Small businesses reject larger corporations' leftward drift

As corporate America’s embrace of social liberalism has complicated its relationship with the Republican Party, small-business owners are hunkering down and readying for "war" as President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress get ready to enact their agenda.

“Unfortunately, the Biden administration and the Democratic Party have effectively declared war on small business as far we're concerned,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president of the small-business advocacy group the Job Creators Network.

Climbing out of a hole dug during the pandemic, they argue small businesses cannot afford the costs of new taxes, regulations, mandates, and a minimum wage increase. They say restaurants and other companies with thin profit margins, often disproportionately affected by measures undertaken to slow the spread of the coronavirus, are especially vulnerable.