cost money. Our government is in a deficit and we don’t have the money to spend. However, the Obama administration is proposing paying for these government programs through tax increases.

Congress claims that these higher taxes will only affect those in the highest tax brackets. However, those are the same people who employ me. If they’re paying more in taxes, they’re not making as much money and won’t give me a raise, a promotion, or even keep me employed. They may not even be able to expand their business potentially leading to an increase in the already high unemployment rate.

I’m also worried about how much I’ll be paying by the time I reach those higher tax brackets. My generation will be paying for the excessive spending bills we pass today. If I do reach my goal of being a small business owner, what incentives will I have to expand, employ more people, etc. when my profits are less due to the excessive taxes I’ll be paying?

At this point, we need to seek advice from businesses. All businesses have had rough spots. Successful businesses have recovered through cutting spending and offering incentives for customers to buy more. We can do the same. We can cut government spending and cut corporate and income taxes to encourage employment, investment, and spending amongst individuals and businesses.

Likewise, we can look at similar times in government. A year into President Reagan’s term, the unemployment rate was approximately 10%. Inflation was approximately 12%. Reagan believed in cutting government spending and tax rates. His tax cuts stimulated the economy enough to expand the tax base, offsetting any revenue loss and, combined with the cuts in spending, actually decreased the deficit. Yes, unlike Vice President Biden said, we can actually prevent bankruptcy by decreasing spending and revenues. As a result of Reagan’s policies, he created at least 16 million new jobs and inflation dropped significantly.

I’m asking for your continued opposition of excessive government spending. Look at successful businesses and Reagan’s term for examples of how we can turn this around. And, please remember that the decisions you make today ultimately affect my generation and my children’s. Although you’ll probably feel the effects in the short-term, we’ll be paying for it for the rest of our lives.

Thank you.

If we can't do what is right, getting it half done is better than nothing. That said, I agree with the above tax cut solutions. But only as second choice to totally eliminating the tax code and going with a Fair Consumption Tax!

Point 1 is a stupid idea. First, you are fixing the current problem by creating a larger future problem. This is government at its best. It is living for today -there are rumors that lifestyle is what is at the root of our economic problems.

The other problem is that it targets workers rather than owners of capital. A lot of small business owners have had to cut their salary. This idea is much more appealing to the worker bee who stands at the water cooler bitching about taxes. Political soundbytes will buy a lot of votes, but capital is what creates jobs.

2. Eliminating Capital Gains will do great things for me, but will not affect the economy at all. I have accountants that can turn my income into capital gains. So it is great for me.

It is largely immaterial to most people with capital because MOST PEOPLE WITH CAPITAL have tax loss carryforwards from the stock market. But if you enacted this law, I can tell you what I would do. I would sell my Berkshire Hathaway tomorrow, and buy it back about 60 days out because I know that capital gains tax coming back. So you really create nothing.

3. I am a S-Corp, which is a structure that was created to give you zero corporate income taxes.

Point 4 gets its own post because in addition to be worthless it is factually inaccurate. What study shows that inheritance is the most powerful accumulator of capital. Let me guess, you got that from the Paris Hilton Chair Of Economics. HAHAHAHAHAHA. You guys kill me, THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE MISSING.

4. The death tax is a stupid tax, one which costs a lot to collect. But as usual, the braindead politicians on the right miss the point of getting rid of the tax. The impact of the tax is minimal compared to the cost to comply with it. I was an executor, and had to pay a lawyer $15,000 from the estate to prove that the estate owed no tax.

What the braindead politicians on the right need to explain (TO THE GENERATION WHICH IS RETIRING) that the death tax approaches 100% of your retirement savings. The tax was written before IRAs and 401Ks were pushed into mass production. The death tax is applied to the pre-tax value of the retirement account. Assuming your estate is taxed at 59%, and your beneficiaries are taxed at 30%. The tax paid on your retirement is 90%. If you live in a tax-happy state like NY or California, the taxes on your retirement accounts can exceed the value of the actual retirement account.

What concerns me about the way the idea is presented here, is that it shows that you have put virtually no thought into it. "Inheritance is the most powerful accumulator of capital" is counter to data studying the impact of inheritance on wealth. Those studies show that inheritance is a disaster for wealth. It is less damaging to wealth than taxes but someone is either lying or stupid to suggest that inheritance is a powerful accumulator of wealth.

Try this logic on for size. The tax is a stupid tax which generates less than 4% of total revenues, and much much less when you factor out the cost to collect it. It is horrifically expensive to collect, and nominally difficult to avoid. You should make Warren Buffett the poster child of tax avoidance. Why should Buffett be able to do with his money what he wants, and my father wasn't. I can assure you that the poor guy whose estate was drained of $15,000 for form preparation didn't get to do with his money as he wished.

I think all of the suggestions are great! Now if someone can convince Newt to run for President, we might could get some of these done!

I just read both of your post! You must be either a lawyer or a politician, because I have no idea what you said! Maybe I misunderstood you, but it sounds like you don't think any of these will do any good! When it has been proven numerous times in the past and in different countries that these things do work! Cutting corporate taxes generated a booming economy in Ireland! Cutting corporate taxes and capital gains taxes would encourage investment from both Americans and foreign countries! Yes, people like Warren Buffet and Edward Kennedy know how to hide and shelter their assets! But there are farmers for instance, with most of their wealth tied up in land and equipment, who's families end up having to sell most of what they have to pay the inheritance taxes! I am always for reducing taxes and reducing the size and scope of government!

I agree with Michelle Raue 100%. My husband and I run a small boat business and the government needs to get off our back. We need to take back our country.

These are a great first step. I am a partner in a small e-commerce business. Although our business has continued to do well and even grow, we have seriously pared back our plans for expansion--in particular capital expenditures for building, equipment, etc. Of course without expansion, there are no new employees. Without capital expenditures, no one else hires new employees to supply us.
With these 4 tax cuts, we would not only have a bit more in our pocket to use for expanding our company, but we would feel more comfortable betting on the future growth of the economy and our company.
Reading over many of the comments, I believe that there are many valid opinions, but many have the same theme--this campaign needs to be only a start, a down payment so to speak.
Real reform of our government with an eye towards a much smaller government, tort reform, a complete overhaul of our tax and financial systems, etc, would all need to be worked on to make a lasting and truly profound change.
I like the suggestion of an educational campaign on 'Economics 101', but would go a step further and suggest we need to do a national educational campaign on the Constitution, Capitalism, what our Founding Fathers knew and believed, and how all of them are tied together. I just finished the book "The 5000 Year Leap" and believe something like what this book teaches is a great start.
Keep up the great work and opening up the dialogue!

The four revisions to our current tax code would certainly be economically helpful in perserving jobs and perhaps provide for some limited gains. Real economic improvement will not occur until our tax code is replaced with the Fair Tax and substantial elimination of frivolous environmental regulations both nationally and locally is achieved. We must provide incentives to bring manufacturing back to America.

I’ve been in business for 36 years and if I ran my business the way Washington runs theirs I wouldn’t be able to say, 36 years. My current business is a C corporation and taxes, needless to say, are most burdensome.

I would like to see the federal government shrink to the size of a peanut along with all federal taxes. Get the federal government out of our States business too. Yes, State governments are wasteful, being a Californian, I’m looking to relocate my business ASAP. It is a matter of economic survival and mental sanity.

I would like to see the payroll taxes reduced by 50%, permanently! Force the D.C. boys to live within their means. Actually, Ben Franklin had the right idea when it comes to taxes.

Of course Abolish Capital Gains Tax, it never made any sense unless you’re anti-American.

Reducing Corporate Taxes to 12.5% would be PRO-AMERICAN. Can the current power in D.C. handle this?

Death Tax… Please, do I need to even comment on this stupidity? Next, it will be the Birth Tax.

A little common sense goes along way, unfortunately, Washington doesn’t operate on common sense. Neither do the legislators in Sacramento.

Payroll taxes are literally killing my business. If they were cut in half, I may not be hiring any NEW people, but it would allow me to keep the employees I currently have, which right now is getting more and more difficult each week. Today I am taking money out of my son's college fund to pay my back payroll taxes. It shouldn't be this way.

As a small business Sub S corp, with business being slow right now, payroll taxes are killing us. That alone is an idea that can benefit a lot of small businesses.

I totally agree with G D about the fair tax. The only problem with the fair tax is the fed would have to be totally transparent. Never happen. I am Sub S and never have the money to carry over from year to year. If I do then the fed gets half and leaves my business short for the next budget year. Cutting taxes would help small business to the inth degree so it will never happen. Washington would care less about the small fry. Some times I wonder if one senator in Washington can even spell "small business."

Of course, I agree with all of those proposals. Who wouldn't who has a small business. They are common sense. I have had to cut back on my employees and their hours. The corporate tax in my state alone is a huge burden, couple that with the payroll taxes and we can't buy equipment now or bring in more people. I love giving people jobs, that means I'm doing well. I would also love to see us be able to pull together with other small businesses for health insurance - another common sense proposal that the Dems don't want because it would help profits and capitalism - which they hate. They love control. Wreck the country, destroy it so you can prove that Socialism is the only way - well it's not. It will ultimately fail, always has, always will. But these evil psychopaths keep trying.

There is one expense that we can't afford and that will never bring any effective return, and that is WAR(s). Lets go by the wisdom of our founding fathers, let Afghanistan, Irak, and all other countries we are supporting militarily drive their own fate. Lets bring home all our troops, lets close our bases, anywhere in the world. Lets invest the money saved this way into a stimulus plan at home liek the small business initiative. That will create a return on investment.
Also, if we are not in Afghanistan, in Irak, in Pakistan, countries that are far away from our borders, this will force countries that do have borders close by and more direct interest in the region take care of their own interest. India, China, Russia would have to start paying attention and spend their some of own money to secure their region. That would even out the game. The USA right now is basically working for India, China, Russia, for free. Lets the USA spend this money at home for a better economy, and lets have China, India, Russia, these emerging powers support the financial and political responsibility of maintaining their region under control. As it is now we are weakening our own country while we are allowing these other countries to get stronger by what we save them. This is not smart, and in the long run it is compromising the future of our children