Protect Small Businesses, Preserve Our Campus

One of the beauties of this campus is also one of its main attractions, drawing people from all over the city of Madison everyday. Leading directly to the capital, State Street is lined with many trendy boutiques, coffee shops and eateries that will satisfy any craving, even for the pickiest eaters. One could find whatever type of popcorn their heart desired at Vic’s Corn Popper, or create any costume imaginable at Ragstock. If you’re looking for a particular hat, it could probably be found at the Sacred Feather, and if your bike breaks down along the way, take it to the Yellow Jersey. The businesses on State Street are convenient, and they provide the residents of this campus with a variety of places to shop and eat. Simply strolling down State Street is an experience in itself. However, one important observation that many residents may fail to notice is that many of these stores are, in fact, small businesses.

Small businesses make up 99 percent of businesses in this country, and have historically employed half of the U.S. workforce. Our country has been able to thrive because of small businesses, and these businesses have provided jobs for many Americans all over the country. Having a variety of businesses on State not only makes our campus unique, but it provides many students with employment opportunities. I, in fact, work on State at Jimmy John’s, and I am extremely thankful that I even have a job considering the number of people that are unemployed in this country.

I bring this up because small businesses are now being threatened. We are all aware of the ongoing healthcare debate, and I’m sure most people understand the harms associated with preserving the status quo. There’s no doubt in my mind that reform is needed, it’s just the ways in which our government plans on administering these changes worries me. The Democratic plan for a government takeover of healthcare would impose more than $820 billion in new tax hikes, and Democrats want to enact a $544 billion surtax on the so-called “rich” to help pay for this government takeover. According to the IRS, the majority of the “rich” targeted by this surtax are small business owners. Small businesses struggle to stay in business as it is, so by imposing a surtax this could force small business owners to cut costs, leading to millions of job losses. So the question is, why are Democrats pushing a government takeover of health care that will harm small businesses and increase job losses?

This just doesn’t make sense.

Just the other day I passed by Up Spatique on State Street, and a “70 percent everything” sign caught my eye. Well of course I walked in to take a look; I wasn’t going to pass up a sale. But as I glanced around I noticed the store was almost completely bare, and then it hit me that this place was going out of business. It’s upsetting to witness such a misfortune, but it’s even more upsetting to know that every employee of Up is now unemployed. Now imagine our beautiful State Street empty. Picture businesses closing all along the road, with “For Rent” signs in every window. What would that do to our campus? What would we have left?

--Sarah Hertz