Raise the Hammer

I am a small business owner and member of CFIB - Unfortunately it is difficult to create an organization that is 100% philosophically aligned with 100% of its members, when the membership is so diverse. While not every fight may be agreeable to all, the CFIB does give a stronger voice to small business owners who would otherwise be a squeaking mouse in a stadium full of screaming big-business interests.

For the very small businesses (for instance, I have 1-3 employees depending on season) there are huge financial burdens that make it difficult to operate beyond merely scraping by. As the business owner, I pay EI on behalf of my employees but I have no capability of making a claim myself. The CFIB fights large financial institutions' fees. The CFIB fights credit card companies' insane charges. They fight for elimination of wasteful paperwork burden and general government inefficiencies. Instead of raising taxes, we SHOULD be asking for more efficient government processes so that our collective contributions to society are more efficiently spent.

The smallest businesses pay disproportionately higher taxes compared to big business. I'm not sure you are fighting the right enemy here - huge corporations, banks and politicians are filtering enormous amounts of money away from the collective public good. Being angry at the smallest storefront businesses for wanting a united voice seems counterproductive, when that voice often speaks out against these much larger social drains.

You chose to be self-employed as I once did. There are costs and benefits to doing so. Clearly the benefits outweigh the costs or you wouldn't be doing it. Let's not pretend it all some sort of altruistic sacrifice for the betterment of mankind.

Saying "the benefits outweigh the costs" downplays the real challenge of the small business owner. I'm not saying that we shouldn't all pay our share, but many businesses are at a precarious point where a small extra burden could put them out of business, and that's not good for anybody. In a world where a minority have SO MUCH MORE than everyone else, we need to focus on correcting that, not squeezing a tiny bit more out of the little guy.

I don't agree with all of the CFIB campaigns, including some you mentioned and especially their recent stance against minimum wage increases. But I want to be part of a collective voice for small business owners' issues and rights. Is there another group that I should be looking at instead of the CFIB that represents the smallest businesses? I'm open to suggestions.