FIRST ON FOX: Goldman Sachs, along with the Bipartisan Policy Center, have unveiled a new small business policy playbook with the goal of offering a “roadmap” on the best ways to drive small business growth during the upcoming Trump administration.
The global investment bank giant, along with the bipartisan think tank and Fox Sports NFL reporter Erin Andrews, are rolling out the “Winning Strategies to Drive Economic Growth” small business growth playbook, which, according to a press release, “offers an actionable playbook to grow the U.S. economy by tackling the most pressing challenges faced by our nation’s small businesses.”
“We are proud to partner with the Bipartisan Policy Center to provide lawmakers on both sides of the aisle with actionable policy solutions to help level the playing field for small businesses,” John F.W. Rogers, executive vice president of Goldman Sachs, said. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and will help fuel economic opportunity, growth and prosperity.”
Included in the roadmap are recommendations in three “crucial areas”: workforce, cost of doing business, and innovation and opportunity that “incorporate insights gathered directly from small business owners through extensive research.”
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The plan promotes benefits for employees of small businesses, including amending the retirement startup credit, enhancing the paid family leave tax credit, updating child care tax credits and strengthening programs that “support working parents” by expanding the child care labor market.
The plan also calls for skills training that will “encourage partnerships between the Small Business Administration (SBA) resource partners and workforce programs to offset training costs and upskill workers.”
According to the plan, “removing financial barriers” will play a key role in addressing the “cost of doing business,” and Goldman Sachs emphasizes the importance of access to capital via expanding Small Business Investment Companies and revamping technical assistance of microloans and fintech financing solutions.
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“In a time in which America is looking for commonsense, bipartisan wins from Washington, lawmakers should look no further than to the Small Business Policy Playbook for strategies to help small businesses lift up the American economy,” Jessica Johnson-Cope, president and principal of Johnson Security Bureau, Inc., a third-generation family-owned security services firm based in the Bronx, said in the press release. “This playbook provides a roadmap for how policymakers can support small business owners so we can thrive, grow and create jobs and opportunities in our communities.”
Additionally, the plan discusses tax policy reform and regulatory relief.
The roadmap also outlines how “innovation and opportunity” can spark growth in the economy by allowing “SBA 7(a) loans to cover technology upgrades and ensure resource providers can support AI and other digital tool adoption” and simplifying “certification processes to help small businesses compete for government contracts.”
In terms of manufacturing, the roadmap calls for the government to “expand access to capital for manufacturers and improve investment opportunities in small manufacturers through Small Business Investment Companies.”
“Republicans and Democrats agree that meaningful economic growth requires a thriving small business sector,” Margret Spellings, President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center, said in the press release. “The Small Business Policy Playbook offers the 119th Congress and the incoming Trump Administration clear legislative recommendations for bipartisan policies that they can enact to empower small businesses to access capital, innovate, and remain competitive in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.”
As part of the roll-out, Goldman Sachs and the Bipartisan Policy Center are teaming up with Andrews in an ad campaign.
“Her message to policymakers is simple: score a win for small businesses,” the press release states. “The ad, which can be viewed online, will run on Connected TV (CTV) as part of a broader push to drive attention and support for small businesses in Washington.”
