Advertisement

Small Business Hiring May Be Key To Economic Rebound

27:59
Download Audio
Resume
President Obama stops for breakfast with small business owners, Tuesday, at Rausch's Cafe in Guttenberg, Iowa, during his three-day economic bus tour. (AP)
President Obama stops for breakfast with small business owners, Tuesday, at Rausch's Cafe in Guttenberg, Iowa, during his three-day economic bus tour. (AP)

This week President Obama rolled up his sleeves, shed his tie, and boarded a black bus that rolled through the American heartland. Speaking in Peosta, Iowa, Tuesday, Obama said the economic recovery is coming, but that it won't start in Washington, D.C.

"It's going to start on the ranchlands and farms of the Midwest, in the workshops of basement inventors," Obama said. "And the storefronts of small business owners."

Small business owners. According to the government, small businesses have been responsible for two-thirds of all the new jobs created in the past 15 years. So if we're going to create jobs, small businesses hold the key.

But the weak economy remains a big challenge. Many business owners are hesitant to add to their payrolls, or simply can't. So, what can the state and federal government do to help small business grow, and begin putting more people back to work?

Guests:

  • Robert Pollin, professor of economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; co-director, Political Economy Research Institute
  • Kate Putnam, president, Package Machinery
  • Mike Van Der Sleesen, CEO, Vanson Leathers
  • Curt Nickish, business and technology reporter, WBUR

This segment aired on August 16, 2011.

Advertisement

More from Radio Boston

Listen Live
Close