Vice Presidential Debate Solidifies Small Businesses' Importance to Economy

Thursday night's vice presidential debate doubled down on the importance of small business to our economy and our recovery. The focus on small employers was as apparent during the vice presidential debate as it was during the first presidential debate in Denver. We're pleased to see that the health and welfare of small business is such a huge part of the discussion.

It was also encouraging to hear key small business issues being clarified during this debate, such as whether allowing tax cuts for high-income earners to expire would impact small businesses. It was explained that the majority of real, mom and pop businesses in America would in fact not be impacted if the Bush tax cuts' are allowed to expire at the end of the year. Only 3 percent of small businesses would be affected if those cuts expired, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The small businesses that line Main Street, that employ and service our local communities, are not the ones who would benefit from these cuts. And we know they don't support extending the cuts, either. Our national polling found the majority of small businesses agree the tax cuts should lapse. What's more, our poll showed only 3 percent of respondents had annual household income above $250,000.

We're glad small businesses are remaining front and center through the campaign, and hope key issues affecting them are addressed in a clear and honest fashion in the final weeks leading up to the election.