While Arizona struggles to recover from an economic downturn that hangs around like a bad cold that won’t go away, the last thing small-business owners need is a prescription for some bad medicine.

During this economic slowdown, many small firms have had too much inventory, little cash flow, greater overhead and rising health care costs. At the same time, they struggled to simply keep their doors open and their invaluable workers employed. While the latest survey from the NFIB Research Foundation shows that economic growth is finally gaining ground and taking hold, many factors can cast a shadow on the horizon and bring that economic growth to a screeching halt.

Small-business owners take tremendous risks simply operating their businesses. They also work hard to keep people working. Small business is the engine driving our economy, employing more than half of the private workforce, while creating three of every four new jobs in America.

Small-business owners are sympathetic to people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. However, small-business owners are often viewed as having no sympathy for their employees and as having deep pockets.

When an unemployment benefits increase was proposed last legislative session, many small-business owners felt that an increase would pour more salt into a wound that was slowly on the mend. Nonetheless, the small-business community, represented by NFIB, worked with the Arizona Retailers Association, the Arizona and Greater Phoenix Chambers of Commerce, the Children’s Action Alliance, Governor Napolitano’s staff, Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Dist. 18, and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-Dist. 8, to build a consensus on the increase and reforms to the UI system overall. While it was a challenge at times, we collectively came up with a piece of legislation that was fair. In the end, S1009 was broadly supported by Democrats and Republicans, a truly bipartisan bill.

Consensus and bi-partisan support notwithstanding, the governor vetoed the bill at the behest of the state’s labor unions. Rather than pointing a finger at small business for no increase this year, perhaps we should ask the governor and union leaders why a benefit increase didn’t also merit reform of the system. S1009 would have given hard-working Arizonans a benefit increase and given small businesses much-needed and long-overdue reforms.

As Ms. Allen prepares to renew her efforts for a benefit increase, we know that she will continue to work with all concerned to reach our common goal — a UI system that works for both employees and employers and protects our state’s economy.

Michelle Bolton is director of NFIB/Arizona. With 8,700 members statewide and 600,000 throughout the U.S., the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the largest small-business advocacy group in Arizona and the nation. More information is available online at www.nfib.com/AZ.