Shawn Gallagher is President at Adcraft Printing Company, Inc. and Main Street Alliance member.
Politicians including U.S. Senator Joni Ernst and Representative Ashley Hinson (IA-02) joined a few business owners in Cedar Rapids for an August 12 round table to celebrate President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” as a win for small business. It should be noted that organizers choose the participants for this kind of press event, which ensures that the media in attendance hear only the desired opinions.
I wish I could share their optimism. But as someone who runs a small business here in Cedar Rapids, I see this law for what it really is: a bad deal dressed up in campaign-season talking points.
I must admit, I will benefit from continuing the 20 percent cut off the top of profits from the 2017 tax cut and could possibly benefit from quicker write-offs of new equipment purchases. The enthusiasm for ending taxes on overtime pay is a bit concerning though.
Here’s the truth they didn’t mention in front of the cameras: this bill locks in tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the biggest corporations and the wealthiest “small” business owners, while delivering crumbs—and in some cases, outright harm—to the rest of us.
The media coverage quoted small business owners who benefit from the tax cuts, but failed to convey that the loss of revenue from those policies must either come from other federal programs or be added to the budget deficit.
Before any judgement is passed on the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” these questions need to be answered: Is it more important to society as a whole to provide tax cuts to the top 10 percent, whose wealth is already at an all-time high? Or should our priority be to ensure that our children receive a quality education, adequate nutrition, and health care, that we have clean air and water, that those who work hard every day can afford a roof over their head and a nutritious meal?
When does the budget deficit become unmanageable and sink this great experiment? What kind of a country do we want to be: do we care more about increasing the profits of the already successful or providing a bootstrap to the American dream to our citizens?
So, while the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” might look good from a podium in Cedar Rapids, out here in the real Iowa economy it’s a different story. We don’t need more photo ops. We need policy that strengthens Main Street, not Wall Street. We need health care that’s affordable, tax policy that rewards real small businesses, and trade policy that stops using us as collateral damage.
Until then, you can keep the ribbon-cuttings. We’ll be over here doing the hard work of keeping Iowa’s economy alive—in spite of laws like this one.
Top photo: U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson and Senator Joni Ernst with U.S. Small Business Administration administrator Kelly Loeffler in Cedar Rapids on August 12. First published on Ernst’s official Facebook page.