President Obama recently gave his address on jobs to congress, and it seems the solutions he's presenting are more of the same that we've seen from the Bush and Obama administrations.  What the president and congress seem to not understand is that funding, regulations, and taxes are not the biggest problems for small businesses, a lack of customers is! 

It's not surprising, considering the fact that the president’s council on job creation is helmed by CEOs and board members of fortune 100 companies, with a token member who runs one of the largest labor unions in the country.  There is ZERO representation from small businesses.

Large businesses have essentially created zero net new jobs over the past decade- almost all new jobs in this country are being created by small businesses, so why aren't the president and congress listening to those who actually know something about job creation?

If they say that it's too hard to find small businesses that are qualified to be representatives, that's a problem that has a solution.  Every year the SBA gives out awards to honor the best run small businesses in America- there are regional, state, and national winners for these awards (and in 2003 I was named Small Business Journalist of the Year for California.)  Why not tap these business owners as a resource to give input on how the federal government can help small businesses?

While I don't claim to have the answers to the problems our economy faces, I do know what the problem is.  Let's end the focus on tax cuts, regulations, and funding, and focus on the real issue- getting more business!

I am sick and tired of hearing about how we need to stimulate funding for small businesses. As if that will have any impact whatsoever! The last thing a small business needs is more debt! On the contrary they are attempting to pay off the debt that they currently have.

The problem for small business is NOT lack of funding, scarcity of loans or an inability to participate in the global economy. It is lack of demand. The plain, simple fact is that these businesses just don’t have ENOUGH CUSTOMERS because their customers just don’t have the disposal income that they once had.

I am not at all surprised that politicians and economists have misconstrued this for so many years. At first I thought they were just “dim” and unaware of the real challenges facing small businesses. Then I began to realize that I was dim! Of course they are aware of this. After all they are Summa Cum Laude Harvard graduates who spend much of their time sailing, playing golf and attending dinners with bankers, corporate lobbyists and foreign financiers. They could care less about small business. In fact small business just amounts to the fruit fly in their Mouton Rothschild!

Don’t you think it’s odd that in order to “save our economy” we used taxpayer’s money to rescue the banks and mega-corporations who were the very villains that brought about the real estate/mortgage debacle that tanked our economy?

OK, so now we face the national reported unemployment rate of 9.5% percent. Right?

WRONG!

Today many experts believe that the true unemployment rate is more like 25% or more! We need to include those people who are looking for work, underemployed, or who have given up looking.  We all know that the government cooks the books to make it look far rosier than it is.

There are 28 million small businesses in the U.S. employing 83% of all non-government employees. Of these approximately 600,000 business owners employ 63% of the workforce. Can you imagine what would happen if they united? Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started listening to them? Can you imagine what would happen if we created laws, tax breaks and incentives for these, the real leaders of the free world?

I could. It would mean the end of the good days for the political, financial corporate big wigs that got us into this mess and the beginning of prosperity for hard working Americans.