Rubio Talks Economic, Education Reforms For Crowd Of Local Entrepreneurs
The 2016 presidential campaign is in full swing, with a large pack of candidates vying for both the GOP and Democratic nominations. Among them is Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio. Politico reported that last Tuesday, Sen. Rubio spoke at Chicago tech hub 1871, located in the city’s downtown Merchandise Mart. The speech, before more than 200 local entrepreneurs, included discussion of Rubio’s economic plans. Rubio portrayed himself as a candidate “in step with a new era and a fast-changing economy, promising to reform the Tax Code and modernize higher education to better align with how the 21st-century economy now works.” The Washington Post noteed that speaking to his audience, Rubio commented, “Today’s Technological Revolution carries extraordinary opportunities – even more, I believe, than the Industrial Revolution ever did. But we have not yet seized these opportunities, nor is it guaranteed that we will.” The Chicago Sun-Times noted that Rubio’s proposals included “cutting corporate tax rate to ‘empower innovators’ and reforming the immigration system to make it skill and merit-based rather than family-based to bring in top talent to grow the economy and create jobs.” Part of his proposal also included higher education reforms. Rubio proposed measures mandating “companies to tell students how much they can expect to earn with a certain degree before they take out loans and sign up for class.” He also proposed that student loan repayments be “based on income.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Though small business owners differ in their political philosophies and the role Federal government should play, last Tuesday’s speech was significant for Chicago’s small business community, particularly the tech sector, as it showed that the 2016 presidential race has begun in earnest, and candidates are keeping small business owners and tech entrepreneurs in mind when crafting policies.
Additional Reading
The New York Times and the Miami Herald were among the additional outlets that covered Rubio’s Chicago speech.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
