Obama Continues to Focus on Small Business Growth

In the recent months, President Obama has made it clear that one of his number one focuses for boosting our economy is generating small business growth. The current national unemployment average is 10 percent, that's 2 percent higher than the President had expected when he signed the $787 billion stimulus package last spring. Since then, he has met with the head executives of the nations largest banks, urging them to boost small business lending and in his first State of the Union address he made the message clear that his number one priority is job creation.

Now, Obama is urging a $30 billion fund to help spur small business lending. This $30 billion fund, referred to as a Small Business Lending Fund, would come out of the bailout money paid back by the Wall Street financial institutions. The fund, Obama says, should be used to help community banks provide loans for small businesses, which in turn will spur hiring in those small businesses, thus creating jobs.

"It's the small local banks that work most closely with our small businesses," Obama was quoted saying at a town hall meeting, continuing that extending credit will "ensure that small businesses are once again the engine of job growth in America."

As well as introducing this new lending program, our president has endorsed over $30 billion for small business incentives and tax cuts for hiring employees and increasing employee wages. However, there has already been opposition to Obama's suggestions for these funds, citing government spending as the biggest negative. Although we have yet to see what will come of these funds and small business loans, we can be sure that everyone seems to agree on one main point: small businesses are the key to reviving the economy and decreasing our unemployment rate.