Tax & Spending Bill Deficits, No Degree Required, SBA Tool Connects U.S.

Hey everybody, it's Gene Marks and welcome to this week's episode of the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review. This is where we take a couple of stories – three stories, actually – from the news this week that impact your small business and mine and we talk a little bit about them. So, let's get right to it.

The first story comes from Washington, and it has to do with the “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill that is currently making its way through the Senate. One GOP senator, though, is drawing a red line. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ron Johnson, the three-term Republican, is insisting on deeper spending cuts in President Trump's “big, beautiful” bill, saying his party is doing too little to address the country's debt burden.

His hardline stance threatens to complicate passage of the GOP's multi-trillion-dollar measure, which the Senate is turning to now and Trump wants on his desk by July 4.

Johnson takes issue with his GOP colleagues’ claims that economic growth from the new tax cuts will rein in the deficit, instead, siding with official scorekeepers to say the deficit will expand. He said he appreciates that Trump's ideas such as no tax on overtime are directed towards working men and women, but there's nothing growth incentivizing about his tax proposals.

These are some of the concerns that I also have about the “big, beautiful” spending bill, which, by the way, no one's going to argue when there are tax cuts that are proposed for small businesses. But like Sen. Johnson is saying, the bill itself is not doing enough to cut deficits. In fact, some reports are saying that deficits will increase about $4 trillion to our national debt over the next 10 years.

With already high interest rates, interest is taking up a bigger and bigger part of government spending, and unless we cut expenses, which is kind of unlikely, or increase revenues, which is up in the air, the only way the government can really afford to make these interest payments are going to be through inflating their way out of it, which means printing more money. And that's an impact on small businesses, both from an inflation standpoint and an interest standpoint.

So, again, we have to be careful of this as business owners. We know that tax deductions or more tax benefits are great stuff, and I covered them in a previous issue of the Week in Review. However, we do have to be aware that increasing deficits, increasing national debt also poses challenges to our businesses particularly in the means of potentially increasing inflation and interest costs over the next few years.

So, we'll continue to pay close attention. It's still early June. The Senate will continue to deliberate. Ultimately, I believe they will pass a bill. It will need to be reconciled with the House, and then it will have to go to the president's desk for signing by July 4. So, we still have a way to go to see what gets negotiated and also to see if any of potential deficit reduction changes might impact the benefits that are being proposed for small businesses, ones that I again discussed in a previous episode of the Week in Review.

Our next story comes from HR Dive, and it has to do with recruiting employees. According to a new survey, one in four employers say they'll eliminate degree requirements by year's end. According to HR Dive, a quarter of employers survey say they will remove bachelor's degree requirements for some roles by the end of 2025. This was a May 20 report from Resume Templates.

In addition, seven in 10 hiring managers said their company looks at relevant experience over a bachelor's degree while making hiring decisions.

The chief strategist for Resume Templates said, “Over the last five years, we've seen large organizations drop degree requirements in favor of certifications or experience, and now others are following suit. For employers, it expands the talent pool and generates positive PR. For candidates, it opens doors for those who can't afford a degree or choose a different path. These jobs have the potential to lift people into prosperity.”

In the survey of 1,000 hiring managers, 84% of companies that recently removed degree requirements said it has been a successful move. Companies without degree requirements also reported a surge in applications, a more diverse applicant pool, and the ability to offer lower salaries.

So, more and more companies are taking away degree requirements, bachelor's degree requirements when they're posting job openings. And it looks like a lot of employees are responding to that positively and it's having a positive effect on those companies as well.

Will you turn down degree requirements on your jobs or you stop requiring that some positions have to have a bachelor's degree? Well, that seems to be the trend right now and it's something that may be worth looking at.

Our last story has to do with the Small Business Administration. This is reported in the Business Journals, bizjournals.com. The Small Business Administration has launched an online tool intended to connect U.S. manufacturers, suppliers, and producers with businesses looking to source American products and services.

The initiative is titled Making Onshoring Great Again. It is a portal and it provides entry to three databases – from Thomas.net, IndustryNet, and Connex – that offer American companies specific lists curated in partnership by those three organizations with the Small Business Administration. Businesses can use the databases free of charge as part of the SBA's push to boost American manufacturing.

Now, Kelly Loeffler, who is the SBA administrator, said the portal will give job creators a direct line to more than one million domestic suppliers, replacing foreign dependence with access to American-made solutions. It's a decisive step, she says, towards rebuilding our nation's strength through stronger supply chains, better products, and a renewed commitment to American industry, small-business workers.

The SBA said the three databases represent more than one million U.S.-based customers, er, companies, and another piece of its Made in America manufacturing initiative through which the SBA and other agencies aim to cut a $100 billion in regulations. The SBA has pledged to reduce barriers to access for the agency's 504 loan program, a zero-subsidy loan program that provides capital for real estate construction and equipment purchases, and expand the use of its 7(a) working capital loan program.

So, the SBA this year is coming up with more initiatives to help manufacturers and to help companies source products from American manufacturers, as well as increasing the availability of capital to many small businesses around the country. So, if you are looking for financing or if you're looking for alternative suppliers or if you're trying to find suppliers in the U.S. and domestically to avoid tariff issues, this new portal seems to be a good option for you to consider.

My name is Gene Marks, and you have been watching and listening to the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review podcast where we take some items in the news, and we talk about them just a little bit. If you need any advice or tips or help in running your business, please visit us. Go to paychex.com/thrive. You can download or sign up for our newsletter. You will get lots of help including prior episodes of this podcast.

Thanks so much for joining me this week. I'll be back next week with some more news that impacts your business and mine, and we'll discuss that news together. Thanks so much for watching or listening. We'll see you then.

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I'm your host, Gene Marks, and thanks for joining us.

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