Would a Kamala Harris presidency destroy small businesses? Small business expert Carol Roth joins Glenn to make the case: "They want to kill the gig economy and all the small businesses that depend on independent contractors in favor of unions and big business. So, it's very difficult to say, 'I am the small business, I am the worker candidate,' and still be in favor of these things." Carol compares this to "McDonald's being pro-cow." She also explains why Harris' claim that 19 million new business applications have been filed since she and Joe Biden took office is incredibly misleading.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Okay. But, Carol, she does have some things she can boast about.
The small business success. She claims a record of 19 million small business applications were received, under their leadership.
And that's a record, I hear. That's what they say.
CAORL: Okay. So this is -- I think most people know, who listen to me on your program. That I'm one of the world's leading experts on small business.
I've been entrenched for decades. I heard this -- this thing. This small business application.
And I went around, to every group that I know. And I said, what is a small business application?
Because when I started my business, I didn't have to apply, at the federal level.
You know, historically, I had an LLC. I registered that with the state. Some people had sole pro proprietorship. What does this mean?
Because we have 33 million plus businesses. But that only grows on net. Less than a million a year. So how is it possible that we have 19 million new application starts. And so far, no one has really been able to give me an answer. I have one -- one committee, you know, related to the House, who thinks that maybe there's an information that came from the state census data. I asked them. They actually are having a committee hearing. And I asked them, if they could ask, the FDA administrator. And putting her on the hot seat. Because they're running around, touting these made-up statistics to sound like they're some champion of small business. At the same time, Glenn, NFIB came out with their fall business optimism index today.
The 30-second consecutive months, that small business optimism has been below the historical average. And that's a 50-year average.
GLENN: Well, that's because they fear Donald Trump is coming back.
CAORL: For 32 months, yes.
GLENN: It's crazy. Because I see this number, of 19 million small businesses. And I -- and I am like, I thought, that was just because of all the businesses, that they had put out of business. They're like, starting up new businesses. So I just thought, they were taking credit. Like they do with all the job creation.
We've created more jobs. No, you didn't. People went back to work. You had told them, you cannot work.
So, of course, there were people going back to work.
But you're saying, this isn't that, at all. This is possibly even made up.
CAORL: Yeah. It's -- it's something that nobody knows really what it means. It certainly is not a prop -- it's not a prop for new small businesses created, which is what they're intimating. And we know the number of small businesses, you know, a year ago, was 32-point-something million, and then it climbed to 33-point-something million.
You know, yes, that's on that. Unless they're killing a million small businesses a year, which we know, they're certainly trying. But I don't think they've succeeded in doing it yet. That this is an absolute -- it's just, you know, spouting off nonsense.
And they're doing this, you know, again and again to gaslight people. Into things are so great. We're so in your corner. But at the same time, she's coming out, and she's tweeting about anti-small business policies.
Like, the Pro Act, that she said she's going to put in place. Which, for people who don't know, that's the anti-gig worker and anti-independent contractor language from California's 85 (phonetic) taken nationally. And they want to kill the gig economy and all the small businesses that depend on independent contractors, in favor of unions and big business.
So it's very difficult, to say, I am the small business. I am the worker candidate.
And still be in favor of these things. Which is why I equate it to being like McDonald's being pro-Catholic.
GLENN: You know, it is -- as a small business owner myself.
I look at tomorrow. And think, if they get in, the regulations, just the regulations, alone, that are still sitting out there, that they want to impose.
Will just crush small businesses.
These guys, you know, they used to say, well, the -- the Republicans are in with big business.
Well, then we're also in with small business too.
You know, they had a business attitude.
These guys are only big business.
They are only in with the giant global corporations.
That's all they care about. And it's honestly, like they're trying to impoverish, the small business.
And impoverish the middle class.
Without moving any of the middle class up. They're moving them all down.
CAORL: Yeah. I'm glad that you brought up regulations.
Because as I mentioned, there's this House Committee meeting right now.
And they came out with a report earlier this year, that the Biden-Harris agenda. Imposed $1.7 trillion in regulations on small businesses.
Ask that was before we've had some of these pending regulations, go into place. So I am certain, that that's higher.
And that is millions upon millions of hours that are wasted. That is dollars that are wasted.
And that's a barrier to success. You know, we keep hearing this ridiculous phrase, the opportunity economy.
Well, if you want to create opportunity, you reduce war about barriers. You reduce regulations.
You reduce taxes. You reduce the government being up in your business.
And you have the government minding their own business.
So that you can go off and work in your business.
That is what it is all about.
GLENN: You know, I know that our audience is heavy on entrepreneurs.
And people who have done business for a long time.
But there's also a younger generation that listens.
And explain, why regulations hurt opportunity.
CAORL: They hurt opportunity. Because number one, they're costly. Two, you're spending time, complying with the regulation, instead of spending the time working and growing your business.
And the challenge is that if you are a big company. If you're the Amazons of the world. If you're the Walmarts of the world. You have -- not only a whole balance sheet to deal with this.
You have a whole host of people in your company. Whether it's HR. Or whether it's some other administrative functions that can deal with these regulations.
When it comes to small business, the majority, greater majority of small businesses. It's just beyond -- so it's one person, who is already wearing all of those hats trying to deal with this. Even if you have some employees, you don't have the wherewithal, the ability. You're struggling enough to deal with inflation, finding the right workers, you know, remaining competitive, dealing with cyber security and the like. You don't have time, and you don't have the bandwidth. And you don't have capital, to deal with these regulations.
And some of them are so onerous, that people want to close their business. Something that we've been talking about, Glenn, for months now.
That the corporate transparency act, which is this registration, with the financial crimes division of the Treasury. I've had hundreds upon hundreds of small business owners, and people looking to start small businesses, saying that they don't want to. They want to close their business. They don't want to start.
Because they don't want to deal with the asymmetrical risk of having their information exposed or the government coming after them, for doing something wrong.
So because the government is imposing this regulation, which, by the way, is still in flux.
It's preventing these entrepreneurs from taking those risks. And creating opportunity. Which creates jobs. Which creates more dollars in their community. Which grows the economy.
Which is what we need, to move ourself forward. This is so obvious.
But all they want to do is take away wealth. Create barriers. Redistribute it. And make it revery challenging. For a small business owner, to succeed.
GLENN: You -- I think it was you, Carol.
Said, oh, maybe six months ago, we were talking. And you said, Glenn, most of the stuff that they've done, doesn't really kick in until 2025.
So we haven't felt the full impact, of Bidenomics yet. Was that you that said that to me.
CAORL: Quite probably. Quite probably.
GLENN: Okay. So what is it that is coming still, that we haven't felt. Describe next year. Just as it stands, without any new policies. If we just continued where we are?
CAORL: Well, as I said, the House small business committee, is doing a markup on seven different pieces of legislation, trying to overturn, you know, all of these stringent rules for small business. The corporate transparency act. We have until the end of the year, for that to go into effect. If there's no delay. Which, by the way, there's two delay bills. Two repeal bills.
And seven lawsuits. If we don't get that done by the end of the year. Then people are going to be seen as compliant. Then on top of that. You know, we have the tax cuts and jobs act, you know, large pieces of that, is expiring and changing the way the small businesses have to look at their taxes and figure out, you know, what makes them -- from an administrative standpoint. So, you know -- and that's, again, scratching the surface.
So, you know, one after another, there are things in the pipeline. And then if Kamala Harris were to become president.
Again, day one. They will try to rule by executive order. One of the other things, you know, this Department of Labor rule. Very tight. Independent contractor world.
That went into effect in March. They haven't truly been enforcing it yet. I haven't seen much in the way of enforcement. But if they start to crack down on that, that is something that could kill all of the small business across -- across-the-board.
So there are just so many different things, and it's challenging enough to own your own business.
As you know, the small business owner. To not constantly having to be worried about what the next shoe that is going to drop, coming from your own government.
GLENN: Carol, one last question. I would like to take a one-minute break. And then I would like you to come back and talk about. They're talking about a 50-basis point drop in the interest rate in loans.
Some people say, that's really good.
Some people say, that could collapse everything. Can you -- can you explain if that's a good thing or a bad thing, at this point?
Carol Roth is with us. So tell me about the options the fed have, has now.
What's happened with employment. Why they might be dropping the interest rate.
And is it a good thing or a bad thing?
CAORL: Well, so I have always contented that the fed, didn't have the right tools, to address inflation.
And inflation was coming from the pie constraints, not demand. That the Fed really focus on his demand. And after 15 years of zero interest rate policy. That it wasn't them, that changed much of what was going on.
In terms of demand for new loans. Et cetera.
But they have taken up the interest rate very high.
And a lot of people in the market.
A lot of investors, feel like they are behind the curve, in terms of normalizing policy.
Because they don't want to keep it so restrictive, that they cause a recession.
That's the concern all along.
So now that inflation has come down on a headline number. We know cumulatively, it's up over 20 percent. And that's what Americans are contending with. But from a policy standpoint, they see that inflation is coming down. And they see that the labor market, hmm, isn't quite as robust as they had hoped. So they are trying to address policy, to, you know, quash any recessionary outcomes. That's really what they're trying to do.
They have a couple choices. Right? They can do nothing as they have done for quite a while. They can deliver a cut and now they're deciding between --
GLENN: We have about a minute.
CAORL: -- a half a percent. And a quarter percent.
A half of percent may be bad news for them.
Because it may give the market a signal, that things are worse off, than they are.
So I think they will be a little bit more cautious. And go for that 25-basis point or whatever percent cut.
GLENN: All right. So you don't think that it will -- unless it's 50 basis points, I don't think that it will be a bad thing. Other than signaling that things might be worse than they thought.
CAORL: Right. And it's a much bigger signal at 50, than it is at 25, given where we stand with all the data. But I know you have limited time. We can get into this in another day.
GLENN: Yeah. And I'm not sure that anybody will want to open up the purse strings at this point.
I think everybody is waiting to see, what will happen, you know, with the -- with presidential election. I mean, because we're going one way or the other. And they're in opposite directions.
So it's kind of a scary place to be, as an investor, or a small businessperson. Or just, you know, a regular worker, in America today.
Carol, thank you so much. Carol Roth.
