John Marty

• Many large corporations like Amazon pay a significantly lower tax rate than small businesses. Will you support closing loopholes through legislation to ensure that the very wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes? Examples of legislation that address this issue (at the national level) include Sen. Wyden's Small Business Tax Fairness Act and Rep. Bowman's Babies Over Billionaires Act.

  Yes.

  We need a fair, progressive tax system; our current system is heavily tilted to benefit the wealthiest people and the most powerful corporations. I have authored, and consistently supported progressive tax increases and closing the loopholes that have benefitted billionaires at the expense of everyone else.

• Massive corporations dominate our economy today. Over the last two decades, 75% of US industries have grown more concentrated, with concentration in the average industry nearly doubling. This has left everything from production of baby formula, e-commerce and healthcare in the hands of a few massive companies that choke off small businesses, raise prices on consumers, and cut wages. Would you support state-level reforms to our antitrust laws to prohibit anti-competitive conduct and breakup monopolists?

  Yes.

  While it would be best to strengthen national antitrust laws, we should do everything possible to create an economy that is fair, and there are some things we can do in Minnesota.

• Attorney General Keith Ellison has worked to reprioritize antitrust enforcement in Minnesota, including expanding the antitrust division. However, there are still only a handful of attorneys in the attorney general’s office dedicated to curbing the power of the monopolists that threaten small businesses. Will you support additional funding for the attorney general so that Minnesota can adequately enforce our antitrust laws and create a level playing field for small businesses?

  I have pushed for more funding for the Attorney General's office to give them the staffing needed to pursue these important cases.

• Do you have other ideas on how state policy can be used to protect small businesses from concentrated corporate power?

  Both in state contracting and in using regulatory authority, we can hold powerful corporations accountable to labor, environmental, consumer protection, and other laws.

• Small business employees are only able to work limited hours due to the cost of childcare, a crisis that has only worsened during the pandemic. Do you support capping and subsidizing childcare costs to make it more affordable and accessible, in particular for women of color?

  Yes.

  Childcare costs across the board for everyone are too high. Subsidized childcare is necessary for a healthy economy. However, pushing companies to raise wages to a level where only one parent must work outside of the home is also something that we need to explore.

• The pandemic exposed and exacerbated the lack of access to guaranteed, universal paid family and medical leave for so many small businesses. The vast majority of small businesses lack the capital and the scale to offer paid leave, even when owners want to provide this benefit to their employees. At the other end of the spectrum, sole proprietors frequently are unable to access paid leave and have to accept a significant loss in income when they are out because of reasons related to caregiving or injury/illness. Moreover, private insurers generally do not offer affordable, adequate paid medical leave policies to small businesses and do not offer paid family leave nationally at all. State programs have shown universal paid leave helps level the playing field between them and large businesses. Do you support a universal paid leave policy for small business owners and their employees?

  Yes.

  I believe that universal paid leave is essential for the health of families and businesses. Again, this is where a cooperative of small businesses may be able to provide benefits like a larger corporation.

• Access to affordable healthcare is an ongoing struggle faced by rural and urban Minnesotans alike. This issue is especially burdensome to sole proprietors, small business owners and their employees on Main Street. Rising drug costs, copays and deductibles mean that even those with health care coverage still pay thousands of dollars per year out of pocket, which means many people avoid getting treatment except for catastrophic health issues. This increases costs for the entire state when people cannot afford regular preventative care and results in ever increasing premiums. Small businesses struggle to pay health insurance for their employees, particularly when small businesses pay 18% more for health care coverage than do large corporations and 1/3 of all dollars spent on health care go to administrative costs. Will you work to ensure all Minnesotans have access to quality, affordable health care?

  Yes.

  All patients and businesses, especially small businesses and low income people, are hurt by our dysfunctional healthcare system. I have authored the proposed MN Health Plan, a single-payer, publicly financed healthcare system, that would cover all people, without exception, for all their medical needs. It would remove this huge burden from small businesses, and would save money for people, businesses, and government, reducing health disparities, and significantly improving public health.

• Do you believe health care is a right for all people, and will you join the Minnesota Health Plan caucus to push for legislation that would provide universal health care for all Minnesotans?

  Yes.

• Investing in equitable capital access is essential for realizing the value of businesses launched by entrepreneurs not well-served by the current financial system. Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, in particular, have less business equity on average than their white counterparts and experience discrimination in lending; due to financial barriers, their businesses tend to bring in lower revenue and have lower profit margins. Women-owned businesses face similar challenges. This is particularly significant because Black-owned and Latinx-owned businesses are also more likely to be women-owned. Will you lead or support efforts to greatly reduce and hopefully eliminate this discriminatory access to capital for Black, brown, and/or women entrepreneurs so that they too can gain equitable access to low-interest capital?

  Yes.

  When we talk about structural racism, inequities in access to capital is a significant, but often overlooked part of the problem!

• Expanding access to capital is about more than just offering financial products. It also involves providing the support that allows small businesses to obtain high-quality, affordable financing and use it to solidify and grow their businesses, generate good jobs, and contribute to vibrant, equitable communities. (Examples of support include technical assistance, procurement opportunities, and back-office support systems). What ideas do you have for expanding access to these support systems for entrepreneurs?

  Yes.

  Rather than attempting to lure big businesses to Minnesota with promises of tax cuts, we should be investing in technical assistance, procurement opportunities and funding for these small businesses to help overcome past inequalities that have prevented so many people from building assets and accessing capital.

• Small businesses were impacted by COVID at a disproportionate rate (compared to large businesses) and ongoing challenges exacerbated by COVID mean that many industries have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Many small business owners (particularly those from historically marginalized groups) were left out or disqualified from COVID relief during the pandemic. Though Covid relief programs saved many small businesses, it is clear that the U.S. lacks a public infrastructure for fostering a thriving small business economy – much less a small business economy that is just and equitable. When thinking about the long road ahead towards economic recovery, what ideas do you have in supporting small business owners that have been hit hard during the pandemic?

  During COVID (and pre-COVID) the economic playing field was always tilted in favor of big corporations, with little emphasis on small business needs.

  In addition to addressing specific challenges of small businesses and non-profits (such as healthcare costs through the MN Health Plan, Pd Family & Medical Leave, support for increased childcare access -- all of which could be a game-changer for many struggling small businesses) we need to provide support in technical assistance, access to capital, access to markets, and a fair tax code. Small business owners are creative people, and will find a way to succeed and grow, if they have a fair economy to support them.

• COVID has exacerbated existing gaps in the care infrastructure system, unsafe working conditions, and financial burden, among other impacts for small businesses and working families. It is clear that small businesses and working families are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic two and a half years later. With that in mind, why should small business owners and working families trust you with their vote on Election Day?

  My record in the senate has been of consistent support for small businesses -- I am strongly pro-business. My consistent opposition to regressive policies pushed by the MN Business Partnership, the MN Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, and other right-wing lobbies causes them to describe me as anti-business, but it is their agenda, not my policies, that would destroy the quality of life in our state and lead to both short- and long-term economic harm.

  Progressive policies that help small businesses are truly pro-business, and I am proud of my record.