It appears that Trump’s government spending freezes and tariffs are starting to make small business owners feel a little queasy. Is this another one of those dreaded FAFO diaries that some are complaining about on Daily Kos? Well, it’s not entirely clear to be sure. It does appear that some small businesses which did work for the federal government are suddenly not being paid.
David Funk said he was stunned when the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected his $65,000 invoice for work his company had completed since October.
The founder of Zero Emissions Northwest, a Spokane, Washington-based consultancy, Funk connects farmers with federal grants to subsidize equipment purchases and energy bills. A week after his invoice denial, agency representatives confirmed it was because of Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” order, which halted many projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.
“What it’s resulting in is jobs lost, projects canceled and more jobs lost,” said Funk, who furloughed all three of his employees about two weeks ago. Many of his clients are now stuck with equipment they can’t finance on their own. “It is shocking to some of them who have voted for Trump to realize that this might directly impact them,” he added.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not have $65,000 to lose. It’s not clear if Mr. Funk voted for Trump, but it sure sounds like those farmers he works with are getting a political education about their dumb votes.
But, once again, it’s not just farmers who are getting fucked over by Trump.
Other small business owners are having to deal with tariffs and it appears higher interest rates on loans. Now, I have to admit that I have known a few small business owners in my lifetime, and most were Republicans. My best friend’s dad owned a small insurance company, and he was a Republican. My relatives who own a country store and meat processing facility are Trump lovers. A man I knew who owned a small print shop was a rabid Republican (He was playing Rush Limbaugh on the radio while working on a job for me, and he had that infamous fake quote from Abraham Lincoln about how we should never tax the rich displayed prominently on the wall).
Most iterations include the quote as follows: “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln”
It’s from a former clergy man from 1916 who must have preaching that prosperity Gospel shit.
But I knew at least small business owner in NC who was a Democrat, so not every small business owner is a rightwing nut.
However,
Trump’s business-friendly reputation was one of the leading factors that helped return him to the White House. While the U.S. averaged 443,302 monthly business applications during the first three years of the Biden administration as the economy recovered from Covid-19, compared with 282,362 in the equivalent period of Trump’s first term, many entrepreneurs recall the current president’s earlier time in office favorably. The NFIB’s optimism index soared at the time, buoyed in part by Trump’s tax cuts, and interest rates and inflation both remained historically low until the pandemic hit.
And what happened during the pandemic? Oh yeah! Small businesses suffered so badly they had to get funds from the government because everyone was trying to avoid getting COVID-19 and dying! But like other Americans, small business owners as a group, have some kind of “dain bramage” about the Trump years.
It’s worse than rose colored glasses with this bunch.
So let’s look at what Trump is doing for small businesses so far:
- If you get any money from the government, you are screwed mightily. Money for Musk, but not for thee!
- Tariffs and the threat of more tariffs are raising costs.
- A reignition of high inflation will ensure that interest rates remain high or go higher, unless Trump decides to take over the Federal Reserve.
On that last one, I bet that even the big banks would have a shit fit over Trump taking over the Federal Reserve. Despite the Fed being so called “independent” from the government, it’s actual purpose is to protect the big banks. And I’m betting the big bankers will not be happy with their captured federal agency being in the hands of the unstable Trump.
Anyway, I’m betting that many other small business owners will be facing leaner times ahead, despite their love affair with Trump. Only time and Trump’s chaos will tell if the rest of the small business community will be hit hard from Trumponomics. Will it ever make them regret their votes for Trump? I doubt it.
