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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Business
Gene Marks

A US debt default could crush small businesses. So what can we do?

‘The silver lining in this dangerous, avoidable situation is that it would take time for things to get really, really bad.’
‘The silver lining in this dangerous, avoidable situation is that it would take time for things to get really, really bad.’ Photograph: LM Otero/AP

The US is careening towards a debt crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2011 when Barack Obama faced off against the Tea Party. No one knows for sure if the federal government is going to default on its debt by the end of this month. But if Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on a compromise, it will have an enormous impact on small businesses around the country.

Some 65% of small businesses believe they would be negatively affected by a default, according to a recent report from Goldman Sachs. This is very bad news. Small businesses accounted for 45% of all private-sector jobs in the first quarter of 2022.

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