California’s small businesses — employers to more than half the state’s workforce — are staring down what some owners, experts and advocates say could be immense negative consequences from President Donald Trump’s slew of executive orders.
Trump’s embattled federal funding freeze and anti-diversity push have seeded uncertainty about the economy, jobs and spending on infrastructure and innovation.
The freeze, imposed on Jan. 27, affected hundreds of billions of dollars for thousands of federal programs, including many aimed at small businesses. After states including California filed suit, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the freeze on hold. Since then there has been more legal wrangling, including a court order stating that Trump failed to comply with the initial ruling.
The administration has said funding for small business would not be paused, but owners and advocates are not sure if that will prove true, and say uncertainty about the freeze may already be doing damage.
Liz Perez, who owns a small general contracting firm in San Diego County, said news of the funding freeze gave some people in her Native American community “heart attacks.” She said some projects that were under construction had to be temporarily halted while those in charge tried to figure out what was going on.
“I’ve never seen tribal leaders — the most put-together leaders — so frazzled,” Perez said.
Perez and other small business owners, allies and experts worry that a freeze could mean fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses, which could lead to fewer jobs and less spending and investment for communities, industries and larger businesses.
Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees accounted for 29% of…
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