Small business policy recommendations (2)

I don't think small businesses needs help from the government, except to reduce the barriers to starting and operating.  But when I work as a consultant for one of the most important small business organizations in the U.S. I have to come up with a few ideas.  These, and the group in the next blog below, have not all been used in my client's policy recommendations:

f) Create a  small business import/export support office

Such an office would offer letters of credit with Federal guarantees and provide career officers assigned to each business client. Many small businesses would do well in the export business but the bureaucracy is much too complex.  The same is true in the import world where expenses can be reduced appreciably.

g) Eliminate minimum wage for small businesses for the first 18months of a new employment

Hiring teenagers is helpful to small businesses and to teenagers.  The Federal and local minimum wage is too high in many regions and part time work is often too time consuming to administer with many minimum wage employees. More jobs, more small businesses if we can waive the minimum wage where it is clearly counter-productive.

 h) Small business tax form as simple as 1040EZ

Once a small business registers and provides core back-up data, it should only need to file a one page annual tax form thereafter. The waste and bureaucracy of new long forms every year is irrational and untenable.

i) Expand commercial districts

Use Redevelopment programs and other Federal housing edicts to provide model zoning codes that expand commercial and retail districts. Existing narrow activist opposition to business severely restricts small business in most of the country (NIMBY).  The most awful and ugly element of communist and socialist countries is the miles and miles without any retail business.

j) Preserve old redevelopment districts as run-down areas

Use Federal redevelopment districts and closed military bases for 'as is use' by small businesses and exempt the new businesses from zoning restrictions; also provide temporary special start-up protections. 

Old run-down redevelopment districts and closed military bases are good locations for small business storage and experimentation in new forms of enterprise. See an earlier blog on this subject.