Obama promising to help small business owners

President Barack Obama introduced initiatives today that would allow small businesses greater access to credit and job creation support, measures designed to answer critics of his economic record.

Government contractors would receive accelerated federal payments, Washington would streamline paperwork to acquire disaster loans and small businesses would get easier access to credit, Reuters reported.

“The president’s announcement today has a simple goal: help small businesses by helping the community banks whose business it is to serve them,” Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a release.

Also, among the initiatives, small-business owners would be able to write off $250,000 in expenses, The Associated Press reported.

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Opponents accused the White House of “recycling” its modest efforts.

“The White House has so little to offer small businesses they’ve resorted to recycling, reusing and repackaging,” a spokesman for Republican House leader John Boehner said, according to Reuters. “This is no solace for small businesses facing a huge tax increase next year under the president’s plan.”

The GOP emphasized Obama is trying to tax those who earn more than $250,000.

On Monday, the president asked Congress to extend – for one year – tax cuts for families that earn less than $250,000, but end cuts for those above that mark.

Obama offered a counter-argument that said he’s cut taxes to high earners 18 times, and 97 percent of small-business owners fall under the threshold, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“We know what those who are opposed to letting the high-end tax cuts expire will say,” Obama said, according to the WSJ. “They’ll say that we can’t tax ‘job creators.’ And they’ll try to explain how this would be bad for small businesses.”

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