"During Small Business Week, I'm especially grateful for the entrepreneurs and small businesses that drive innovation, create jobs, and keep our economy running," Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) tweets.
Small businesses strengthen Nebraska’s communities. During Small Business Week, I’m especially grateful for the entrepreneurs and small businesses that drive innovation, create jobs, and keep our economy running. pic.twitter.com/cefqCH89RE
— Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) May 3, 2026
But there's another side to the coin.
"Gas prices are high because Washington limits your choices at the pump," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) tweets. "My Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act cuts EPA red tape, expands access to ethanol and alternative fuels, and lets the market drive prices down. We need energy freedom, not government mandates."
Gas prices are high because Washington limits your choices at the pump. My Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act cuts EPA red tape, expands access to ethanol and alternative fuels, and lets the market drive prices down. We need energy freedom, not government mandates.
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 3, 2026
Sometimes it feels as if power brokers in Washington, D.C., aspire to have the remainder of the world look at this nation and see a bending of the will of the people to the policies originated by the federal government rather than a people thriving in self-government, entrepreneurship, and commercial productivity. We will never be liked by nations that repress their subjects and abuse their people. If they hate freedom, they will hate the U.S. Because they hate freedom, they will hate the U.S. So it leads a wondering mind to grab at explanations as to why the federal government would allow or impose hindrances to the free flourishing of productivity and creativity.
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The marketplace of business and commerce is one of the ways through which the United States stands separate from what takes place in other parts of the world and from other regimes that have polluted history with repression and despair. Coming together with ideas and advancements that grow us as a people is one of the ways we are taken forward.
Small businesses, in particular, go a long way in fueling our economic progress. "Mom and pop" businesses, as they are sometimes colloquially referenced, are able to do a lot of the producing, serving, selling, employing, and taxpaying in various communities around the U.S. The charm of small businesses is that they offer independence from the regulations and demands of giant corporations. They offer a more personal and community-born approach, which allows them to both serve and employ in ways that are uniquely tailored to such places.
There are a couple of constant concerns for small businesses. One is that they might get pushed out of the way by those aforementioned giant corporations, and another is that an overburdensome government will cut off their ability to do business. That can happen through an overly inflationary economic environment, stoked by too much government spending. It can happen through high corporate taxes that severely limit the amount of reinvestment money a small business has. And it can happen as a result of regulations that siphon time, energy, and money, of course. Such regulations are alluded to by Sen. Paul.
When capital goes to the government instead of small businesses, it cannot be put back into doing business. It cannot be put toward hiring another employee or boosting an employed person's salary. It cannot be put toward researching new products or services, or improving those already offered. It cannot be used in any other way, so it disappears into the abyss of the expenditure part of the balance sheet. It is gobbled up, never to be properly realized or utilized by the small business.
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