Back to this small business bill. Obama came out swinging against the Republicans and their blockage of this bill. So there has to be a reason why the Republicans do not believe that this bill will not be the small business savior that the Democrats claim it to be. Essentially the argument is that this small business bill will create a $30 billion "lending facility" run by the Treasury Department. Sparing you from the heinously boring details, the concept is that the government will create a fund (using taxpayer money, of course) that will be used by the Treasury Department specifically for community banks. These small banks would then get a percentage of relief based on the amount of small business loans they then provided with this $30 billion fund. In the end, what does this sound like? A bailout plan. If these small banks loan to these business and the businesses end up failing, who ultimately foots the bill? The taxpayers. That's the bottom line. Not wanting the stigma of participating in a mini-TARP, who knows if these small banks would even participate in the program? Besides the stigma, another reason that banks may not want to participate is because of the strings attached .. the regulations. We don't yet know the rigid loan guidelines that regulators are bound to come up with. In this day in age, it seems like the less a company has to get involved with the federal government, the better. And finally, who is to say that credit is even REALLY the problem that these small businesses are facing? A survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that only 6% of business owners said that their biggest problem was tied to getting credit. On the other hand, 30% said that their biggest problem was weak sales. Consumers are hoarding their cash. Who can blame them?