Clinton Talks Major Small Business Issues During the First Debate

Date: September 29, 2016

While she touched on improving taxes, regulations, and general conditions for small business, Clinton also urged paid family leave and minimum wage increases.

Small business made an early appearance in the first presidential debate when Hillary Clinton raised the issue during her first answer.

“I want us to invest in you,” she told the country. “I want us to invest in your future. That means jobs in infrastructure, in advanced manufacturing, innovation and technology, clean, renewable energy, and small business, because most of the new jobs will come from small business.” 

ELECTION NEWS IS BREAKING LEFT AND RIGHT: READ HOW NEW DEVELOPMENTS IMPACT SMALL BUSINESS.

Clinton leads Trump 45 percent to 41 percent in the latest poll, conducted by Morning Consult, according to Business Insider. Clinton feels confident that the American people got a better idea of what she can do from the debate. “The real point is about temperament and fitness and qualification to hold the most important, hardest job in the world, and I think people saw last night some very clear differences between us,” she said in a Washington Post story.

Here’s what else Clinton had to say about small business issues during the debate. 

Taxes 

“We also, though, need to have a tax system that rewards work and not just financial transactions. And the kind of plan that Donald has put forth would be trickle-down economics all over again. In fact, it would be the most extreme version, the biggest tax cuts for the top percent of the people in this country than we’ve ever had. I call it trumped-up trickle-down, because that’s exactly what it would be. That is not how we grow the economy.” 

“And so what I believe is the more we can do for the middle class, the more we can invest in you, your education, your skills, your future, the better we will be off and the better we’ll grow.” 

Small Business 

“My father was a small businessman. He worked really hard. He printed drapery fabrics on long tables, where he pulled out those fabrics and he went down with a silkscreen and dumped the paint in and took the squeegee and kept going.”

Regulations 

“What I have proposed would cut regulations and streamline them for small businesses.” 

“I think it’s important that we grip [climate change] and deal with it, both at home and abroad. And here’s what we can do. We can deploy a half a billion more solar panels. We can have enough clean energy to power every home. We can build a new modern electric grid. That’s a lot of jobs; that’s a lot of new economic activity.” 

Minimum Wage/Paid Sick Leave 

“We also have to make the economy fairer. That starts with raising the national minimum wage and also guarantee, finally, equal pay for women’s work.” 

“We need to have strong growth, fair growth, sustained growth. We also have to look at how we help families balance the responsibilities at home and the responsibilities at business.” 

“So let’s have paid family leave, earned sick days. Let’s be sure we have affordable child care and debt-free college.”

*Note: This news coverage does not equate to an endorsement of any candidate by NFIB.

Photo credit: Michael Davidson for Hillary for America

Related:

Hillary Clinton’s Economic Plan: What Does it Mean for Small Business?

Donald Trump Focuses on Taxes, Regulations, and Healthcare in the First Presidential Debate

How Hillary Clinton’s New Small Biz Proposal Aims to Protect Main Street

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