Prometheus 6

Hey, it's long. That means I get to milk it for a couple of posts.
LATER: Yes, the post originally had my comments blockquoted rather than the speech fragments. That has changed.

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President Emphasizes Minority Entrepreneurship at Urban League
Remarks by the President to the 2004 National Urban League Conference
Detroit Marriot Renaissance Hotel
Detroit, Michigan

The speech starts with the typical glad-handing. This is the first thing worth commenting on.

We acted. It should be clear now to all Americans that we're not going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. We expect the high standard, and there will be enforcement of law to enforce that standard.

So the economy went through a lot. But we acted.

You can't mistake motion for progress, and that's what we're being invited to do here.

See, I happen to believe if people have more of their own money in their pocket, they're going to spend, save, or invest, and when they do, that revitalizes economic growth and entrepreneurship. That's what the tax cuts were all about. That's why we raised the child credit. If you happen to have a two-year-old son like Mark does, it enables you to be -- have more money in your pocket.

Okay, I really didn't expect the truth about who benefitted from those tax breaks.

We reduced the marriage penalty. What kind of tax code is it, by the way, that penalizes marriage? We ought to be encouraging marriage in the United States of America. (Applause.)

We reduced the 10 percent bracket; we reduced taxes on everybody. I think that's the fair way to do things. And as a result, the economy is growing. The economy, since last summer, has been growing at the fastest rate in nearly 20 years. That's the truth, and that's positive news. If people are looking for work, you've got to have an economy which is vibrant and growing.

Since the last 20 years includes the dotcom bubble, the claim doesn't make sense.

And that's the case. We've added 1.5 million new jobs since August. There's more work to do, of course. Job opportunity isn't in every neighborhood and every corner of the country, I fully recognize that. But the economy today is strong, and it's growing stronger. And we've always got to remember why. I mean, inherent in the -- in new job creation is small businesses. That's the most important part of new job creation. See, most new jobs are created by the small business owners of America. And therefore, policy has got to recognize that. That's why we've got to have fair -- a fair legal system that doesn't -- these frivolous lawsuits make it awfully difficult for a small business owner to thrive.

Let's look at what the SBA calles a small business:
SBA defines a small business concern as one that is independently owned and operated, is organized for profit, and is not dominant in its field. Depending on the industry, size standard eligibility is based on the average number of employees for the preceding twelve months or on sales volume averaged over a three-year period. Examples of SBA general size standards include the following:

• Manufacturing: Maximum number of employees may range from 500 to 1500, depending on the type of product manufactured;
• Wholesaling: Maximum number of employees may range from 100 to 500 depending on the particular product being provided;
• Services: Annual receipts may not exceed $2.5 to $21.5 million, depending on the particular service being provided;
• Retailing: Annual receipts may not exceed $5.0 to $21.0 million, depending on the particular product being provided;
• General and Heavy Construction: General construction annual receipts may not exceed $13.5 to $17 million, depending on the type of construction;
• Special Trade Construction: Annual receipts may not exceed $7 million; and
• Agriculture: Annual receipts may not exceed $0.5 to $9.0 million, depending on the agricultural product.

Is that what you thought of when you read "small business"?

The "frivolous lawsuit" thing would be a total non-sequitor, except it's the only "obstacle" mentioned. You want to know the truth, I'm a lot more concerned about a fair legal system for humans than for corporations, partnerships, whatever, because they already have one and we don't.