Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I absorbed the concept that one crucial building block that made the United States great was a strong middle class. Small businesses play a central role in the U.S. economy. Small businesses employ one half of all private sector workers and drive one-half of the economy.

Under the Biden-Harris administration there has been an unprecedented 17 million new business applications filed. Small businesses have created over 70 percent of net new jobs since 2019. These gains were stimulated by the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Kamala Harris has proposed the following to continue to bolster small businesses:

—Raising the startup deduction from $5,000 to $50,000.

—Establishing a standard tax deduction for small businesses.

—Making it easier to obtain occupational licenses to work across state lines.

—Offering incentives for reduction in state and local small business regulations.

—Expanding contract opportunities for rural and other underserved small businesses.

—Supporting the State Small Business Credit Initiative

—Continuing support of the Economic Opportunity Coalition.

Other factors contributing to the starting and success of small businesses include: access to health care/insurance; work force education; child care; infrastructure. All are issues addressed in the 2024 Democratic Party Platform.

An economy grows from the bottom up and the middle out. Let’s vote for “a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.” (Kamala Harris) Vote for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Tim Kaine, and Leslie Mehta.

Peggy Newsome
Cobbs Creek, Va.