From Corona to the Coachella Valley, small businesses are the backbone of our communities across the 41st District. In Congress, one of my top priorities will be ensuring they have a voice in Washington that will fight to build an economy and champion investment that will help them grow.
This starts with supporting entrepreneurs and making sure they have access to the resources needed to start and grow a thriving business. California has a longstanding heritage of individuals with powerful ideas that can transform the world if given the opportunity to grow. We must maintain an environment in which the Californians with the best ideas have the best shot to succeed.
That starts with expanding access to capital, and making sure no Californians are left behind. Our small and community banks play a key role in supporting local businesses, and we must ensure their strength. I’ll also work to expand federal programs designed to help entrepreneurs get businesses off the ground and achieve early-stage growth, such as a Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. We can also lessen risks for entrepreneurs by expanding support systems. Creating a public health insurance option that allows individuals to buy into a high-quality Medicare-like plan at an affordable cost can eliminate a major barrier to taking the risk to start a business. Californians shouldn’t have to choose between developing their groundbreaking business idea and ensuring healthcare for their family.
Once small businesses are afloat, we need to level the playing field so they can compete against large corporations that have gathered too much power. I’ll work to hold big businesses accountable for price gouging, which can raise costs for small businesses that they can’t afford. I’ll also be a watchdog to ensure that large corporations can’t use near-monopoly power to compete unfairly and drive our local businesses into bankruptcy through illegal market manipulation. And we must pass tax reform that levels the playing field and eliminates the countless tax loopholes that multinational corporations take advantage of to dodge paying what they owe. Too often, big companies powered by armies of accountants pay next to nothing in taxes, while small businesses are forced to pick up the slack. We must create an economic environment in which competition is robust and fair so that the best businesses providing great services or products to Californians succeed, not the ones with the deepest pockets.
It is equally critical that we foster a fair regulatory environment that allows businesses to innovate and grow without being held back. I’ll work to cut unnecessary regulations that do little to keep Californians safer, but impede growth. In particular, I support efforts to reform excessive occupational licensing requirements so that individuals with the skills and training to work in their chosen fields are not excluded by red tape.
Above all, I’ll always be an advocate that fights for California small businesses, working to expand markets that can boost startups and longstanding businesses alike, and bring home investments in our infrastructure, broadband, and schools that ensure a strong climate for business growth.
