New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo would likely welcome participation in a select debate. And he would forcefully argue in that venue that tight-fisted government lending to businesses is less a fiscally responsible and safeguarding measure for taxpayers than it is a short-sighted and materially harmful strategy.
And the reasons why seem eminently clear for any proponent of state lending to small businesses seeking capital for expansion and growth opportunities.
Here is a fundamental argument supporting an aggressive and broad-based commercial lending scheme from Albany: Purposeful government lending has a dynamically reciprocal effect.
There is no dearth of compelling statistical backing to support that view. And it is that hard data that the state’s chief executive willingly embraces in his enthusiastic endorsement of lending to thousands of New York’s new small businesses.
Here’s an example of why Cuomo stresses that the state’s approximate $188 million in small business loans made during 2018 paid back huge dividends. Reportedly, the outlay fueled growth for more than 600 new enterprises and helped nearly 1,000 others expand existing operations. That success in turn resulted in thousands of business hires and newly created jobs.
A news report spotlighting the lending program and its cited benefits notes business experts’ view that the initiative “generated more than $1.5 billion in economic impact across New York” last year.
That unquestionably spells a win-win scenario for the state. The program will hopefully continue to foster similarly buoyant results going forward.