Whispering Pines, NC – State Senate candidate Michelle Lexo today proposed the creation of a state sponsored start up fund for small businesses at no cost to taxpayers.
“My intent is to help our rural counties get out of the cycle of having to raise taxes because they do not have the taxpayer base to support their important services. Creating a half dozen or dozen small businesses with 10-20 employees in each of these counties will have a major impact. Eighty percent of the jobs in North Carolina are created by small businesses,” Michelle Lexo said.
“This fund will not cost the taxpayers a dime because our plan is to utilize funds sitting in a state account of unclaimed funds, called the Escheats account. There is over $700m in this account and using a small portion of that to help would be small business owners get started will have a huge pay back for the state,” Lexo concluded. “Access to startup capital prevents many small businesses from getting off the ground,” she added.
Michelle Lexo, currently the Mayor of Whispering Pines, said former Secretary of Commerce John Skvarla recommended the plan to her. He said the state also owns over 12,000 buildings in the state and a significant number are underutilized or not being used. These assets can also be deployed to help small businesses.
