A small business owner spoke with Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn about how stubbornly high inflation under a Biden-Harris administration is affecting business bottom lines.
Jeni Donahue, owner of Artistic Printers, a family-owned printing business in Greenville, Tennessee, told Blackburn in a video released exclusively to the Daily Caller News Foundation that rising costs have forced her to raise prices and limit hiring. Inflation was 1.4% when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 and has risen steadily since, peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 before finally falling below 3% in July. According to Based on data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Obviously, we can't continue to bear this anymore,” Donahue told Blackburn, referring to the rising costs of doing business. “We have to raise our prices, but because of inflation, this is the first year since my husband and I started this business that we can't afford to hire people. We need people.” (RELATED: Republican Senators Accuse Biden-Harris Administration of Diverting Small Business Resources to “Green New Deal Handouts”)
Small businesses employ about 46% of the U.S. workforce. According to To Forbes Advisor.
Donahue told Blackburn that the price of envelopes for some orders has nearly doubled since 2019, and the software it uses to create designs has gone from a flat annual fee to requiring a monthly fee for each computer the program is used on. He also noted that rising gas prices have cut into his profit margins because he offers free delivery to local customers.
Gasoline prices have increased significantly since Biden took office, rising from an average price of $2.42 per gallon in January 2021 to $3.50 per gallon in August. According to To the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
clock:
Small business owners' economic worries aren't limited to Greenville: A national survey showed small business optimism fell to an 11-year low in March. Nearly a quarter of business owners said inflation was their biggest problem, and 28% said they had raised costs to keep up with rising expenses.
“We can't charge our customers 100% more,” Donahue told Blackburn. “We want everyone to be able to come into the store.”
Small business optimism fell below its 50-year average for the 31st consecutive month in July under the Biden-Harris administration. According to Data from the National Federation of Independent Business.
“What Tennesseans want is action to curb this inflation,” Blackburn said. “I will continue to work to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent and ensure spending cuts across the board, putting more money in your pocket every month.”
Former President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Expired The stage will be set for a major political fight in 2025 over the tax cuts included in the bill.
The White House and Harris' campaign did not immediately respond to DCNF's requests for comment.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
