Obama "Roadmap for Recovery" Ignores U.S. Census Bureau Data On New Jobs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2009

Petaluma, Calif. - President Barack Obama is rolling out his latest program to create jobs and stimulate the economy, the "Roadmap to Recovery." Like all of President Obama's previous economic stimulus plans, this plan continues to ignore the latest U.S Census Bureau data, which indicates that small businesses create over 97 percent of all new jobs in America. (http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200708/data.html)

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, 98 percent of all American firms have less than 100 employees and those firms are responsible for more than 97 percent of all net new jobs. These firms employ over 50.2 percent of the private sector workforce, and are responsible for over 95 percent of all U.S exports and over 90 percent of all technical innovations and patents. Conversely, Census Bureau data indicates that large businesses have not created one net new job in America since 1977.

As opposed to immediate economic stimulus programs, the "Roadmap to Recovery" focuses on long-term infrastructure improvements to 107 national parks, 98 airports, 90 veterans medical centers and more than 1,500 highways. No provision in the new plan requires any portion of the recovery funds to be specifically allocated to small businesses. Absent any pro-small business provisions, the vast majority of the funds will likely go to large businesses.

Like all of President Obama's previous economic stimulus plans, the "Roadmap to Recovery" continues to allow Fortune 500 firms to receive federal contracts specifically allocated to small businesses.

Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have found that Fortune 500 firms receive billions of dollars in government small businesses contracts every month.

Investigative reports by ABC, CBS and CNN have found the recipients of government small business contracts to include Wal-Mart, Dell Computer, Verizon, Xerox, Sherwin-Williams, John Deere, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Home Depot, British Aerospace (BAE), Rolls-Royce and Dutch corporate giant Buhrmann NV. (ABC, http://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv; CBS, http://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv; CNN, http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)

An extensive investigative report by the Washington Post found Fortune 500 firms alone had received approximately 38.5 percent of all federal small business contracts. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102102989.html)

In a recent interview on CNN's Wolf Blitzer Show, Dr. Laura Tyson acknowledged the most effective method to stimulate the economy and create jobs would be to direct existing federal infrastructure spending to small businesses. Dr. Tyson is the former Chair of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors and is currently an economic advisor to President Obama. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Z0Kz0Xa8E)