Opinion

A small-business Congress

Dan Danner Contributor
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During election season, small business becomes the darling of most politicians. Some truly want to help small business, but others are simply trying to claim the small-business mantle to win political points.

This year, small-business owners have decided to carry their own mantle — they are running for office themselves and a lot of them are going to win.

The nation’s premier small-business PAC, the National Federation of Independent Business’ Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust, interviewed over 200 candidates for federal office this year. More than half of them were either small-business owners themselves or had close small-business ties (for example, many grew up in a family that ran a business). This volume of candidates who are literally “small-business candidates,” versus “candidates who support small business,” is an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the SAFE Trust.

We know of about 30 of our own NFIB members who are running for Congress, the majority of whom are expected to win their races.

What does this all mean?

Having more small-business owners in Congress will undoubtedly be good news for the national small-business community — also known as America’s job creators. More people in the halls of Congress who have signed the front of a paycheck will mean an improved congressional perspective on what it really means for government to promote and protect small firms and, therefore, encourage job creation.

We anticipate having more people in Congress in 2012 who know, from first-hand experience, that lower individual income tax rates are essential for small-business survival and growth.

We’ll have more members of Congress who have struggled to afford health insurance for themselves and their employees — and they will know how the new health-care law is making that situation worse, not better.

Finally, we’ll have more people who know that spending more money than you take in is a really foolish idea — something no successful business owner has ever done for very long.

The bottom line: Having people in Congress who understand that small businesses need freedom and customers, not higher taxes and more regulations, will be great news for business owners and for the people who need the jobs those businesses can create.

Dan Danner is the President and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small-business advocacy group.