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Meets with N.J. small business owners at Tastee Sub Shop
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
UPDATED
Under tight security and with over 1,000 people hoping to catch a glimpse of him, President Obama visited an Edison sub shop Wednesday afternoon to promote his proposal for federal aid and tax breaks for small business owners.
Obama arrived at the Tastee Sub Shop on Plainfield Avenue at 2:12 p.m. and met with five New Jersey small business owners who have benefitted from federal support, including the co-owner of the sub shop, and concluded the sitdown after 49 minutes at 3:01 p.m.
After the meeting, Obama and four of the business owners talked for seven minutes with a poll reporter, photographer and radio reporter. The reporter, Matt Friedman of The Star-Ledger, provided some of the material included in this story.
Obama noted the Thomas Edison, the inventor who had a laboratory in Edison's Menlo section began as a small businessman.
"This town, Edison, was named after somebody who was not only one of history's greatest inventors but also a pretty savvy small business owner," Obama after meeting with the business people. "The small business people who are with me here today exemplify that same entrepreneurial spirit."He also noted the concerns of small business employees, including health care costs, and pointed out that sub shop owners are eligible for discounts on employees' plans.
Tom Horsburgh, co-owner of the Ridgid Paper Tube Corp. in Wayne said he believes Obama's small business bill will help his business and New Jersey. "They have to," he said.
The business owners told Friedman that they were receptive to the president's message. They said president already knew basic details about their businesses and began by asking them questions about them.
Horsburgh said he emphasized the need for more hands-on technical education in the nation's school system.
After the meeting, Obama said, "We talked about some of the difficulties that people have had making payroll and turning a profit during this recession. And we talked about what we can do to make it easier for small businesses to grow.
"All of these folks here know why that's important. Small businesses create two out of every three jobs in this country. So our recovery depends on them. And if we want to keep America moving forward, we need to keep investing in our small businesses.
"This is, by the way, more than — is more important than just our economy,'' the president continued. "It's also about who we are as a people. Because America has always been a place where if you've had a good idea and you're willing to really work hard for it, you can see it through and you can succeed. That's what gives the worker the courage to leave her job to become her own boss. It's what propels people to risk their savings on an idea that they believe might just change the world. I was hearing from Tom here about how he was having trouble finding work 30, 40 years ago, and decided that he would take over a business that only had two employees. And now he's an employer for a whole bunch of folks and he's going to be passing on his business to his family. And that's the American story.
"So Tom and Catherine Horsburgh were telling me that they got through the downturn'' Obama said. "In order to do so, they had to market their products to types of businesses that they hadn't sold to before. Brian Bovio's company had to let some people go when the recession hit. But in the two years since, he's transformed his business, and now he's making people's homes more energy efficient to save money on their utility bills — and he's been able to start hiring again. He is very interested in making sure that the HOMESTAR proposal that we've put into Congress actually passes, because not only will that help to expand his business but it's also going to help Americans save energy not only in this part of the country but all across the country.
"Now, all of this hasn't been easy,'' the president said. "The recession has meant that folks are spending less. It means that small businesses have had a tougher time getting credit and getting loans. And that's why when I took office, we put in place an economic plan specifically to help small businesses. And we were guided by a simple idea: Government can't guarantee success, but it can knock down barriers that keep entrepreneurs from opening or expanding. For example, the lack of affordable credit — that's something the government can do something about. Government can't replace the millions of jobs that we lost in the recession, but it can create the conditions for small businesses to hire more people through steps like tax breaks.
"That's why we've cut taxes for America's small businesses eight times. Eight times have we cut taxes for small businesses all across the country,'' the president said. "Because of a bill I signed into law a few months ago, businesses are now eligible for tax cuts when they hire unemployed workers — something that could benefit every business represented behind me. Companies are also able to write off more of their investments in new equipment, which Tom and Catherine have taken advantage of. As part of the health reform package, 4 million small business owners recently received a postcard in their mailbox telling them that this year they could be eligible for a health care tax credit that's worth perhaps tens of thousands of dollars.
"And I was just talking to Dave, who does the right thing by his employees and is providing health insurance — they actually are not paying a significant share for that health insurance,'' Obama said. "Dave and Carl are doing the right thing by those workers. He's now going to be eligible to potentially get up to 35 percent tax relief on those — premium that he's paying, and that could make, obviously, an enormous difference in terms of his bottom line and may mean that he can hire some additional workers.
"Our economic plan has also supported nearly 70,000 new loans to small businesses. One of these loans made it possible for Tom and Catherine to purchase new
The president did not pause to greet onlookers and quickly left in a motorcade headed by eight State Police patrol cars.
Obama made his first visit to New Jersey in nine months to garner media attention and seek public support for the legislation, which the U.S. Senate may vote on as early as this week.
After entering the shop through the back door, Obama ordered a half-size "Super Sub'' to go, according to the poll reporter, the shop‘s version of an Italian combo — which costs $4.41. Co-owner Carl Padovano took the order.
"I want everybody to know when I was 20 I could order a 12-inch. I'm turning 49 next week, which means I need just the half,'' Obama said. All right? And we'll make that to go.''
The president then sat down at a table with Horsburgh, Dave Thornton, the co-owner of Tastee Sub; Theo Mastorakos, owner Mama Roxy's Italian Restaurant in Rochelle Park; Catherine Horsburgh, the other co-owner of Ridgid Paper Tube; Brian Bovia, manager of his family-owned business, Bovio Advanced Comfort & Energy Solutions in Sicklerville, and Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano.
Obama asked Thornton how his business was doing
"Things are pretty good,'' Thornton replied. "We've weathered this storm rather well at Tastee.
The president replied that the subs were "good value for the money,'' Friedman reported.
Obama's legislation would provide small so-called Main Street banks with capital and incentives to lend to small businesses, so they could renew a credit line, purchase new equipment or open a new location.
It would also support state initiatives like loan guarantee programs that make it easier for creditworthy small businesses to borrow from private sector lenders. It would creating tax incentives for new investments made by small businesses seeking to expand and grow - allowing, for example, a small business to more quickly receive a deduction on their taxes after purchasing new machinery or equipment.
The legislation would eliminate capital gains taxes on key investments in small businesses, encouraging and rewarding those who invest their capital in smaller firms. It would also continue provisions from the federal Recovery Act that the administration maintains have helped increase the availability of U.S. Small Business Administration loans and reduce the fees small businesses pay, while doubling the size of the loans small businesses can receive in an effort to enable them to expand and create new jobs.
Obama arrived 47 minutes later than scheduled at Newark Liberty International Airport where he was greeted by Gov. Chris Christie. The president then took a helicopter to Edison. Most of the crowd, which had been vying for positions to see the president as early as 10 a.m., mainly only caught a glimpse of his motorcade as it arrived from a nearby athletic field.
There were police snipers on the sub shop roof and very small business people — souvenir and water sellers — worked the crowd and members. Right wing Republican Tea Party members were present with signs like one that read,. "Obama care, fear for your life,‘' and waving yellow Revolution War "Don't Tread on Me'' flags and an Arizona state flag. They argued with people in the crowd who had different political views.
The president's visit was very controlled by Secret Service agents and police. A rental truck was placed in front of the Tastee Sub Shop window as a security precaution. It also prevented people from seeing inside.
After leaving Edison, Obama headed to Manhattan to tape an interview to be aired Thursday morning on ABC-TV's "The View'' and attend two Democratic National Committee events. He was scheduled to leave from Newark for Washington at 7 p.m.
Last year, Obama appeared at a rally at for then-Gov. Jon Corzine at Middlesex County College in Edison. Obama was last in New Jersey on Oct. 30, 1 when he led rallies for Corzine in Newark and Camden just a few days before the Democrat was defeated in his re-election bid by Republican Christie.
