LYNN — Libretarian Mark Tashjian and Republican Bob May, two of the three candidates running for the Sixth Essex Congressional District seat Nov. 8, showcased their perspectives on the relationship between business and government at the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee Meeting breakfast Wednesday morning.
At the Old Tyme Italian Cuisine restaurant on Boston Street, Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and panel moderator Colin Codner welcomed the crowd of local business owners. City councilors Rick Starbard, of Ward two, and Dianna Chakoutis, of Ward five, were also in attendance.
Codner said that Sixth District Congressman Seth Moulton, who is running for re-election this fall, was invited to participate in the discussion, but could not make it. Following brief introductions, Codner explained that May and Tashjian would be provided approximately three minutes to answer each of six questions.
Programs to Support Startups
Before asking the candidates to identify one or two policies they support that would be “directly advantageous to the startup or entrepreneurial community,” Codner read the Small Business Association’s definition of a small business: a business with fewer than 1,500 employees that brings in less than $41 million gross.
May responded first, explaining that as a small business owner himself, he supports the Credit Card Competition Act of 2022, a bill that prohibits credit card issuers from restricting the number of payment card networks on which an electronic credit transaction may be processed.
“There’s a bill going through Congress now that would enhance competition for small companies that take credit cards,” May said. “My company doesn’t take credit cards, but I know people that do, and my understanding is that the fees have doubled over the past 10 years. That’s essentially no competition. This bill would require companies to have at least two credit card processing companies to choose from.”
May also said that he would, if elected, challenge large tech companies to create algorithms to boost competition in the online marketplace. He said that the online market often puts larger businesses on the backburner by prioritizing search results for smaller online businesses.
“If you’re selling directly to consumers, you have to have some kind of internet business. What happens now, is if you get to a certain size, you become the nail that sticks up on the board and gets pounded down by Google and Amazon,” he said.
In Tashjian’s response, he said that he supports eliminating regulations and environmental policies, which, he said, served as red tape for small business owners trying to launch their startup businesses.
“Going through the different levels of red tape is a major problem. Both at the local level, and at a national level as well, different environmental policies, different regulations, things like that get in the way,” He said. “I think that we really need to make it a simpler process for businesses to be able to start and operate.”
Tashjian added that he thinks that the costs of labor and training make it difficult for new businesses to start successfully.
“Free market economics — it’s supposed to be an easy entry and exit into an industry. For someone to enter into an industry right now, there are so many hurdles to be able to enter, and the costs to enter right now are very high. Labor costs, educational costs, if I want to go and get training, these costs are very high. All these sorts of things, these different costs, we need to get under control,” Tashjian said.
Business Deregulation
When Codner asked the candidates where they stood on deregulating small businesses, both candidates took similar stances, arguing that government regulations hinder small business growth.
May, who described himself as a “small government person,” said that businesses almost always pay a price when hit with government regulations. He argued that since small businesses suffer disproportionately from the costs of regulation, he would, if elected, review any regulation impacting small businesses, to ensure that it adds value overall.
“It’s fairly well known that most government regulations result in some kind of cost, whether you need to add or change for your physical facility, increase record keeping, or increased reporting, there’s a cost associated with that,” May said. “Regardless of what the actual cost is, it’s always disproportionately inflicted on smaller businesses. So in that respect, I really believe that there is a need to review any regulation that’s deemed appropriate to meeting the accomplished goal.”
Tashjian argued that governmental regulations impede small businesses’ abilities to access and maintain human capital. Tashjian’s example of unnecessary regulations and restrictions on small businesses served as an appropriate segway into the next topic: immigration restrictions.
“Human capital— that’s one of the most important types of capital that we have in our businesses, our availability to get access to and maintain that capital. Regulation is something that really stifles our ability to do that, whether it’s regulations relating to hiring and firing practices, or whether it’s regulations relating to immigration policies, that makes it harder for us to get the workers into the country that we need,” Tashjian said. “Immigrants are the driver of the economy, every single person sitting at one point, our families were immigrants, I’d be willing to bet.”
In a brief discussion over employee entrance into the workplace, Tashjian argued that minimum wage laws make it difficult for employers to attract young workers for an affordable price. He recalled working for the first time at the age of 14 for under seven dollars an hour, and argued that today, his employer would have to pay a 14 year-old close to 15 dollars an hour by law.
“For me to pay a 14 year-old kid 15 dollars an hour, as a business, is a pretty significant amount. We’re stifling the ability for these kids to learn, early on, the skills that are needed for them to be able to work later on in life. So that’s a great example of government red tape, having a 15 dollar minimum wage,” Tashjian said.
May briefly joked that, being older than Tashjian, his first job paid less than two dollars an hour. He added that with Lynn’s growing diversity and economic development, putting young people to work and keeping them educated should remain a priority in government.
“My personal vision would be one that encompasses good educational opportunities for the city. Reliable, safe, and economic transportation, affordability, and vibrancy in the community,” May said. “All those things create a vision for Lynn, to make it a community that brings people here for education, to work, and for recreational opportunities.”
Immigration
Toward the end of the panel discussion, Codner asked the candidates whether they preferred a “borderline” approach to immigration, in which immigrants are only given the full work privileges and rights when they receive citizenship, or a “phasing” approach, in which immigrants slowly gain working rights over a period of time.
The two candidates differed significantly in their statements on immigration and the workforce. While May said that he believed the country needed stronger borders, arguing that undocumented immigrants “leeched” local, state, and federal resources, Tashjian argued that allowing immigrants to work as early as possible upon entry would help fill a national employment shortage.
“Every restaurant I go to is pretty much reducing their number of hours because they don’t have enough workers. So many industries right now are seeing shortfalls and the number of workers they have and the lower wage manual jobs are just one of the places where we have immigrants that have always been drivers to our economy,” Tashjian said. “ I think that we need to have a more streamlined approach […] there’s these three things that people should meet to be able to come into this country: they should work or be doing some sort of value add, they should be paying taxes, and they should not be breaking the law, as long as they’re following those three things, we should be able to have a process for them to take advantage of all their services.”
May’s response centered mainly around undocumented immigrants, who he said, sucked up the nation’s resources. He called for a pause on all immigration until the country enhances its borders.
“If somebody’s just walking across the border illegally, they’re not supposed to be government assistance, and both of them aren’t supposed to be applicable in that case,” May said. “I do believe in secure borders. I’m thinking there may be a discussion about doing a pause on all immigration until we get this situation under control. We’re in a situation where we don’t even know how many millions of illegal aliens we have in the country today. It’s clearly a drain on local resources, state resources and federal resources.”
In final remarks, May argued that his detachment from the Democratic and Republican parties can provide a politically-divided country with a conduit between the two parties. May added that his history in economics, rather than political science or law, would make him the ideal candidate.
After shaking hands, the candidates talked over pastries and coffee in the back of the restaurant, while their supporters walked through the crowd handing out pamphlets.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected]
