At a South Florida roundtable, Hispanic entrepreneurs said they want tangible support to grow businesses — not political slogans. Census data cited in the piece put Hispanic-owned employer firms at nearly 496,000 with about $730 billion in receipts. The authors argue the Working Families Tax Cuts, which made a 20% small-business deduction permanent, provides tax certainty that helps owners plan, hire, and invest. They call on Washington to respect Hispanic Main Street as an economic force and prioritize practical policy solutions.
Hispanic Main Street Deserves Opportunity — Not Political Pandering
Washington has long treated the Hispanic community as a single voting bloc instead of recognizing the economic vitality of Hispanic-owned businesses and working families. At a Working Families Tax Cuts roundtable at Sergio’s restaurant in South Florida, Hispanic entrepreneurs made it clear: they don’t want slogans — they want practical tools to grow their businesses, hire employees, and create opportunity in their neighborhoods.
Business Owners Focused on Growth
That determination is visible across family-run restaurants, contracting companies, nail salons, and neighborhood shops where families are building futures from the ground up. One of us comes from the small-business world and knows the pressure of making payroll when employees and their families depend on you. The day our balance sheet finally showed a surplus felt like a Super Bowl win. For many small-business owners, success is about more than profit: employees become extended family, and businesses become economic engines for the community.
Small businesses generate both opportunity and community. Owners watch employees build careers, raise families, send children to college, and sometimes see the next generation return to work alongside them. Those investments cannot be captured solely on a balance sheet.
Hispanic-Owned Businesses: A Growing Economic Force
Census data show Hispanic-owned employer firms account for nearly 496,000 businesses and about $730 billion in annual receipts. Almost all are small firms built through long hours, risk-taking, and strong ties to their communities, making Hispanic entrepreneurs a fast-growing and significant part of the American economy.
Policy, Certainty, and the Working Families Tax Cuts
Too often, Washington treats Hispanic Americans first as a political constituency and second as an economic force. What entrepreneurs repeatedly asked for at Sergio’s was concrete predictability: the freedom to scale their businesses, hire workers, and invest locally.
Despite unanimous Democratic opposition, a 20 percent small-business tax deduction was made permanent as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts. Supporters say that move protects millions of job creators from tax increases, giving growing businesses greater certainty to invest and expand. Without that action, many expanding small businesses would have faced a significant tax increase as key provisions expired.
Regardless of political perspective, small-business owners want policies that allow them to plan, hire, and grow. They want to invest in their communities and build enterprises they can pass to the next generation. Washington should stop lecturing Hispanic Main Street and start respecting and supporting it with practical policies.
Lisa McClain is chair of the House Republican Conference and represents Michigan’s 10th District. Sandra Benitez is executive director of The LIBRE Initiative, a center-right Latino organization.
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