Depending on whom you ask, the economy of the United States is a hot topic for any business owner, or analyst willing to delve into it. For Ohio small business owners the health of the state’s economy is always an important part, and the changes that can affect their business are always a hot issue. Tax changes, especially changes that affect them particularly are viewed carefully by them and are not always welcomed. For news about the state of the U.S economy, follow the links below.
Ohio’s major chambers of commerce rap John Kasich’s tax plan as divisive and bad for business
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a letter to Gov. John Kasich, nine key chambers of commerce from around the state wrote that his tax reform proposals will shift tax burdens, cause friction and hurt businesses.
The chambers, while pledging to work with Kasich and legislative leaders in the future, said they don’t believe Kasich’s tax proposal will help to bolster Ohio’s economy.
“The proposed plan does not look to create greater efficiency within government in order to support tax cuts,” they wrote in their letter to Kasich and the leaders of the Ohio House and Senate. “Instead, this plan shifts the tax burden from one group to another, pitting different types and sizes of businesses and individuals seemingly against each other while government spending continues to grow.”
Has American Business Lost Its Mojo?
Over the past three decades, the American economy has become less vigorous. An extensive body of evidence shows that the public focus on the success of high-tech companies like Apple and Google masks an overall downward trend in key measures of business vitality.
“Business deaths now exceed business births for the first time in the thirty-plus year history of our data,” note Ian Hathaway and Robert E. Litan, economists at the Brookings Institution, in a May 2014 essay, “Declining Business Dynamism in the United States.”
There is widespread support for their assertion. Jim Clifton, chairman and C.E.O. of Gallup, wrote in a January 2015 essay, “American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?”:
Until 2008, start-ups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 a year. But in the past six years, that number has suddenly turned upside down. There has been an underground earthquake.
The Cleveland Flea: Why sellers are sold on it
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Flea started two years ago with 40 businesses participating. On April 11, when the Flea starts its outdoor season, about 160 businesses will be selling. And Flea organizers say there’s a long wait list to join the party. I posed the following three questions to a handful of Flea vendors:
*How has participating in the Flea changed your business?
*What’s the best part of the Flea?
*What do you hope to see for the Flea in the future?
And here is what they said:
What they sell: Specialists in interior design, estate sales, antiques, mid-century modern, gifts and things
