Will an increase in the minimum wage, as President Obama is proposing, help or hurt workers and the economy? A small business owner says it'll make it harder for him to hire, but an economist says that raising the minimum wage won't increase unemployment.

The recently-released ADP September jobs report showed modest growth in the job market. While all of this will certainly be hailed as positive results from the Democrats, Republicans and other detractors will be quick to point out that job growth has been significantly less than what was expected.

After promising a new business tax plan in his State of the Union Address last month, President Obama revealed his corporate tax overhaul on Wednesday. The plan includes fewer tax loopholes, reduces tax rates to from 35 percent to 25 percent for manufacturers, creates a new minimum tax for foreign earnings and simplifies the tax code for small businesses. Critics, like Mitt Romney, argue for even lower taxes for corporations. But what do manufacturers and small business owners have to say about Obama’s plan?

Just when things seemed to be looking up for the economy, a new report released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business reveals small businesses across the country are struggling to break even. The report goes also says bleak prospects have forced many small businesses to hold off hiring new employees, as they struggle to maintain their current work force.  

Small businesses employ about half of the American workforce, an important fact when you consider the potential chain reaction of this news: no new hiring means no new spending, no new spending could spell a longer, deeper recession.