REP ROGER WILLIAMS: 250 years of hard work pay off for Main Street businesses

For 250 years, America's story has been written behind the counters of family-owned stores, on ranches and farms passed down through generations, and on Main Street where hardworking Americans take risks, open their doors and build something from the ground up.

I know this because I’ve lived it. Before serving in Congress, I spent decades helping grow my family's business in Texas. I learned what it feels like to lie awake wondering how you're going to make payroll, and what it feels like the morning you finally can. It was grit, family, faith and a lot of long days.

As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th birthday, I'll be thinking about the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven our country since its founding. Our Founding Fathers were entrepreneurs in their own right — visionaries and risk-takers who charted a new course for a nation built on freedom and opportunity.

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I'll also be thinking about those who have always done the quiet work of building this country — the shopkeepers, tradesmen and family businesses. Those business owners who bet on themselves and, in doing so, helped build the most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

A wide-angle view of the Cultural District on Main Street in downtown Rock Hill, S.C., on April 10, 2022. (J. Michael Jones/Getty Images)

Two hundred and fifty years later, they're still at it. And this Independence Day, I’m proud to say that the backbone of our economy is roaring back.

I hear it when I talk to people back home in Weatherford, Texas. This past May, our economy added 172,000 jobs — more than twice what the so-called experts predicted, and unemployment held steady at 4.3%. That made for the best three-month hiring run we've seen in over two years. It didn’t happen by luck; it happened because of less government, allowing small businesses to do what they do best — create jobs!

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Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce took a hard look at the data and found that small businesses have accounted for about 78% of all hiring in this country since 2001. Lately, it's even more.

Since early last year, small businesses have created roughly 4 million jobs a month and more than three-quarters of all new job openings. If you're looking for your next opportunity, odds are it's waiting for you on Main Street.

Thanks to congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, a big part of that growth is attributable to one thing: the Working Families Tax Cuts.

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The Working Families Tax Cuts prevented a $5 trillion tax hike, the largest in American history, and one that would have negatively impacted every family and small business in America. Instead of costing taxpayers more of their hard-earned money, the Working Families Tax Cuts put it right back into their pockets.

This past filing season, 97% of filers got a tax cut, and most of that relief went to Americans earning under $100,000. We delivered key priorities: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and a doubled Child Tax Credit benefiting nearly 40 million families. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and my Republican colleagues, we provided real relief to hardworking American families when they needed it most.

As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently noted, America's small businesses finally have greater tax certainty and relief from burdensome regulations. That means more confidence to invest, hire and grow — helping keep our economy moving forward.

As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th birthday, I'll be thinking about the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven our country since its founding. 

With Republicans in Congress and President Trump in the White House focused on getting Washington out of the way, the foundation is in place for a true American comeback — one built from the ground up by workers, families and entrepreneurs.

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And the timing could not be more fitting as America celebrates its 250th anniversary.

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This Fourth of July, somewhere between backyard barbecues and fireworks, take a moment to thank the small business owners in your community. Stop by their stores. Support their work. Cheer them on. They carry forward the same spirit of enterprise, independence and determination that helped build this nation in 1776. And they remain living proof that America's greatest days are still ahead.

Happy 250th birthday, America. God bless those who continue to be the backbone of our economy — those who dream big, take risks and keep this great nation moving forward — from the small businesses on Main Street, from the mountains to the prairies and in every community they serve.

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