Johnny Isakson: “I thank the distinguished Senator from Mississippi. I rise to talk about something I know something about, which…”

“I thank the distinguished Senator from Mississippi. I rise to talk about something I know something about, which sometimes in the Senate we do not do very often. I ran a small business for 22 years. I worked in a small business for 33 years. Quite frankly, I think I understand small business as well as anyone who has done it. I was astounded, disappointed, and perplexed with the President's statement last week that small business did not owe its success to itself, but it owed it to government, because it is the other way around. We would not exist as a Senate were it not for the taxpayers of the United States of America. They send us our cashflow, they send us the money we invest to build the roads and bridges and highways. So it is an affront to those who have risked capital, as Senator Wicker said, those who have taken chances, and those who have succeeded and those who have failed to build small businesses, to employ the American people, to make this great engine of America work. But I want to just go down a litany for a second of what small business does to make us exist as a Congress and as a government. Every January 15, April 15, June 15, and September 15 businesses pay their quarterly estimate on their taxes. So do independent contractors. Employees pay it every month in withholdings. The cashflow of the United States is not owed to the government; it is owed to the American people by the contributions they make. Social Security.…”