08/27/2008
by NFIB/South Carolina State Director Wendy Homeyer
I was amused by Frank Knapp's suggestion on Monday that South Carolina's small businesses want or need "a new state agency to lead them." ("The Fourth Pillar of Success," Aug. 18.)
As state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, South Carolina's leading small business association, I can tell you that my 5,000 members are smart. My members are entrepreneurs and small, family-owned businesses. They know what they need, and especially in these tight economic times, it isn't another government agency.
What small businesses really want is a level playing field, one that encourages them to grow and create jobs.
Small business wants healthcare that is accessible and affordable. Because of the annual, double-digit insurance premium increases, small business owners continue to struggle with providing and maintaining health care coverage. Ninety-seven percent of all businesses in South Carolina are small businesses who employ a majority of the state's workers. We need to focus on tax-based incentives to assist with the purchase of health insurance and implement cost-containment measures.
Small business wants the number of frivolous lawsuits curbed. While some claims are legitimate, too many lawsuits are completely without merit. Frivolous lawsuits create a climate of fear for South Carolina's small businesses. Furthermore, something must be done about capping damages in medical liability suits. Skyrocketing medical liability insurance rates will make it increasingly difficult for medical practitioners to afford health insurance rates and for businesses hoping to provide insurance for their employees.
Small business wants the government to get rid of the red tape. The burden of excessive regulation and excessive paperwork needs to be lowered. Regulations are both expensive and intrusive for small business. Businesses waste precious hours completing page after page of forms, some of which are duplicative and burdensome. The cost associated with paperwork is especially expensive for small business because the burden is borne by a limited number of employees. Immigration laws recently passed in the South Carolina General Assembly requiring small business to enforce federal law are a good example of costs and regulatory burdens piled on small business.
Small business wants reduced tax burden and a simplified tax code. High taxes and a ridiculously complex tax code stand in the way of small business growth. South Carolina needs to reduce the tax burden on small business not just continuing to load it on the backs of small business. Furthermore, a tax code in South Carolina that makes clarity and simplicity the rule not the exception will allow us to continue to provide jobs.
As the voice of small business, NFIB/South Carolina has worked successfully with the General Assembly to provide opportunities for small business owners to achieve the American Dream, but we still have much to do.
The opportunity to reduce healthcare costs by enabling small businesses to pool together to buy health insurance was passed recently. However, with limited options on insurance companies in South Carolina, prices remain high and continue to increase.
There has been some workers' compensation reform; however, the General Assembly would serve South Carolinians well by focusing now on including objective guidelines when determining awards.
A recent law was passed to provide incentives, not mandates, for installation of fire sprinklers; however, some of the relief proposed in the bill is at the discretion of local government.
So again, small business owners don't want government handouts or another government agency to "lead" them. They simply ask that government not stand in the way of our country's heritage of rugged individualism and free enterprise.
