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Perriello visits business owners
Jul 7, 2010
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010 By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer Supporting small businesses is key to job creation and improving the economy, according to 5th District U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello. After a brief meeting with some residents at Rania's Restaurant on Tuesday morning, Perriello, D-Albemarle County, visited several small business owners on Main Street in Martinsville. The trip was part of a tour of Main Streets in the district to discuss challenges business owners face and ways to address their concerns. Robert Ramos of Ramos Cleaning Service said he has 45 employees in his nine-year-old business. "I want to expand. I think small businesses are the backbone of our economy," Ramos told Perriello. However, "we need some more banks to support small businesses" and make loans, he said. Perriello, a freshman congressman who is seeking a second term in the November election, said lending is one of two concerns shared by a majority of small business owners. The other is increasing the number of customers. The number of customers patronizing small businesses will increase as confidence in the economy improves, Perriello predicted. New legislation recently approved by the House called the Small Business Lending Fund was created to help address the lending situation, he said. Small- and medium-sized banks participating in that program would pay a lower interest rate if they increase the number of loans made to small businesses, Perriello said. The idea for the legislation came from his meetings with small business owners, he said. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the lending fund will save taxpayers $1 billion over 10 years, according to information on Perriello's website. The legislation is pending in the Senate, said Perriello's press secretary, Jessica Barba. Perriello said he also supported the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act, which also has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action. It offers a "capital gains tax holiday" for those investing in small businesses this year and increases the deduction for start-up expenses, from $5,000 to $20,000, he said. The savings can then be reinvested in job creation, he added. Cindy Summit, who co-owns S&K Office Products, discussed the impact of health care costs on her business, while Sheree Dandridge said customers are needed in her Its Your Time Salon. "There's not much (foot) traffic" or walk-in customers, Dandridge said. Across the street at Carter's clothing store, owner Sandy Carter told Perriello that the congressman is in a position to tell others in Washington that Martinsville "is the most depressed area" in the country. Perriello said he has personally spoken to President Barack Obama about the situation in Martinsville and continues to tell others about it. Carter said he remembers when people used to visit uptown Martinsville "and stay all day." While he cares about other areas and the country as a whole, "I care about Martinsville. To me, this is home," Carter said. A continued focus on job creation and developing blueprints to successfully compete in a global economy also will be instrumental in turning the economy around, Perriello said. "We've got to have a strategy for competition with China," he said. That means determining "what we can make here, grow here or build here." Locally, progress is being made at businesses such as Monogram Foods, which is in the Patriot Centre industrial park, and the Solutia division in Fieldale, formerly known as CPFilms, Perriello said. The former recently announced the creation of 150 new jobs, and the latter produces products that are sold globally. "We are making progress. It is happening," Perriello said. Many areas similar to Martinsville are "undervalued in terms of their potential," he said. However, he is confident the area again will enjoy a thriving economy. "Martinsville is not yesterday's news. It is tomorrow's news," he said. |
