LITTLE ROCK, AR --
FOX16 News took a tour of Arkansas Flag & Banner, a nearly forty-year-old business that continues to grow. Owner Kerry McCoy says she's succeeded -- thanks to Small Business Association loans that allowed her to buy a building and equipment."She's a poster child for what President Obama in terms of creating that economy that's built to last, an economy built on middle-class values," said Marie Johns, deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration.
SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns said President Obama wants to help small businesses even more by giving tax credits and cut down on the bureaucracy. It's now the focus on Capitol Hill.
"Do we see this passing in an election year?" I asked.
"Shame on Congress if they don't pass it. The other thing, President Obama has done is not to politicize issues. The stakes are too high," said Johns.
But Republicans argue businesses can't profit under an Obama administration, mainly because the president wants to increase taxes for those who make more than $250,000 a year.
"A lot of small businesses are in that category so you're looking at a tax increase on small business. If they do well they have to pay more in taxes," said Doyle Webb, chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas.
Arkansas Democrats say Congress should look at how things are run here to get things done.
"A lot of what we see in Washington right now is the inaction of a Republican Congress essentially. People have looked to see they're engaged in partisan bickering. We need less of it in Washington and certainly don't need it here in Arkansas," said Candace Martin, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
