The Case for Small and Minority Businesses

In 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to The Forgotten Man, had reached a high of 381 and unemployment was at 5%. By 1934, the Dow had plunge more than 75% to 93 and unemployment had risen to a shocking 23%.

In 2009, we are in an economic crisis that has shaken the foundations of the core industries and companies in the U.S. economy. It is not difficult to fathom how it must be affecting minority owned businesses.

To say it has been catastrophic would not be overstating the case. And there are definite and logical reasons why minority businesses are more vulnerable than others in tough economic times.

But in this crisis, the compound effect of the recession and the tight credit market has conspired to put minority businesses as we know them today on a path to extinction, not unlike the well publicized challenges faced by the auto companies and the financial services industry.