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Small Businesses Suffer Because of the Trump Shutdown

Commentary: While Democrats work to find solutions to end the Trump Shutdown, Donald Trump continues to hold workers’ paychecks hostage to fund his unnecessary and ineffective wall that he promised Mexico would pay for. The ripple effect of the Trump Shutdown is also affecting small businesses across the country.

See below:

North Jersey Record: This Hackensack brewery's plans are now on hold because of the government shutdown

“Michael Roosevelt and Blake Crawford, the married co-owners, planned to open a second production facility across the street from their Voorhis Lane brewery. That move, they said, would quadruple beer production, double their employee base and expand distribution of their North Jersey brews across state lines. But those plans are currently on hold. With the federal government shutdown entering its third week, the federal agency that would issue Alementary the necessary permits for their expansion plans has been deemed non-essential and closed.”

Washington Post: Single moms, small-business owners among those forced to crowdfund to pay bills during shutdown

“Katherine Ogilvie of Mariposa, Calif., created a GoFundMe page to help keep her small family business running during the shutdown. Her company creates craft kits that are sold mostly at stores at national parks, she writes. ‘I have orders I cannot ship due to the closure and I am waiting on $2282 in unpaid, past due federal agency invoices. I am facing $6000 in lost sales if government doesn’t open by the end of January,’ she wrote in her funding appeal.”

KULR-8: Government shutdown affects small businesses

“Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is known for its preservation of life by fighting to take a stand. As the sun sets, visitors cross the road to Custer Battlefield Trading Post to eat and shop...that's where Putt Thompson and Jill Thompson are taking their last stand. ‘Government employees might be getting their pay withheld, so it will affect us. The tribe now is low on money and because of that it will certainly be reflected on our sales and our food sales as well,’ said Putt Thompson.”

Ashland Daily Press: Shutdown affecting Wisconsin businesses

“It also means new and existing businesses can't apply for new loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA [...] Businesses can’t apply for new financing, which Monnett said could hurt small businesses that are working to grow.”

KCUR: Small Contractors In Kansas City May Soon Feel The Pinch Of The Government Shutdown

“Many small businesses with government contracts are also dealing with uncertainty, although there is one certainty: Things can change quickly. ‘I just got a notice that we're not going to get paid on one project,’ said Randy McAlexander, general manager of Medvolt, a contractor based in Colorado Springs that just opened a Kansas City office. [...] ‘They furloughed the Bureau of Indian Affairs representatives that control our contracts.’ Just like that $20,000 McAlexander was counting is now in limbo.”

FOX8: Government shutdown affects SBA loans, local grants

“Malone said while her organization is able to continue its operation without the tens of thousands of dollars it is owed, the shutdown is not good for small business owners in general. ‘A lot of times, once something gets disrupted it takes so much time to get it back on track. So if you are a business owner and you are looking for that SBA loan to give you working capital to take on a new project, not only might you not get that capital to do the project, you might miss out on that opportunity altogether. It can have reputational damage going forward for you for other opportunities,’ Malone stated.”

KRON4: How the government shutdown is impacting Bay Area businesses

“Sam Samhouri, the owner of City Cup Cafe in Oakland said the government shutdown is causing him to lose about 60 percent of his business. The coffee shop sits across the street from a federal building, which is normally busy. Sam Samhouri said people coming in and out of the building would usually stop by his cafe, but now its empty.”

News12: Mom and pop shops hit in the wallet by government shutdown

“Planet Pizza in Norwalk just had to spend $12,000 on a new air-conditioning system. The store normally would have sought to get a loan from the Small Business Administration, but because of the shutdown that wasn't possible. The SBA is closed and is not processing any new loans. ‘As you see, nowadays, more and more places are closing,’ says Dave Kuban, owner of Planet Pizza. ‘It's getting harder and harder. All the big companies are coming in and pushing the little guys out.’”

ABC7: Faces of the shutdown: In second week, more people impacted by closed agencies

“Across the street from the locked National Zoo in Washington, the owner of a kosher bakery says the shutdown is very stressful for her business and she's missing out on foot traffic that brings customers in the door. ‘When the zoo is closed they don't come, it's hard for us but I still honor my commitment to pay my staff... all of my expenses,’ Yael Krigman, owner of Baked by Yael, told ABC News affiliate WJLA.”

Poughkeepsie Journal: As government shutdown continues, Dutchess County locals fear impact

“Mary Kay Vrba, president and CEO of Dutchess Tourism, Inc., said she's concerned about the long-term effects of a shutdown. Right now, would-be visitors can't book tours and trips at historic sites for later in the year, and organizations and businesses can't schedule conferences, training sessions or workshops there [...] And once a park is open again, it takes time to get the word out.”

ABC13: Local winery feeling ripple effects of government shutdown

“Just two days before the shutdown they got formula approval to make their new chocolate raspberry wine. Step two is getting the OK to make the label, which is something that can't happen while the government is closed. ‘He's [Robert] been making wine for about 15 years. Our daughter makes all the graphics, all of our labels, and all of that hard work is just kind of on hold, on the shelf... until we can get it out for our customers,’ said Julia Benfield.”

13IWBW: Local pumpkin patch feels effects of partial government shutdown

“Gary Starr is awaiting approval of disaster insurance to buy things like pumpkin seeds and fertilizer for the upcoming growing season. ‘I didn’t realize it, but the other day, I sent them an email, and they’re shut down. I haven’t gotten an answer yet whether or not they approved my disaster payment for the insurance of pumpkins.’ With no end to the shutdown in sight, the small business can't look ahead to the future.”

Portland Press Herald: Shutdown is felt in Maine, from small business loans to housing vouchers

“Small businesses also are being affected by confusion about new tax codes passed last spring. An initial version of the tax reform imposed an income cap on a 20 percent tax deduction for certain categories of mom-and-pop businesses, but then rescinded it in a later version. Clarity has to come from the Department of Treasury, which is one of the federal agencies affected by the shutdown. Until then, small businesses are in limbo on how to file their 2018 taxes.”