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Unsurprisingly, many of the big banks that accepted bailout money are still refusing to actually lend it to small businesses. Maybe this makes me sound like a pessimist, but I never really expected that when the last administration passed this legislation that companies that have shown themselves to be greedy, ineffective, and unconcerned with the wellbeing of their customers and employees would very suddenly change their opinions because they’d been handed free money.  However, I would have hoped that they would have at least lived up to the standard of dignity that businesses used to purport rather than the lowered expectations that the actions of so many large corporations have given to the public.

The ones who really suffer from this, however, are small businesses. While the multi-nationals are able to ride out the storm, it’s the local shops, service providers, cottage industries, and home internet companies that need credit to purchase supplies and pay employees. And it’s these companies that are finding it harder to get credit from banks that are more than willing to liquidate them and take the profit associated with that, claiming that they are unable to take the risks. And this is a good point, since they can’t afford to take financial risks if they spend over $42 million, part of that received from bailouts, on lobbyists to defeat legislation that would allow federal judges to cram down mortgage payments for homeowners (i.e. taxpayers) in need. Please visit http://firedoglake.com/money-spent-on-lobbying-to-defeat-mortgate-cramdown-in-1q-2009/ for a helpful chart based on Q1 lobbying report showing how much was spent in lobbyists and how much a company received in TARP funds.

The irony of this whole situation is that the groups coming to the aid of small business are not exactly the kind one might expect. In fact, I was shocked to see a union, the Service Employees International Union, come out in favor of small businesses being hurt by large banks unwilling to lend to them. In fact, they started a website and hotline (http://www.keepworkinghotline.org/) to collect the stories of companies suffering from this kind of betrayal and use them in lobbying efforts on their behalf. My personal feelings that businesses and unions should be able to find a consistent common ground in the well-being of the employees and quality of work aside, this is rather monumental.

There was a time when large businesses still had integrity, and I find it disappointing in the extreme to see them fall, industry by industry, on a daily basis. I believe in the small businessman and think they deserve every opportunity to make something wonderful with their company. Denying them in favor of higher profits and support for the lobbying industry will ultimately hurt business across the board, but I fear that the long-term planners have long since become endangered in the business community.