What is my First Priority (as KS State Rep) in Recovering from COVID-19

GETTING SMALL BUSINESSES UP AND RUNNING!!!!!

I cannot shout this from the mountain tops loud enough! Small Business is CRUCIAL to the survival of a thriving Kansas. Empty tables, shops and parking lots mean we are headed for disaster. Waiting for the election in November may be too late. But I was recently asked the question, and here are my thoughts:

It is the SMALL BUSINESS OWNER and NOT GOVERNMENT who will pull us out of the economic crisis in which we currently find ourselves. We can't just pretend all is going to be ok. It surely will not. We need a focused effort to help all small business owners recover.

I am a small business owner. We have been operating for 8 years. In fact, the first two months of the year we were seeing the same steep uptrend of our business throughout the time we have been in operation. But since March and the closure mandate hit, our business is down by 93%. When I tell people, they sort of glaze over. But it is true and unsettling. My husband and I have worked so hard to build this company of ours only to see it vanish within about 24 hours. All of it. Virtually no business. And from where we are standing, we are in much better shape than other businesses that have had to adhere to strict mandates.

I was recently asked what my first priority would be in recovering from the effects of COVID-19. My opponent said that "Medicaid Expansion needed to be included in recovery as well as family leave policies". She went on to say "these would boost families and help getting to work". Seriously? How is that going to happen if businesses are closed? Who do you think will pay for that? Saying Medicaid Expansion should be part of recovery and the comments about getting people back to work just means she does NOT understand the struggles and challenges that small business owners face...on a good day. Because, if our mom and pop shops are done and closed, we are all in serious trouble. We need a focused effort to make recovery happen.

The effects of Covid-19 have been indescribable with ongoing business shutdowns, mandates and ever changing rules that continue to interfere with recovery. I am determined to do whatever I can on behalf of Kansans who’ve found themselves unable to speak up. We MUST get all businesses back up and running or we are soon going to reach a point of no return. We have to place TRUST in our business community to do what is right and safe and let them get to work instead of having them following orders put in place by political advisors using a one size fits all mentality. We have already seen what happened with the closures, statewide. Western Kansas is just now seeing an introduction of COVID cases. Yet, the entire state was shut down, wreaking havoc on all sorts of counties who did not have reported cases until just last week. One size does not fit all.

The negative ripple effect this interference has caused has begun to be devastating. Let me be clear...I am all for being safe and protecting people from this virus. But not trusting the very people who "keep America humming" with mandates that interrupt and interfere is a hurdle not easily overcome.

These are my two cents. What are your thoughts on this?