Dashboard: Will the Blue Wave Change Anything for Small Businesses?

Last week's blue wave election gave Democrats control of both houses of Congress. But what will that mean for small business owners—and should they welcome the change or worry about what's coming? John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, is optimistic. He says the owners his organization represents have been frustrated by rising healthcare costs, tariffs, immigration enforcement, and an economic system they increasingly believe is rigged in favor of big corporations. And he thinks those frustrations helped drive the election results.This week, John explains why he expects Democrats to respond by focusing on affordability, starting with efforts to restore health insurance subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts. We also discuss whether business owners are losing faith in the Republican Party, why John isn't particularly worried that Democrats will raise taxes or impose burdensome regulations, and what the growing backlash against AI data centers tells us about the relationship between big business and small business. Ultimately, John believes business owners are less concerned about which party is in power than whether that party is addressing their concerns. "Small business owners are going to react to whoever is out there addressing their affordability needs, their competition needs, their healthcare needs," he says. The episode is brought to you by Grasshopper Bank.