White House Offers Help to Small Businesses: Some Say Not Enough


President Obama offered some small steps this week that aim to help small businesses access loans and tax credits more easily.

obama talks

Though this may be a step in the right direction, many have criticized the White House because some of the initiatives included in the new package were part of an executive order that had already been made by the Obama administration.

Because of this, the program, formerly known as the Small Loan Advantage, has been dubbed SLA 2.0. The purpose of the re-launched SLA 2.0 is to raise the maximum loan amount to small businesses from $250,000 to $350,000 and to streamline the loan process, making it easier for lenders to offer loans to small businesses.

Other parts of the new initiative call for changing the process for businesses looking to obtain surety bond guarantees under $250,000, accelerating payments to subcontractors who deal with the federal government, and cutting down the application process for the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program.

President Obama has also asked Congress to consider a measure that would allow small businesses to write off up to $250,000 in capital investments, including machinery and equipment, in 2013. This measure is intended to increase productivity and help spur growth.

While these steps may greatly help certain businesses, such as construction companies and those who have government contracts, many are worried that they won’t offer enough help to the millions of other businesses struggling through the recession.

The President and members of Congress have been in a heated debate over middle class tax cuts and those that may affect some small businesses. The President wants to only cut taxes for those Americans making less than $250,000 per year, but some argue that not extending those cuts to more Americans will hurt small businesses and make them unable to create jobs and help the economy recover.

However, the White House’s announcement reminds Americans of the 18 small business tax cuts and numerous other measures the President has put into place in order to help small businesses.

For more information about the Small Loan Advantage program, you can visit the Small Business Association’s website. And for information on all of the President’s new executive orders pertaining to small businesses, you can view the White House’s official announcement.

Obama Photo via Shutterstock

8 Comments ▼

Annie Pilon Annie Pilon is a Senior Staff Writer for Small Business Trends, covering entrepreneur profiles, interviews, feature stories, community news and in-depth, expert-based guides. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer.

8 Reactions
  1. It is a very gud idea d president is really helping d mases thru transfomation rm d grassroot.

  2. Any help I can get to grow my business is something to be very thankful for.

  3. Annie, nice try. Most “one year wonder” fixes by our government are just political posturing. When a President wants to raise our taxes, increase the regulatory burden, and not address the national debt, small business suffers.

  4. Thanks for the update, Annie.

    lately, nothing seems like enough. But, things do seem to be starting to move in the right direction.

    It’s not like the SBA hasn’t been aggressive about putting things into place.

    The Franchise King®

  5. Hi Annie,

    “White House Offers Help to Small Businesses: Some Say Not Enough”….

    Hmmm, I think I’ll go with what President Ronald Reagan once said:

    The ten most dangerous words in the English language are “Hi, I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

    – Anita

    • Martin Lindeskog

      Yes,

      The public servants of the government could help (small) business by learning this historical lesson:

      “When the eager mercantilist minister asked how the French state could be of service to the merchants and help promote their commerce, Le Gendre replied simply “Laissez-nous faire” (“Leave us be”, lit. “Let us do”)”

      From Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laissez-faire

  6. Martin Lindeskog

    Anita: Thank you very much for your positive energy! 🙂

    I must say that I am optimistic in a philosophical sense regarding a better business climate in the future. Regardless of your political leanings, the American people must say that the Tea Party movement has increased the awareness of sound principles and the foundation of America. Have you read Elizabeth Price Foley‘s book, The Tea Party: Three Principles?

    Another positive sign is John Allison will lead the free market think tank Cato Institute. I met John Allison with his family at a philosophical conference in Nashua, NH, in 1998. He had a very down to earth attitude together with a sharp mind. He has been very successful in his job as the former CEO of BBT, to lead the company to become one of the top banks in America. If you look on BBT’s web site, you will see how strong foundation (“Our Philosophy”) they have.