Obama’s plan to help small biz hiring
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: So as we said, the economy grows, but jobs still lag. The president hopes to create some jobs with an idea he’s pitching today to Congressional Republicans. Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman has that.
Mitchell Hartman: The president wants tax credits of $5,000 for each new employee a small business brings on this year. And a payroll tax holiday for adding to employees’ hours or giving them a raise. Small businesses are responsible for roughly 2 in 3 new jobs, so getting this employment engine running again is a key priority.
But management consultant and professor Peter Cohan is skeptical a hiring tax credit will make much difference. He says businesses have perfected the art of getting by with fewer people.
PETER COHAN: You look at the productivity statistics and they are tremendous. Because businesses are able to squeeze so much out of a very small number of employees. And they are going to be very reluctant to hire new people unless they absolutely feel they are going to miss out on business if they don’t hire them. So I don’t think this tax credit is going to be enough to push them over the edge.
In addition to the hiring tax credit, the president is pushing small-business tax breaks on capital gains and new business investment.
I’m Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.
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