{"id":1704825,"date":"2022-10-20T18:32:55","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T22:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1704825"},"modified":"2022-10-20T18:33:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T22:33:13","slug":"whitmer-says-small-businesses-have-her-support-these-small-business-owners-havent-forgotten-her-shutdowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whitmer-says-small-businesses-have-her-support-these-small-business-owners-havent-forgotten-her-shutdowns\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitmer Says Small Businesses Have Her Support. These Small Business Owners Haven\u2019t Forgotten Her Shutdowns."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhitmer-says-small-businesses-have-her-support-these-small-business-owners-havent-forgotten-her-shutdowns%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1704825&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/gretchen-whitmer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gretchen Whitmer<\/a> (D-MI) attempted to demonstrate her support of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/michigan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michigan<\/a>\u2019s small businesses Tuesday, promising her commitment to the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>The governor <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovWhitmer\/status\/1582495236495810561\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tweeted<\/a> her stand with small businesses from her official account and was promptly met with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovWhitmer\/status\/1582495236495810561\/retweets\/with_comments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">backlash<\/a> from social media users and business owners who still remember how the state\u2019s local economy was fettered by Whitmer\u2019s lockdowns during the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupporting Michigan\u2019s small businesses means supporting the vitality of our local communities,\u201d Whitmer said. \u201cThe data shows that small businesses are at the forefront of driving innovation, jobs, and economic growth in our state, and I\u2019m committed to getting them the support they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While few people would disagree with the governor on the importance of small businesses for a thriving economy, Michigan small business owners criticized how she portrayed herself as a warrior for local business.<\/p>\n<p>Diane Schindlbeck and her husband Eric opened a restaurant in rural western Michigan six months before the onset of the COVID pandemic to fulfill their American dream. The couple\u2019s steakhouse survived the first lockdown, and the Schindlbecks kept their staff by providing meals to first responders through the first 12 weeks of the pandemic. In the summer of 2020, the restaurant reopened, but a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/health\/2020\/11\/15\/covid-19-restrictions-3-week-lockdown-shutdown-high-schools-colleges\/6305432002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second shutdown<\/a> from the Whitmer administration in November 2020 was too much, and the Schindlbecks closed their doors permanently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis governor put fear into our hearts and in our minds and in our businesses because no one knew what the rules were,\u201d Schindlbeck told The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n<p>On March 16, 2020, Whitmer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/News\/2020\/03\/16\/governor-whitmer-signs-executive-order-temporarily-closing-bars-theaters-casinos-and-other-public-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ordered<\/a> public spaces such as bars, theaters, bowling centers, and casinos to close, and only allowed restaurants to serve food via delivery and pick-up orders. For months after the onset of the pandemic, the Whitmer administration continued to order restaurants to limit the number of customers they could serve and required that businesses enact social distancing and mask requirements. Theaters and bowling centers had to <a href=\"https:\/\/thecountypress.mihomepaper.com\/articles\/its-a-disaster-looming-over-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shut their doors completely<\/a> from mid-March 2020 through the end of that summer. Then, Whitmer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/whitmer-lets-detroit-casinos-open-limits-northern-michigan-indoor-bars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allowed<\/a> casinos in Detroit, the state\u2019s most populous city, to reopen in late July 2020 while forcing small bars in northern Michigan to shutter indoor service.<\/p>\n<p>The governor\u2019s COVID restrictions affected the state\u2019s small businesses for over a year after a second shutdown in November 2020. The restrictions on businesses finally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2021\/06\/22\/covid-updates-michigan-restrictions-mask-mandate\/7774556002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ended<\/a> in late June of 2021, nearly 16 months after the governor signed her first emergency order.<\/p>\n<p>Schindlebeck and her husband bought property in February 2021 and recently opened Schindy\u2019s, a new restaurant and general store they hope will give them another shot at their dream. However, an economy trying to come back after the lockdowns and reeling from a supply chain crisis has made life difficult for the small business owners. Schindlebeck criticized Whitmer\u2019s tweet and questioned how the governor was backing up her words with action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe comment of \u2018I\u2019m committed to getting [small businesses] the support they need,\u2019 where is that support?\u201d Schindlebeck asked.<\/p>\n<p>The governor\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer\u2019s Republican opponent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/michigan-governors-race-much-closer-than-previously-suggested-new-poll-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tudor Dixon<\/a> has regularly criticized the governor for her lockdown policies, arguing that the lockdowns harmed local businesses and negatively affected other areas of Michigan life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGretchen Whitmer implemented the most draconian and extreme lockdowns in the country throughout the pandemic,\u201d Dixon told The Daily Wire Thursday. \u201cShe destroyed our small business community, stole years of schooling from our kids, and forced hard working Michiganders to follow her intrusive orders that picked winners and losers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dixon then revealed how she would have taken a different approach. \u201cAs governor, I would have instead partnered with our community leaders, neighboring states, and the people of Michigan to follow the science, share the facts, and enable individuals to make choices for themselves,\u201d she commented. \u201cThere would have been no extreme lockdowns, no extended school closures, and no restrictions and mandates that were outright confusing and cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Whitmer\u2019s lockdowns, 36% of Michigan\u2019s small businesses were forced to lay off staff, and over half of those businesses let go of all their employees, according to a 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Global-State-of-Small-Business-Report-March-2021.pdf#page=30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> sponsored by Facebook. The same study found that two-thirds of small businesses in the state saw a 10% decrease in sales following the shutdown. More Facebook data <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsdetroit.com\/small-business\/michigan-leads-nation-small-business-closings-facebook-data-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indicated<\/a> that Michigan led the U.S. in small business closings this past summer.<\/p>\n<p>As the businesses that survived the pandemic and Whitmer\u2019s lockdown looked to get back on their feet, the governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2021\/03\/26\/whitmer-vetoes-652-m-federal-covid-relief-second-time\/7019359002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">twice vetoed<\/a> hundreds of millions in federal relief funds for small businesses. Whitmer then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2021\/06\/25\/whitmer-vetoes-bill-businesses-tax-break-ppe-purchases\/5351688001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vetoed<\/a> bipartisan legislation aiming to give tax relief to small businesses that had to purchase personal protective equipment, arguing that she supported the tax break, but the way the legislation was crafted would make it ineligible for federal relief under the American Rescue Plan.<\/p>\n<p>Another small business owner, Karla Wagner, lives in Rockford, a small town just north of Grand Rapids,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) attempted to demonstrate her support of Michigan\u2019s small businesses Tuesday, promising her commitment to the local economy. The governor tweeted her stand with small businesses from her official account and was promptly met with backlash from social media users and business owners who still remember how the state\u2019s local economy was &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1704828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1704825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1704828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1704825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1704825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1704825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}