Dems Smother Small Biz With Debt

House Dems Double Down on Spending, Borrowing and Debt That Hurts Small Businesses’ Ability to Grow and Create Jobs 

• Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi had a San Francisco street named after her yesterday, a day after doubling down on her failed agenda of more spending, more borrowing and more debt.
• Pelosi and her fellow House Democrats love to spend and spend, but studies show the debt Democrats have piled up will over time hurt small businesses’ ability to grow and hire.
• As Democrats recycle failed policies, small business job creators and their workers are suffering the consequences.

Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi had a San Francisco street named after her yesterday, a day after doubling down on her failed agenda of more spending, more borrowing and more debt:

A SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: NANCY PELOSI GETS STREET RENAMED AFTER HER YESTERDAY: (“San Francisco Mayor Renames Road for Nancy Pelosi,” Associated Press, 5/21/2012)

NANCY PELOSI DOUBLES DOWN ON DEMANDS FOR A BLANK CHECK FOR MORE SPENDING, MORE DEBT: “ ‘The speaker wants to go over the edge,’ Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the minority leader, said on the same show. ‘This is not a responsible, mature, sensible place for us to go.’” (Lisa Mascaro, “Republicans Doubling Down on Debt-Limit Showdown Strategy,” The Chicago Tribune, 5/21/2012) 

RANKING DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE BUDGET CHRIS VAN HOLLEN RECENTLY CALLED FOR MORE FAILED STIMULUS: “First the most important thing we can do to begin to reduce the deficit is get the economy moving again and the president has proposed a jobs plan including a major infrastructure investment plan, which Republicans continue to sit on.” (Remarks from Rep. Chris Van Hollen, MSNBC’s Jansing & Co., 5/7/2012) 

Pelosi and her fellow House Democrats love to spend and spend, but studies show the debt Democrats have piled up will over time hurt small businesses’ ability to grow and hire:

CBO: OBAMA BUDGET WILL “REDUCE ECONOMIC OUTPUT BY BETWEEN 0.5 PERCENT AND 2.2 PERCENT”: “After five years, the CBO says, the Obama proposals would reduce economic output by between 0.5 percent and 2.2 percent.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Estimates Obama 2013 Budget Will Hit Economic Growth,” The Hill, 4/20/2012) 

DEMOCRATS’ SPENDING SPREE WOULD “REDUC[E] THE FUNDS BUSINESS COULD USE TO EXPAND AND HIRE”: “Larger deficits caused by the budget would cause the government to issue more bonds, sucking up private capital to finance its debts and thereby reducing the funds businesses could use to expand and hire, the CBO said. An increased tax on capital gains included in the president’s plan would also tend to reduce private capital, it says.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Estimates Obama 2013 Budget Will Hit Economic Growth,” The Hill, 4/20/2012) 

STUDY: ECONOMIC GROWTH TAKES 25% HIT FROM DEBT LEVELS MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF ECONOMY: “In a paper published today on the National Bureau of Economic Research’s website, they found that countries with debts exceeding 90 percent of the economy historically have experienced subpar economic growth for more than 20 years. That has left output at the end of the period a quarter below where it would have been otherwise.” (Rich Miller, “Reinharts, Rogoff See Huge Output Losses From High Debt,”Bloomberg Businessweek, 4/30/2012)

CURRENT U.S. DEBT LEVEL AT 102% OF THE SIZE OF THE ECONOMY: NATIONAL DEBT STANDS AT $15.71 TRILLION, LARGER THAN THE NATION’S $15.46 TRILLION ECONOMY: (“The Daily History of the Debt Results,”TreasuryDirect.Gov, Accessed 5/21/2012; “National Economic Accounts,” Bureau of Economic Analysis, Accessed 5/21/2012)

OMB: UNDER DEMOCRATS’ FAILED POLICIES, DEBT HAS EXCEEDED 90% OF GDP FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE TO FOR YEARS:(Rich Miller, “Reinharts, Rogoff See Huge Output Losses From High Debt,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 4/30/2012) 

As Democrats recycle failed policies, small business job creators and their workers are suffering the consequences:

49% OF SMALL BUSINESSES SAY IT IS “DIFFICULT” TO PAY DOWN THEIR DEBT BURDEN: “Even as small-business owners seek to reduce their debt, 49% say it is extremely difficult (10%), very difficult (10%), or somewhat difficult (29%) to pay down their current business debt.” (Dennis Jacobe, “One-Third of Small-Business Owners Feel Debt Burden,” Gallup, 5/16/2012)

REPORT: “LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS DIP IN APRIL”: (Ruth Mantell, “Leading Economic Indicators Dip in April,” MarketWatch, 5/17/2012) 

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AT “A LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH RECESSIONS OR THEIR AFTERMATHS”: “Consumer confidence dropped last week to the lowest level since the end of January as slower U.S. job growth contributed to pessimism about personal finances and spending. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell in the week ended May 13 to minus 43.6, a level associated with recessions or their aftermaths, from minus 40.4 in the previous period. The monthly expectations measure was little changed as Americans see scant improvement in the world’s largest economy.” (Timothy R. Homan, “Consumer Comfort In U.S. Drops To Nearly A Four-Month Low,” Bloomberg, 5/17/2012)

ECONOMY IS “STILL STRUGGLING TO GAIN MOMENTUM” AND “GROWTH IS SLOW, BUT CHOPPY”: (Ruth Mantell, “Leading Economic Indicators Dip in April,”MarketWatch, 5/17/2012) 

CBS/NYT: 67% RATE CONDITION OF ECONOMY AS “VERY” OR “FAIRLY” BAD: (“The Presidential Election, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Economy,” The New York Times/CBS Poll,  5/14/2012) 

MORE: 63% THINK ECONOMY IS “GETTING WORSE” OR “STAYING THE SAME”: (“The Presidential Election, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Economy,” The New York Times/CBS Poll,  5/14/2012) 

62% NAME “THE ECONOMY AND JOBS” AS THE TOP ISSUE IN 2012: (“The Presidential Election, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Economy,” The New York Times/CBS Poll,  5/14/2012)