15 Mar Obama plans to boost small biz
President Barack Obama is looking for some sector of the economy to lead the nation out of recession, and he’s putting down a $730 million dollar bet Monday on small businesses.
Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will announce a plan Monday to make it easier for these entrepreneurs to tap into billions of dollars in federal lending aid to fight a credit crunch that has brought business borrowing to a standstill.
The plan includes $730 million from the economic stimulus bill to cut small-business lending fees. They’ll also raise the government guarantee on some Small Business Administration loans to 90 percent, which they hope is enough to get reluctant banks back in the lending business.
“We know that small businesses are the engine of growth in the economy,” said Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “We absolutely want to do things to help them.”
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