Big Business vs. Small Business

In 2002, I heard Stacy Mitchell (see Hometown Advantage) speak at one of the monthly brown bag lunches sponsored by DC Environmental Network. She said something that I still remember, that the role of the U.S. Government's Small Business Administration is to make small businesses big businesses, it's not focused so much on making small businesses better (although they do fund Small Business Development Centers which do just that, there's one at Howard University that we should avail ourselves of...).

In any case, I think it's a bit funny that the publication National Real Estate Investsor has an article about the impact of the Democrats control of the House and Senate on small business, "The Democrats and Small Business," because for the most part, the publication only covers big business (developers and projects in major cities and regions).

Similarly, I remember an association of chain retailers (see "Retail Industry Leaders Association Files Suit Against Maryland") with a name implying that they are leaders with vision, suing Maryland over the recent attempt to force Wal-Mart to provide broader health insurance coverage.

One reason that Walmart can offer lower prices than supermarket chains is that most supermarket chains are unionized, therefore offering higher wages and benefits--although this has changed somewhat as unions have agreed to two-tier wage systems in face of industry pressures. You'd think that the association would have been concerned about the competitive disadvantages faced by unionized chain retail and would work to ensure a level playing field.

As Borat, and many others say, "NOT!"

Index Keywords: Growth-Machine