ALEC on WIZM Radio: More States Bringing Tax Relief to Small Businesses
The good news here is that many states are moving in the right direction and adopting a flat tax. They are doing the very opposite of what our leaders in Washington are doing. States are bringing tax relief to those Mom and Pop business owners and individuals.
ALEC Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy Jonathan Williams joined WIZM radio host Mike Hayes in LaCrosse, WI this week to talk about how to restore prosperity to America’s small businesses. Below are highlights from their conversation:
Mike Hayes: The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, is going crazy. Is the Biden administration doubling down or tripling down on their inflationary spending policies?
Jonathan Williams: Yes. Last week we saw those unbelievable images where President Biden was literally partying on the White House lawn, nearly popping champagne corks and listening to live music to celebrate the victory of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president was doing this as inflation continues at 40 year highs and as the stock market plummeted. The market had it’s worest day in more than 2 years, since the COVID lockdowns. This is terrible for all of our 401Ks.
The Biden administration is telling us they’ve fixed inflation with their magic wand. Clearly, the markets have spoken. They’re expecting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to likely to announce he will raise rates, either 75 basis points or maybe a full percentage point, 100 basis points, at Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium later this week. Americans are getting pummeled by these additional rate increases, but obviously, you’ve got to do something to bring down the inflation rate. But you know, we just made the problem worse here in Washington by spending more and taxing more instead of actually dealing with inflation the right way.
Mike Hayes: All of this is just really, really ugly for our investments.
Jonathan Williams: No doubt. Absolutely. It’s really going to be difficult for small businesses going forward. Think about who took it on the chin during the lockdown period. It was your local hardware store that got locked down while some of the big-box retailers were able to stay open. I worry about the Mom and Pop businesses on Main streets right now. They are going to struggle to get capital as the loan rates are going through the roof. These small entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the American economy. If the Biden administration is going to double down on their big government tax and spend agenda, the rest of us need to double down and figure out what it’s going to take to make Mom and Pop businesses successful again.
Mike Hayes: I just learned this week that five states have already adopted a flat tax. We keep hearing about the flat. Tell me more about that.
Jonathan Williams: This has been an historic year for states. The good news here is that many states are moving in the right direction and adopting a flat tax. They are doing the very opposite of what our leaders in Washington are doing. States are bringing tax relief to those Mom and Pop business owners and individuals. The first state in America to adopt an income tax was about 120 years ago. Over the last 120 years, only four states adopted a flat tax. But in just one year, five new states have moved away from the multi-brackets income tax structures down to flat taxes. I think it’s really a push back to the problems stemming from the Big Government policies coming from Washington. So folks, that’s good news. It’s not coming here from Washington, it’s coming from the 50 states, one at a time, one state at a time making a little change, not looking to the federal government to solve issues.
Listen to full interview here: