​Small Business Saturday is coming up on Saturday, November 25 – as usual, falling on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday at the peak of the holiday shopping season. For many Main Streets and commercial districts, and the small business owners within them, Small Business Saturday has become one of the busiest and most profitable times of the year. In 2021, Small Business Saturday sales reached $23.3 billion, putting Small Business Saturday is on par with Black Friday (more than $30 billion) and Cyber Monday ($10.7 billion), according to the 2021 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey commissioned by American Express. For small business owners, the impact of Small Business Saturday and the Shop Small® season can have immense impact, perhaps even giving them the financial bump they need to grow their businesses, creating a beneficial ripple effect throughout the community.

The Federal government is facing a real chance of a shutdown if a compromise is not reached in Congress before September 30th. The impact to the region, nevertheless the nation, is hard to determine because mandatory spending will continue during a shutdown.
 
However, discretionary spending will come to a halt. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, past impasses have led to furloughs of federal contractor employees, closed national parks, put infrastructure projects on hold, as well as delays around items such as permits, passports, bankruptcy, mortgage and banking applications, to name a few.
 
Negotiations to structure an 11th hour deal are still occurring, including a proposal from the Problem Solvers Caucus, which is a bipartisan group of US House Members. The proposal includes:

The Senate returned to legislative Session on August 3rd to “sign” the General Fund bill (HB611), with Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward previously stating, “I understand the importance of getting the General Appropriations Budget to the governor before the school year begins, as well as the funding to organizations. Pennsylvanians are counting on us to finish this process and we will by calling the Senate back before the end of August to sign HB 611. It will be sent to the Governor allowing Treasurer Stacy Garrity to disperse the monies where it is needed in a timely manner.”