Obama

Obama pulled off a stunning and emotional win tonight to become the 44th President (elect) of the United States of America. The historical significance of his win cannot be over-stated. Many are jubilant in the streets of America, regardless of their color, national origin, orientation, religion or gender.

What will Obama mean for small business? Only time will tell, but if what he said during the campaign holds up, small business can expect less taxes (this will please Joe the Plumber), assistance with health care (this will please Hillary Clinton), and possibly increased funding opportunities. According to the Wall Street Journal, "SBA-Backed Loans have dried up and the substantial decline in Small Business Administration-backed lending is fueling criticism that the federal government isn't doing enough to help small businesses that are in dire need of cash." Surely, this will change with an Obama adminstration.

The President Elect has made it clear that if a business makes less than $250,000 that business will not get a tax increase. So small businesses should like that since only about 5% of small business generate revenues anywhere close to $250,000 per year.

The Obama administration will probably have one of the most developed green strategies of any president in recent memory. Big on his agenda seems to be the issue of alternative energies and reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil. This will also impact small businesses just like it will impact multinational corporations with global geopolitical influence.

Obama's style has been a conciliatory one throughout this campaign. If that continues, that is going to be very good for America and for America's small businesses. By working in a non-partisan way with the Congress, Obama will surely get more of his agendas (including those that pertain to small businesses) across than if he doesn't.

Obama supports young people and he supports education. Young people are one of the most experimental, innovative and business-minded demographic in the U.S. today. They are the computer geeks, the IT gods, the next Sergey and Larry. And Obama owes a big debt to young people in America. They voted for him resoundingly in this election. So Obama is likely to support more grants to assist these youthful friends, to support bills that are geared to assisting small businesses, to support educational and financial assistance for not only college bound students, but those young people who are involved in a trade as well.

As a community organizer, Obama is sure to know the power of transforming neighborhoods, and revitalizing towns by bringing new businesses to these areas. New businesses can mean jobs for the young, and the elderly too. New businesses can simply restore a sense of community to areas that are hit by the recession. An Obama administration is likely to do all in its power to support these community initiatives.

There are more ways in which an Obama Administration will impact small businesses. Overall, I would say he will be a net gain for small businesses in America.