Big government and affirmative action : the scandalous history of the Small Business Administration

David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's budget director, proclaimed the Small Business Administration a "billion-dollar waste―a rathole," and set out to abolish the agency. His scathing critique was but the latest attack on an agency better known as the "Small Scandal Administration." Loans to criminals, government contracts for minority "fronts," the classification of American Motors as a small business, Whitewater, and other scandals―the Small Business Administration has lurched from one embarrassment to another. Despite the scandals and the policy failures, the SBA thrives and small business remains a sacred cow in American politics. Part of this sacredness comes from the agency's longstanding record of pioneering affirmative action. Jonathan Bean reveals that even before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the SBA promoted African American businesses, encouraged the hiring of minorities, and monitored the employment practices of loan recipients. Under Nixon, the agency expanded racial preferences. During the Reagan administration, politicians wrapped themselves in the mantle of minority enterprise even as they denounced quotas elsewhere. Created by Congress in 1953, the SBA does not conform to traditional interpretations of interest-group democracy. Even though the public―and Congress―favors small enterprise, there has never been a unified group of small business owners requesting the government's help. Indeed, the SBA often has failed to address the real problems of "Mom and Pop" shop owners, fueling the ongoing debate about the agency's viability.

since Its Emergence, The United States' Two-party Political System Has Been Criticized For Polarizing Public Opinion. Instead Of Objective Deliberation Of Major Issues Such As Race Relations, Partisanship Has Too Often Undermined The Process And Distorted The Outcome. One Group Of Thinkers, However, Has Refused To Be Defined By Either Conservative Or Liberal Classifications — Classical Liberals Have Shaped The History Of The Nation, Including The Fight For Abolition And The Allied Struggles Against Chinese Exclusion, Abuse Of Native Americans, Japanese Internment, Jim Crow, And Other Racial Distinctions In The Law. Nevertheless, The Nation's Preoccupation With Left-versus-right Politics Has Overshadowed The Role Of Classical Liberals In The History Of Race And Liberty In America.race And Liberty In America: The Essential Reader, Edited By Jonathan Bean, Explains The Major Themes Of The Antiracist, Classical Liberal Tradition Of Individual Liberty And Equality, Demonstrating How It Has Inspired Individuals To Improve Race Relations In The United States. Advocating For Freedom From Governmental Interference, Abolition Of Prejudicial Law, Equality Under A Uniform Rule Of Law Guaranteed By The Constitution, And Market-based Entrepreneurial Opportunity, Classical Liberals Have Lent Their Voices To A Wide Range Of Causes.bean Offers Numerous Documents, From The Declaration Of Independence To The 2006 Open Letter On Immigration And Beyond, As Well As Government Statutes, Party Platforms, And Speeches That Demonstrate How Classical Liberalism Was At The Forefront Of The Fight To Change America's Racial Inequality. Each Chapter Investigates A Specific Time Period In American History, Ranging From The Revolution To The Present, And Addresses Major Events And Concerns, Including The Antislavery Movement, Post—civil War Reconstruction, Progressive Era, Republican Era Of The 1920s, Great Depression And World War Ii, And Civil Rights Era. Citing Such Influential Americans As Thomas Jefferson, Louis Marshall, And Frederick Douglass, As Well As Individuals Missing From Previous Investigations, Bean Demonstrates The Major Impact Of Classical Liberal Thought On Race Relations And Investigates How It Has Helped Shape Both Law And Public Opinion.jonathan Bean, Research Fellow At The Independent Institute And Professor Of History At Southern Illinois University, Is The Author Of Big Government And Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History Of The Small Business Administration And Beyond The Broker State: Federal Policies Toward Small Business, 1936—1961.cover Photos, From Left To Right: Frederick Douglass (library Of Congress); Branch Rickey And Jackie Robinson (reprinted By Permission Of National Baseball Hall Of Fame Library); San Francisco Schoolchildren, 1942 (library Of Congress); Zora Neale Hurston (library Of Congress).

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at Once A Powerful Argument For Killing Off The Agency And A Shrewd Analysis Of The Political Impulses That Make Its Termination Nearly Impossible.

Since its creation, the Small Business Administration (sometimes called the "Small Scandal Administration") has lurched from one embarrassment to another. Despite loans to criminals, government contracts for minority "fronts," allegations of outrageous pork barrel allocations (even Whitewater began as an SBA project), and questionable definitions of what constitutes a small business, the SBA manages not only to survive but to thrive with each change of administration. It has become a sacred cow in American politics.The SBA has remained sacrosanct amid continual controversy thanks to the agency's longstanding record of pioneering affirmative action. Jonathan Bean reveals that even before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the SBA promoted African American businesses, encouraged the hiring of minorities, and monitored the employment practices of loan recipients. Under Nixon, the agency expanded racial preferences with its "black capitalism" agenda. During the Reagan administration, politicians wrapped themselves in the mantle of minority enterprise even as they denounced quotas elsewhere.Created by Congress in 1953, the SBA does not conform to traditional interpretations of interest-group democracy. Even though the public -- and Congress -- favors small enterprise, there has never been a unified group of small business owners requesting the government's help. Indeed, the SBA often has failed to address the real problems of "Mom and Pop" shop owners, fueling the ongoing debate about the agency's viability.Despite years of scandal and arguable policy failures, the SBA even survived the threat of elimination during the "Reagan Revolution." "If programs like these can't be cut," Reagan declared, "we might as well give up hope of ever getting government spending under control."Big Government and Affirmative Action draws interesting parallels between affirmative action for small business, which few have questioned, and racial preferences, which remain highly controversial. Showing how the politics of affirmative action often makes strange bedfellows, Bean delves into the fascinating, if frustrating, history of a federal agency. "Created by Congress in 1953, the SBA does not conform to traditional interpretations of interests-group democracy. Even though the public - and Congress - favors small enterprise, there has never been a unified group of small business owners requesting the government's help. Indeed, the SBA often has failed to address the real problems of "Mom and Pop" shop owners, fueling the ongoing debate about the agency's viability.". "Big Government and Affirmative Action draws interesting parallels between affirmative action for small business, which few have questioned, and racial preferences, which remain highly controversial. Showing how the politics of affirmative action often makes strange bedfellows, Bean delves into the fascinating, if frustrating, history of a federal agency."--BOOK JACKET. The Small Business Administration was born as the unwanted offspring of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, an agency eliminated in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and a Republican Congress.