I am really glad that all of the people who wanted “change” are really happy, but for some of us change doesn’t feel so great.  Small businesses and those of us on the edge of affluence really don’t want to be dragged down into a bottomless pit.  Although the economy wasn’t feeling so good to us, at least we knew what to expect and how to protect ourselves against it.  It’s easier to understand the market going up and down, regardless of the reasons, than it is to anticipate what will happen in an anti-business environment. 

I know the big guys (Exxon, etc.) will do OK in the end because they have enough resources to protect themselves.  It’s the little guys, like me, who really have no idea what will be thrown at us...more taxes for sure.  And we will probably be expected to pay our employees greater benefits....but unfortunately, the only way to do that is to have fewer employees.  Somebody forgot to put that into the equation.

I thought Joe the Plumber was a great representative of people like me.  I did all of the things I was supposed to do.  Went to college (via student loans and two jobs), went to graduate school (the same way) and worked really hard for many years.  I was feeling like it would be tight but OK.  I could pay for college for my kids (because I wouldn’t get financial aid) and would have a little bit saved for my retirement (thanks to a 401(k)) but there wouldn’t be any additional cash. 

Of course, due to the economic downturn, everything I had is worth half as much and my small business is struggling.  And the worst part is that now somehow I have become a “bad” guy.  I am one of those households who barely fit the bottom parameters of those households that will get hit with increased taxes.  And as a small business owner, I am going to get creamed twice. 

Did you ever read the old story of the ant and the grasshopper?  The ant did everything he was supposed to do and was able to make it through the winter.  The grasshopper partied all summer and couldn’t make it through the winter.  So now the ant has to pay for the grasshopper to make it through the winter and barely have enough left to make it himself.

So in the end, I really wonder if Joe the Plumber will ever be able to open his plumbing business.  What is going to happen to Joe?  What is going to happen to small business?

-Cathy McBreen

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