Southern Illinois News

A sad truth we must confront in 2022 is that Illinois is a difficult place to open a business -- and it's long past time to do something about it.

Like many other small business owners, the state of our business climate has me looking across state lines to greener pastures.

My neighbor asked me the other day why I'm expanding my business to Missouri, Kansas, and Florida but adding nothing new here at home. The reason is simple: it's genuinely too expensive to operate under our current conditions.

There are a lot of rules and regulations in place that are designed to prevent fraud, ensure workplace safety, and do other noble things. But Springfield has spent the past few years adding additional burdens and penalties without concern for what it would mean towards upstart costs or even the expenses necessary just to keep the lights on.

The agenda of this administration has raised prices on everything from energy to labor while leading the nation on innovative ways to tax small businesses into bankruptcy. It often feels like lawmakers revel in the opportunity to create a new “revenue stream” for the state coffers but view private sector profits as a policy failure.

No one of any respectability is calling for a return to the “Animal Farm” days of American commerce. But understand that with every new “protection” comes a cost on employers, and no matter how much it hurts there is a price for each of us where closing makes more sense than soldiering on.

So, what can be done to turn this trend around? Lawmakers can start by taking a hard look at their regulations' impact on small businesses. We need to repeal ones that add more cost than benefits and explore providing more targeted assistance to help companies comply with rules that need to stay instead of just piling on more and more expenses.

The negative impact of strict regulations on small businesses cannot be overstated. These regulations make it difficult for companies to operate, which in turn drives up costs and drives away jobs. Only the legislature can take action to mitigate these effects. By reducing unnecessary and duplicative regulations on businesses and providing targeted assistance to help them comply with existing regulations, we can revive Illinois as an economic powerhouse.