The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult years for small business in more than half a century. In 2021, the road to recovery for Michigan goes through Main Street and no one has more ability to lead an economic recovery than Michigan’s small business owners.

In almost every recession or downturn, small business owners have always been the economic “shock absorber,” as the last to lay off employees and the first to hire during economic cycles. While the circumstances in 2020 were certainly unprecedented, the resiliency and resolve of the small business owner is time tested.

First and foremost, NFIB’s Michigan Main Street Agenda for 2021 will seek to restore the role of the legislature in policy making and governance. The Michigan Supreme Court made it clear with their recent decision halting the governor’s abuse of the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, that the balance of power in the governance of our state is one of the hallmarks of our system of representative government that must be respected.

No state agency should have the power to close an entire segment of the economy without legislative oversight. The continuation of the governor’s closure orders through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the harassment of small business through other state agencies must end.

Other items on the Main Street Agenda include efforts to shore up the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to mitigate payroll tax increases, working to assure small business equity in any road funding proposal, guard against attempts to raise small business taxes to bail out government budgets, seek license fee waivers for business forced to close, and moving the Line 5 pipeline project forward.

The entire NFIB Michigan 2021 Main Street Agenda can be found HERE.