Maryland NFIB to President Obama: We're not all Costco

Date: January 29, 2014

Annapolis (January
29, 2014)
– The
Maryland office of the National
Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
today welcomed President Barack
Obama to the state and urged him to visit a small business next time to get
both sides of the story on minimum wage.

“With all
due respect to the President, small business owners have a story to tell as
well and he should really take the time to listen,” said NFIB State Director Jessica Cooper.

Obama made a
campaign-style appearance at a local Costco, the giant corporate discount
wholesaler, to promote his plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per
hour.  The company’s CEO has publicly
endorsed the idea.

“Costco is a
fine company but the President’s argument assumes that every small business can
match their pay scale,” said Cooper. 
“That isn’t possible.”

Small
businesses don’t have nearly the volume or the pricing power that makes Costco
successful.  They pay workers based on
how much their customers are willing to spend and the President’s
giant-size-fits-all approach to wage controls can’t be imposed on small,
family-owned businesses without causing damage. 

“The
President made the argument that paying workers more will be better for
businesses.  That’s awfully presumptuous,
said Cooper, because it suggests that the President knows better than owners
how to run their businesses.

“He’s the
chief executive of a government that has run up record deficits and debt,” said
Cooper.  “Small business owners can’t
print money and they certainly couldn’t survive under the same financial
practices.”

Cooper
warned that small business employees would ultimately pay the price for the
President’s initiative.

“Businesses
that are forced to pay more than their sales can support will have to cut back
on hours, automate those jobs or find ways to survive without hiring new
workers,” said Cooper.  “The President’s
plan is very bad for small business and low-wage workers will be affected.”   

For more information
about NFIB, please log on to www.nfib.com.

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