Cowardice has a cost, and our state will pay it. The BBB (Big Brutal Blow), being championed by the worst among us, will devastate our communities, businesses, and industries.
In Michigan, a 20% reduction in federal programs would wipe out over $1 billion in economic output and nearly 5,000 jobs in the first year alone, hitting over 100 industries. These aren’t just numbers; they’re lost paychecks, shuttered businesses, and less money circulating in our communities.
Small businesses make up 99.6% of all Michigan companies and employ nearly half the state’s workforce—1.9 million people. We’re the ones reinvesting in our neighborhoods, sponsoring local events, and keeping dollars local. When our clients lose contracts because of federal cuts, we lose work. When nonprofits and community organizations see their funding dry up – $37 million in federal funds cut or made inaccessible in Kalamazoo alone – our community partners are forced to freeze hiring, cancel programs, and pull back on outreach.
The Big Brutal Blow will gut Medicaid and the ACA, putting 16 million Americans at risk of losing health insurance. It has wiped out federal contracting set-asides and DEI programs, stripping women-owned, minority-owned, and LGBTQIA+ businesses of the tools they need to compete.
This has all resulted in small businesses being asked to do more with less by covering gaps in healthcare, absorbing higher prices, all the while continuing the fight to keep the doors open and the lights on. Every time you gut another program, our communities, our employees, and our most vulnerable suffer.
There is one last chance for this to be stopped in the House, but no one believes you’ll do the right thing. You’ve shown us your priorities.
You are cowards, every single one of you. You have bowed to the tyrant king to save your own skin.
We won’t forget and we won’t forgive.
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