Press Statement
March 23, 2025
Trump’s Commerce Secretary is a threat to our small business economy
Declares delayed Social Security won’t bother “Americans”
Below is a statement by Frank Knapp Jr., President and CEO of the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce, in response to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick declaring this past Thursday that “the average American …would not complain about not receiving their checks for a month”.
“President Trump should seriously consider firing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for his apparent lack of knowledge about the importance of Social Security and his disregard for our nation’s local small business economies. His view that the “average American” on Social Security would not complain if the federal government failed to deliver the monthly check implies that these funds are not critical to millions of Americans for meeting their monthly expenses. This attitude demonstrate Secretary Lutnick’s lack of knowledge of the dependency our seniors and local small-business economies have on Social Security benefits being on time.
Social Security checks for the nation’s 67 million citizens pump approximately $116 billion monthly into local economies with much of it spent with small businesses for food, rent, and living necessities. The economic harm to these small businesses, many operating with small or no profits, would be great.
The Trump Administration’s actions to reduce the cost of Social Security and Secretary Lutnick’s comments raise the concern that delaying Social Security checks is being considered. We consider this a serious threat to our small businesses and to the nation’s economy.”
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Contact:
Frank Knapp
fknapp@scsbc.org
803-600-6874 m