Ya know, Joe Plumber, I think the Big Government can actually help ya.

[ziasudra]

Gleaning from the three presidential debates and listening to John McCain's Joe-Plumber-speak, I sensed that he's driven a wedge deeper and deeper through the assumption that the polarity between a centralized government (the stereotypical "Democrat" Big Government philosophy) and the running of small businesses (which represent the foundation of a

Comments

[tanechigai]

Did you watch the debate last night when McCain slipped and called Obama "Senator Government"....rofl

[ziasudra]

lol, yeah, I was watching the debate with a bunch of colleagues working in the community development sector (lots of them were joking about being "community organizers, haha), and we all burst out laughing at the slip of tongue ;)

[sad1225]

The fundamental problem is this: Government programs to "help business" only work for those businesses that know how to work the system.

Typically, these government programs will favor larger, established businesses that are savvy enough hire people for the express purpose of working the system and making friends in City Hall (or Washington). The tweaks to fix loopholes will fall in favor those businesses that are correctly connected.

It's a system that at best has added extra red tape, and at worst has created an environment for corruption to flourish.

I think it is much better to simply not tax and pass restrictive laws in the first place.

[ziasudra]

Point. I definitely see where you're coming from, and I totally understand why so many members of the older generation in my family is pro-lesser government control, because their first years in the US were as small business owners/workers, which set the foundation for people of my generation who can access education and other types of careers. Less government intervention can be preferable in many ways

[sad1225]

I can certainly understand how someone could see a problem, such as recent immigrants having trouble getting started, and want to fix it with a government program. Especially when they can see that those programs genuinely do some good.

However, from your own example I will give voice to the voiceless:

That's 83% of resources going to small, nontraditional businesses and over 88% going to women and minority businesses, some which would not be in business if it weren't for the benefits they could access.If these businesses only exist because of government money, what about their competitors who are not in business? Were they viable businesses that went bust because they were not able to qualify for "women and minority" status

[ziasudra]

Were they viable businesses that went bust because they were not able to qualify for "women and minority" status?

At least in my area, MWBE status is not a requirement. It just happens to be Chinatown, and we have staff that can provide in-language Technical Assistance. Hence, MWBE customers. MWBE is a "good thing," for sure, but so is manufacturers in distressed Schenectady, or new businesses in Auburn. No one "good thing" category is better than the other, because each Zone operates with its own Board and Development Plan.

One of the main reasons why Chinatown was established as an EZ was because of the economic distress of the area after 9/11. Sad to say, there were a lot businesses that went bust after 9/11, and so yeah, government assistance was very important to sustaining the economy of the area, at least in these few years until the struggling business climate has passed. This isn't to say that there aren't new industries that haven't sprung up since 2001 apart from government assistance. Take the whole Chinatown bus

[verdenia]

Neat! Thanks for sharing--very cool to hear more about what you do, and also about Good Govt Programs. :P