Dashboard: What Does the Trump Chaos Mean for Small Businesses?

This week, John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, assesses what he sees happening in Washington. Arensmeyer, who recently took a group of business owners to Capitol Hill where they shared their concerns with Democrats and Republicans alike, says the chaos and uncertainty President Trump has unleashed are a disaster. Along with the tariffs and indications that the economy is slowing, Arensmeyer notes that the proposed cuts to the ACA and Medicaid -- while not generally seen as a business issue -- will have a bigger impact on small businesses than many realize. Plus: with the conversation about renewing the 2017 Trump tax cuts gaining steam, Arensmeyer makes an appeal that will surprise some to scrap the 20-percent deduction for pass-through organizations. He notes that 73 percent of the deduction’s benefits go to just 4.5 percent of pass-through businesses. Instead, he proposes creating a standard deduction that would help far more small businesses.