NPR’s 1A devoted an hour to why small businesses are being hit so hard — and the conversation makes clear it’s not some vague force called “the economy” but the result of concrete policy decisions. Stacy Mitchell joined the show to unpack how choices on tariffs, healthcare, and antitrust have created today’s pressures, alongside powerful stories from small business owners themselves.
“It’s been a really difficult environment for small businesses,” Mitchell said, adding, “I think what’s concerning us […] is that it’s an uneven environment, that we see big businesses often able to skirt around these policy issues or even getting policy favors.”
Ultimately, Mitchell argued, the solution is fair competition created by strong antitrust enforcement. “We need a level playing field from suppliers. Big chains shouldn’t be able to use their leverage to undermine their competitors.”
Alongside Mitchell’s testimony, the show featured testimony from small business owners, including Hagan Walker, owner of a toy company that does some of its own manufacturing in China. Walker spoke in detail on the challenges of the Trump administration’s tariffs, saying that moving his manufacturing here — ostensibly the goal of the tariffs — would be impossible due to the tariffs he’d have to pay on bringing his equipment to the U.S.
Listen to Mitchell’s interview, as well as testimony from other small business owners, here.
Hagan Walker, owner of Globals toy brand“The administration is speaking of bringing manufacturing back, but there’s simply no pathway to do so.”
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