And Finally, August 4, 2015

"Politics and Policy" 

Some people love the quadrennial Olympic Games.  Some people pine for the quadrennial World Cup.  And many American political geeks like myself get great joy over the quadrennial quest to become President of the United States.   

The first major debate of the 275 Republican candidates will take place this week.  (I know, there are only 16 as of this writing, and only 10 will be allowed on the stage, still the makings of a Battle Royal.) 

But despite the theater of the primary and the upcoming campaign, this is deadly serious business and impacts everyone.   I grew up in a Washington DC family and community where politics was discussed at the dinner table.   I learned from an early age that if you do not know what you want from politicians, they can’t deliver no matter how apparent your need is to others.  And furthermore, if you know what you want, and you do not ask for it, you will not get what you need.  Therefore, the only chance you have to get what you need, assuming you know what you need is to ask for it in a way that benefits those who can provide.

Now is the time for leaders in the minority business development space to ask for what they need.  The “ask” should not be to just one candidate or one party.  This ask can be and should be considered by all of the candidates.  The time is now -because now the balance of power is with those who hold the keys to what the candidates want and need – money and votes.  Minority business owners and their supporters have those both.  Once in office, politicians continue to ask for money and votes, but the need for either - money or votes - is diminished until the next round of elections. 

As I think about “the ask”, several things come to mind.  First, the candidates need to be educated on the importance of minority business in the general scheme of things.  This is part of building the case.  Once the case is built on the importance of minority business, the candidates need to be educated on the evolving role the federal government has played in minority business development.  One of the first things that I would ask the candidates to commit to would be a significant increase in the budget of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency.  Currently the MBDA has a paltry budget of less than $35 million.  Not to single out the EPA or the importance of Brownfield remediation, but the EPA gives out almost twice as much in grants to Brownfield remediation than is in the budget of the MBDA.  There is irony in this reality because many of these Brownfields are where there are large percentages of minority residents and businesses.  The point is not that the money has to come from EPA, or Brownfield remediation. The point is, there needs to be an elevation of the policy importance of building minority businesses that is not demonstrated with a budget of $35 million. 

Based on the performance (MBDA Performance Report Link  - http://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2014APR_MBDA.pdf)   of the MBDA, the presidential candidates should be stepping over themselves to sing the praises of investments in the MBDA as a way to increase wealth, lower unemployment and improve conditions in communities. 

So what should be “the ask?”  My suggestion is the MBDA budget should be no less than $300 million.  Sounds like a lot of money.  It is, but this would represent less than 3.5 percent of the Department of Commerce’s $8.8 billion budget (where the agency sits) and it is not even a rounding error in the $3.9 trillion U.S. federal budget. 

I hope someone during the debate has the audacity to raise this issue as something that is important to so many Americans.  Maybe it is too much to ask the candidates, who all seem to be competing for the title of Most Outrageous, to actually begin to address the real issues of business and race.  But I know that in politics if you do not ask you have no chance of getting.  The candidates should consider themselves – asked.