President Talks Small Business Jobs

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I just had a terrific meeting with these small business owners here at Tastee Sub Shop.  And I want to thank Dave and Carl for hosting us here today.  And I highly recommend everybody buy a sandwich while you’re here, although as I said before, I can’t eat a 12-inch these days, now that I’m 49 — well, I will be in a week.

We talked about some of the difficulties that people have had making payroll and turning a profit during this recession.  And we talked about what we can do to make it easier for small businesses to grow.

All of these folks here know why that’s important.  Small businesses create two out of every three jobs in this country.  So our recovery depends on them.  And if we want to keep America moving forward, we need to keep investing in our small businesses.

This is, by the way, more than — is more important than just our economy.  It’s also about who we are as a people.  Because America has always been a place where if you’ve had a good idea and you’re willing to really work hard for it, you can see it through and you can succeed.  That’s what gives the worker the courage to leave her job to become her own boss.  It’s what propels people to risk their savings on an idea that they believe might just change the world.  I was hearing from Tom here about how he was having trouble finding work 30, 40 years ago, and decided that he would take over a business that only had two employees.  And now he’s an employer for a whole bunch of folks and he’s going to be passing on his business to his family.  And that’s the American story.

This town, Edison, is named after somebody who was not only one of history’s greatest inventors but also a pretty savvy small business owner.  And the small business people who are here with me today exemplify that same entrepreneurial spirit.  And all of these companies have seen their share of challenges.  All of these small business owners have had to improvise and adapt over the years, especially in tough times, and that includes over the last couple years.

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