On Thursday, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) director Dawn Starns joined The Gallo Show to talk about how small businesses across the nation have taken a hit due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The coronavirus has definitely shined a light on the fact that small business centers are the job creators of this country,” Starns said. “We provide employment for half the country.”
In just the last four weeks, over 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment as the country is in the midst of the largest unemployment surge since the Great Depression.
Starns, who represents the states of Mississippi and Louisiana for the NFIB, is trying her hardest to save the small business industry as the Small Business Association has already given out all of its loan money.
“We are lobbying Congress to add $251 billion to the PPP,” Stawns said. “We have got to get more money into these loan programs, so they [small businesses] can survive.”
The PPP, or the Paycheck Protection Program, is a forgivable loan program designed to help small businesses pay their employees.
According to Starns, more than half of the NFIB’s members have gone out of business, and another third of its members are projecting to stay open for another three to six months without the reopening of the economy.
Starns wants small businesses to keep hope while she and her team continue to work towards more federal funding.
“Hang in there,” Starns said. “We are pushing at the federal level.”
