WASHINGTON, DC – Rising interest rates, historic inflation, and labor shortages, spurred by Democrat policies, are increasing pressure on working Americans and forcing small businesses to do more with less, the March jobs report shows.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) made the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics release showed job creation slowing down for the second consecutive month:
“Small businesses and job creators are reacting to the dark clouds looming over the economy. The second consecutive slowdown in job creation is more evidence that America’s economy is sinking under the weight of Democrats’ failed policies.
“These issues are top of mind for small businesses owners and workers who are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families. The Ways and Means Committee is hearing directly from working Americans across the country who are anxious that Main Street businesses may not survive after two years of Democrat one-party rule, particularly as the cost of borrowing for businesses rises. They are telling us that Democrats’ anti-work policies have made it difficult to stock their shelves, hire workers, and keep their doors open. Witnesses shared that their neighbors and employees need tax relief to stay afloat, not Democrats’ “green” tax credits that benefit the wealthy and big corporations.”
Key Background:
- The labor force participation rate, 62.6 percent, remains below pre-COVID levels.
- Since President Biden took office, inflation has cost the average household $10,000, while real wages have declined 3.7 percent.
- President Biden’s latest budget proposal would impose $4.7 trillion in new tax hikes – including $1.8 trillion in tax increases on small businesses.
- Business bankruptcies rose 18 percent over last year in February
In Their Own Words: Oklahoma Small Business Owners
Witnesses at a recent Ways and Means Committee hearing in Yukon, Oklahoma, shared how tax relief would help their employees, neighbors, and customers:
- Bryan Jackson, an Army veteran who earned the Distinguished Service Cross in Iraq and opened a meatpacking company in 2020: “The more we can receive…in making our lives easier and pay less taxes, the more we can do for our employees.“
- Kelli Payne, fifth-generation farmer and rancher from Mustang, Oklahoma, and North Central District Vice President for the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association: “Anytime hardworking Americans can keep more money in their pocket, we should give them that opportunity.“
- Chuck Mills, owner and operator of his family’s machine manufacturing company that was founded in Oklahoma in 1908: “I think it would be a mistake to take away those tax breaks, especially for the average worker. With inflation today, it’s accelerated so much, it’s a huge benefit.“
- Joe Brevetti, owner and founder of an oil well drilling company in Oklahoma: “I have a hard time thinking of any country that taxed their way to prosperity…I think of all the workers in the field…they’re not itemizing deductions. They’re using that standard deduction.”