Support Small Businesses this weekend!
By: Senator Rich Draheim
Friends and neighbors –
This Saturday marks Small Business Saturday, a day to celebrate and support local small businesses – support that is especially crucial for the mom-and-pop businesses that line main streets in small towns across Greater Minnesota.
Small businesses face substantial challenges to operating in Minnesota, as evidenced by this state’s poor rankings on the State Business Tax Climate Index. Minnesota ranks 44th overall, weighed down by a complex corporate tax code that makes it more expensive and more challenging for companies to do business here. Rural small businesses, often operating on tighter margins, feel these tax burdens acutely.
Recognizing these challenges is the first step towards building an economic environment that is friendlier to small businesses and their workers. This understanding underscores the importance of events like Small Business Saturday, where our support can make a tangible difference.
When we choose a local mom-and-pop shop over a corporate big-box retailer, our money stays closer to home. These owners are our friends and neighbors. They go to church with us. Our kids play soccer together or attend the same schools. They sponsor Little League teams and donate to food shelves.
Small businesses connect us to our community’s heritage. The hardware store where you go for every project. The antique store with dusty treasures. The corner bar where everyone knows your name. The family-owned grocery that’s been around for generations. These places ground us in our roots. As more young people leave for the cities, supporting these businesses helps preserve the soul of small-town Minnesota.
Shopping local fuels small-town economies, providing jobs and opportunities. This Saturday, seek out a hometown business to support. Pick up items you might need or buy a gift card even if you don’t make a purchase. Every little bit helps.
Especially after the most recent legislative session, which was especially difficult for businesses and workers.
For instance, consider the new paid leave law. To be clear: everybody supports expanding access to paid leave for more workers. It is an issue that has bipartisan support.
Unfortunately, the Democrats took an approach that created an enormous new government bureaucracy, restricted existing employee paid leave benefits, and imposed a massive tax increase that will disproportionately hurt middle-class workers and Main Street small businesses. It was incredibly fiscally irresponsible.
Many of us raised concerns about how much it would cost workers, but those concerns were dismissed.
Now an independent study has confirmed we were right. As it turns out, the program will cost $630 million more than Democrats told us. The tax hike will be 31% higher. Minnesota’s small business owners and workers will have to foot the bill with even higher taxes.
This is why it is critical to understand the complexities of the laws we pass and their effects on small businesses and workers. These laws don’t exist only in headlines in a newspaper. The nitty-gritty details can have big impacts on people who may already be struggling to make ends meet.
That is also why it is more important than ever to support local businesses and their employees.
This Saturday, rise early and head to your local Main Street business. Bring the whole family, stop for coffee or breakfast, and check out stores that you don’t typically visit. Greet shop owners and thank them for their dedication. Ask how the year has been and if the holiday season shows promise. Your support and care will be remembered. Spend your dollars where they count this Small Business Saturday.