Jobs growth takes teamwork
NO SILVER BULLET
IT’S A SMALL IDEA, but a good one: Build a van from the ground up that can easily handle a person in a wheelchair.
That’s what the Vehicle Production Group of Florida did. And when Jeremy Wexler, director of operations for Wheelchair Express in Memphis, learned about the new van, his company decided to buy one — the first of its kind in Tennessee.
There is a textbook example of how small-business expansion can work. Somebody has a good idea. Somebody else learns about the good idea and decides to buy into it. Money changes hands. A new product is introduced.
Oh, and one less of an old product is sold — in this case a standard wheelchair conversion van. Because, as Wexler explained, the new van from VPG LLC is simply better, easier to use and tailored to a particular market.
Small businesses historically have generated most of the jobs created in the private sector. When the economy is growing and small businesses are on top of their game, the results can really add up for the economy.
But in the last five years, unfortunately, small businesses haven’t really generated many jobs in this country. A recent analysis by Bloomberg Business Week found that since the financial crash of 2008, 80 percent of American small businesses haven’t added a single person to their payroll.
Which is a reminder of something else important to remember about the economy. Small business can’t do it alone.
That’s why Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s recently announced small-business booster plan warrants attention. The mayor has formed the Memphis Office of Resources and Enterprise, or MORE, with the specific mission of helping small businesses bid on and win local government contracts.
And it’s why Memphis needs to continue to offer tax incentives to keep bigger businesses expanding in the market — like Nucor Corp., which recently asked for a tax exemption in exchange for creating 27 new jobs and $113 million in new production capacity at its Memphis steel mill.
Much as we like to heap praise on the power of small businesses, the local and national economy will need help from a variety of sectors to get back on track. Small businesses can be powerful engines for creation of new jobs, but local government also plays a vital role.