Twas the night before Christmas, and all ‘round the ‘Net
Not a guru was tweeting or linking in yet
The spammers spammed mightily, fully of good cheer,
In hopes of more scams in the coming New Year.
The microbiz owners were snug in their beds,
While marketing seminars danced in their heads,
And I, in Joe Boxers (Spouse wore them, as well),
Had just nodded off for a somnolent spell.
When out in the street there arose quite a clash
Like a driver who'd not swapped his Clunker for Cash
I dashed to the door for an ill-tempered shout
But surprise froze my tongue ‘fore the words could come out
Built for attention, at once I could see
That General Motors made this SUV
Bright lights and impossible colors, indeed,
And breaking the law with regard to its speed.
Inside I could clearly see Mary Landrieu*
As well as her colleague, Olympia Snowe*
Both smiled as their vehicle went flashing past
And said, "Let's all cheer for small business at last!"
Sam Graves** looked about with a pout and a sneer
And complained, "I'm the only conservative here!"
"Now, hush!" said Velazquez**, "we've not come to fight.
Let's see if we've gotten these business gifts right."
From inside their Equinox, all four cried out,
And I could just hear what they started to shout
"No taxes, junk faxes or new regulations!
No forms and no fees and no biz registrations!"
"To the House, to the Senate, to President O,
Let's invest in small business, the right way to go!
It's cheaper than propping up ‘too big to fail',
The ROI's better than Wall Street's Big Bail!"
Like the words drifting down from that bright SUV,
So pieces of paper were floating towards me
I grabbed one and saw the ornate proclamation
They'd spread on that night ‘cross the whole of the nation
"Support our small firms ‘cause small firms are the best;
The bedrock on which our economy rests!"
As the car zipped away, their last words I could hear:
"Merry Christmas to all, and a prosp'rous New Year!"
*Senator Mary Landrieu and Senator Olympia Snowe are the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
** Representatives Nydia Velazquez and Sam Graves are the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the House Committee on Small Business.
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About the Author: Dawn Rivers Baker, an award-winning small business journalist, regularly reports and analyzes small business policy and research as the Publisher of the MicroEnterprise Journal, where the nation’s business meets microbusiness. She also publishes the Journal Blog.
