Obama & Small Biz

The Obama administration unveiled a series of efforts yesterday to help small businesses. The issue at hand is that small business owners are still having considerable challenges accessing credit and capital. The move from the Administration focuses on:
a) Increasing the maximum loan amounts from the SBA
b) Making it more advantageous for smaller and community banks to provide loans to small businesses

As unemployment rates in the country are nearing 10 percent, President Obama is realizing that limited access to credit for small businesses means fewer jobs to be created. Small businesses still drive job growth and right now these organizations are still not at a point to hire.

My take: There are those out there saying that the President is trying to sway Senator Olympia Snowe's vote on health care reform by outlining a small business plan that is nearly identical to one suggested by the Maine Senator. My take is that this is good for small business. Small business owners have been hit hard in this recession and it has taken its toll with job loss. This access to capital should spur new spending for talent as well as investments that are overdue. AMI Partners is predicting a slingshot effect in 2010 with small businesses spending on IT and other purchases.