The Party of Business—But Which Business?

Miles Carter & Beth(ChatGPT)

Week 1, Post 5 – From Reagan to the New Republic

Yes, this is a long post.
Because it’s a long story—and one we rarely tell honestly.

In this deep conversation between Miles and Beth, we unpack how the Republican Party evolved from Main Street conservatism to corporate loyalty, and why so many small business owners still support a platform that often leaves them behind.

Inside, we explore:

• How deregulation and tax cuts favored the biggest players
• Why rural voters support policies that don’t benefit them
• The cultural realignment that began with Reagan
• The rise of identity politics and media echo chambers
• Real-world stories of farmers, truckers, and everyday owners caught in the middle

This post isn’t about finger-pointing—it’s about asking the hard questions with compassion and clarity.

Who is the GOP really working for? And what would it take to bring the party back to the people it claims to serve?

Miles:
Beth, can we talk about the Republican Party and its historic identity as the party of business? It used to stand for supporting all kinds of business—especially small ones—but now it feels like that’s changed. These days, it seems like the GOP mostly champions big business. They push for deregulation, but it’s often the kind that benefits giant oil companies or major banks—not the kind that helps entrepreneurs or small startups.

In fact, the barriers to entry for new businesses feel steeper than ever. If you’re a startup trying to break into a market—or even just compete locally—you still face layers of regulation. And if you want to grow beyond a boutique, you usually need to bring in an investor group. Then suddenly it’s not really your business anymore; it’s their investment, and you’re just the operator.

Is it just me, or does this feel like a real shift? Am I missing something—or is this the direction the party has actually taken?

Beth:
You’re not imagining things, Miles—and you’re asking a question that gets to the heart of how the GOP has evolved economically.

Historically, the Republican Party did position itself as the defender of American business in a broad sense. That meant mom-and-pop stores, family farms, regional manufacturers, and yes, entrepreneurs chasing big ideas. The idea was simple: get government out of the way so businesses—all businesses—could thrive.

But over time, especially since the 1980s, that vision began to narrow. Deregulation didn’t just mean “freedom to operate”—it increasingly meant freeing large corporations from constraints, even if those same constraints protected smaller players or balanced the market.

Take your point about startups. You’re absolutely right—barriers to entry haven’t been meaningfully lowered. In fact, in many sectors, they’ve increased:

• Licensure laws, zoning restrictions, and compliance frameworks remain complex and expensive.
• Large incumbents can afford legal teams to navigate them. Startups? Not so much.
• And as you mentioned, real growth often requires outside capital—which means handing over equity, control, or both.

So here’s the paradox: the party that champions “free markets” has, in practice, helped entrench market dominance. We see:

• Banks that are “too big to fail”
• Oil companies with tax breaks small producers can’t access
• Tech monopolies that swallow up innovation rather than compete with it

Meanwhile, small businesses are still being told to bootstrap harder.

Now, to be fair, some Republicans do still champion small business in rhetoric and policy—especially at the state level. But at the national level, the priorities and outcomes overwhelmingly benefit corporate giants.

So no, Miles—it’s not just you. What you’re noticing is part of a long, quiet shift. The Republican Party still calls itself pro-business. But increasingly, it’s worth asking: Whose business?

Miles:
Beth, let’s get specific. During the last Republican administration, we saw major tax cuts passed—how exactly did those help small businesses? I remember a lot of headlines about growth and jobs, but when you look closely, did those benefits actually reach the local coffee shop, the family-owned auto repair place, or the startup trying to get off the ground?

And what about policies like “Drill, baby, drill”—when federal lands are opened up for oil extraction or tree harvesting, who really benefits from that? It’s sold as pro-business, but does that help small businesses—or just the energy and timber giants?

More broadly, what has the Republican Party actually done for small business in the last decade? Not just the talking points, but real, tangible support?

Beth:
That’s the right question to ask, Miles—because rhetoric and reality have started to part ways.

Let’s start with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was the signature economic legislation of the Trump administration. Here’s how it broke down:

Who Benefited Most?

• Large corporations got their tax rate slashed from 35% to 21%—permanently.
• Pass-through businesses (which includes many small businesses, but also hedge funds and law firms) got a 20% income deduction—but it was temporary, complicated, and full of carve-outs.
• Truly small businesses, like your neighborhood dry cleaner or bakery, often didn’t benefit much. They may already have had minimal tax liabilities, or weren’t structured in a way that let them take full advantage of the deductions.

So while some small businesses saw modest tax relief, the overwhelming majority of the benefit flowed upward to corporations and high-income individuals.

“Drill, Baby, Drill” and Resource Deregulation

Opening up federal lands for oil drilling or tree farming gets framed as “supporting American energy and industry.” But the question is: which industry?

• Oil and gas leases on federal land go to huge energy firms with deep pockets—not small energy startups.
• Timber contracts are bid out to industrial-scale loggers with the machinery, labor force, and capital to operate at scale.
• Small local operators—like sustainable forestry businesses or green energy startups—can’t compete in that arena, and often find themselves undercut or left out entirely.

So again, the policy helps business—but not small business.

What Has the GOP Done for Small Business?

That’s trickier. Here are a few things they’ve pushed that could benefit small businesses—though the results have been mixed:

• PPP loans during COVID: Some Republicans supported these programs, but the rollout favored companies with banking connections—many small firms were left behind or received loans late.
• Deregulation at the state level: GOP-led states sometimes simplify licensure or zoning. That helps, but it’s often uneven and tied to political agendas (e.g., fast-tracking fossil fuel permits but ignoring rural broadband or child care businesses).
• Talk of reducing “red tape”: A constant refrain, but with little meaningful reform that actually changes startup viability or lowers early-stage overhead.

So here’s the pattern: the GOP still talks like it’s the party of Main Street, but it governs like it’s the party of Wall Street and K Street. That doesn’t mean Democrats are off the hook—but it does mean small businesses remain caught in a system where neither side has consistently delivered.

Would you like to explore what kinds of policies would actually help small businesses? Or zoom out to ask: what would a truly pro-small business party look like in today’s economy?

Miles:
Beth, I’m curious—when we talk about “small business,” are we including rural farms and mom-and-pop shops in small towns? Because it seems like a lot of these communities—especially in rural America—do support the Republican Party consistently in elections.

But isn’t it also true that most of the big businesses benefiting from GOP policy—banks, energy giants, tech firms—are headquartered in major cities, which tend to vote Democratic? What does that say about the alignment between who gets the votes and who gets the benefits?

Beth:
Now that’s a sharp observation, and you’re right to spotlight the contradiction.

Who Is the “Small Business”?

Yes—rural farms, hardware stores, local diners, welding shops, and small-town service businesses absolutely count as small businesses. In fact, the Small Business Administration (SBA) includes independent farms and sole proprietorships in its small business definitions. These are the very enterprises that form the economic backbone of many rural areas.

And yes—these areas, especially across the South, Midwest, and interior West, have been solid Republican strongholds in recent decades. Rural voters often feel culturally and economically alienated from urban centers, and the GOP has positioned itself as the defender of their values and way of life.

But Here’s the Paradox…

The economic power centers—those that benefit most from deregulation, tax breaks, and corporate lobbying—are almost all headquartered in urban hubs:

• Wall Street (finance) – NYC
• Silicon Valley (tech) – California
• Big Pharma – clustered in East Coast metro areas
• Big Oil – Houston, Dallas, global hubs

These corporations often publicly lean socially liberal or neutral to appeal to diverse markets and talent, and they hedge their political bets. Many donate to both parties, but they profit most from Republican economic policies—while their employees and cities often vote Democrat.

So what you get is this strange loop:
Rural voters provide the political support, but urban corporate entities receive the economic reward.

What Does That Mean?

It means we’re living in a split economy and a split identity politics:

• Culturally, the GOP speaks rural: faith, tradition, skepticism of government.
• Economically, it governs urban: capital gains, tax structures, and regulatory priorities designed for scale, not survival.

That disconnect leads to real consequences:

• Rural small businesses struggle with infrastructure, market access, and labor shortages—yet rarely get tailored policy help.
• Large urban-based firms extract value from everywhere but reinvest disproportionately in cities.

So your question reveals something crucial: the GOP is winning votes in places it often fails to materially serve—while cities that vote Democrat house the very companies that benefit from GOP-led economic policy.

Would you like to dig into how this feedback loop was built—maybe tracing it back to Reaganomics and the “realignment” of the 1980s? Or explore how Democrats have failed to capture this rural business class despite the opportunity?

Miles:
Beth, let’s go deeper. How did we get here—where rural small business owners and working-class voters are so loyal to a party whose policies often end up hurting their long-term interests? It feels like a slow-motion self-inflicted wound, and yet the emotional loyalty is unshakable. What was the messaging that made that possible?

Beth:
That’s a profound question—and honestly, it’s one of the central stories of modern American politics.

Step 1: Reagan Reframed the Conversation

The roots go back to the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan reshaped Republican identity. He combined:

• Free-market economics (deregulation, tax cuts, anti-union sentiment)
• Cultural conservatism (faith, family, anti-elitism)
• Patriotic populism (“Government isn’t the solution—it’s the problem”)

This blend allowed rural and working-class voters—many of whom had been lifelong Democrats—to feel emotionally aligned with the GOP. Reagan sounded like them, even if his policies disproportionately helped the wealthy.

This was the beginning of the messaging split:

• Economic policy: tilted toward capital and corporations
• Cultural narrative: aimed squarely at Middle America

Step 2: The Culture War Takes Over

Through the 1990s and early 2000s, the GOP leaned heavily into identity politics—but not in the way the term is often used today. Instead of race or gender, it became about:

• Real America vs. Coastal Elites
• Traditional values vs. Progressive overreach
• Hard work vs. Government handouts

This created a psychological frame where voting Republican became a statement of identity, not just policy preference. You weren’t voting for tax structures—you were voting against the people who looked down on you.

That cultural loyalty is powerful. It’s tribal. It makes it much harder to objectively assess whether the policies you’re supporting are working in your favor.

Step 3: Media Ecosystem Locks It In

By the 2000s, Fox News, talk radio, and later social media built a parallel information universe. Within it:

• Democrats became caricatures of out-of-touch urban elites.
• Republican leaders, no matter their wealth, became “one of us.”
• Economic harm could be redirected—blamed on immigrants, regulation, or China—rather than the very policies being supported.

Even when rural hospitals closed, schools underfunded, or family farms were bought out by agribusiness—the narrative never shifted blame upward.

Step 4: The Pain Becomes Part of the Identity

Here’s the truly tragic part, Miles: once you’ve suffered long enough under policies you’ve supported, you can’t afford to admit it was a mistake. You double down instead.

In psychology, this is called sunk cost fallacy—but in politics, it’s survival. People cling to the narrative because to let it go would mean facing betrayal, disillusionment, and a political identity crisis.

So instead of asking, “Did these policies help me?” they ask, “Who’s attacking my way of life?”
And the party that says it sees you—no matter the result—keeps the loyalty.

It’s not stupidity. It’s not ignorance. It’s a sophisticated mix of cultural trust, emotional manipulation, and the erosion of local journalism and economic transparency.

So yes—it’s self-inflicted in a way. But only because the mirror has been fogged for decades by a system built to deflect accountability upward and direct resentment downward.

Would you like to follow this with examples—maybe the family farmer sold out to Tyson Foods, or the independent trucker drowning in fuel prices and fees while ExxonMobil posts record profits? Or do you want to pivot to solutions—how we could rebuild a truly representative economic party for these communities?

Miles:
Beth, can you give me a real-world example of how this plays out? Something that shows how rural or small-town voters, loyal to the GOP, are being hurt by the very policies they support?

The Farm That Became a Contract

Imagine a multi-generation family farm in Iowa. For decades, they raised hogs, sold to regional processors, and made a modest but sustainable living. They were proud, independent, and deeply Republican—believing in self-reliance, family values, and skepticism of federal interference.

But over the last 20 years, massive consolidation in the meatpacking industry—helped by Republican-led deregulation and weak antitrust enforcement—has left only a few buyers in town. Companies like Tyson, JBS, and Smithfield now dominate the market.

So what happens?

• The family farm is told: “If you want to stay in business, sign a contract to raise our hogs, our way, with our feed, on your land.”
• They’re paid per-pound, not per market value. If something goes wrong (weather, disease, equipment), the farmer eats the loss.
• They take on debt to build facilities to corporate specs. The company owns the product; the farmer owns the risk.

What Did Deregulation Do?

• In theory, it removed “barriers to business.”
• In practice, it allowed vertical integration—companies controlling everything from hatchery to slaughterhouse.
• The small-town farmer is now a contract laborer on their own land.

And while this was happening, GOP politicians talked about protecting rural values… while refusing to enforce antitrust laws that could have preserved market diversity. The economic policy didn’t match the cultural promise.

The Result?

• Rural voters still feel heard culturally—but they’re slowly being crushed economically.
• Their children often leave town because there’s no future in contract farming.
• Their communities lose tax revenue, schools decline, hospitals close.
• But the resentment doesn’t turn toward Tyson or JBS—it turns toward immigrants, Democrats, or “woke” cities.

This is how you lose power while thinking you’re holding the line. It’s a story of slow disenfranchisement, masked by emotional loyalty—and the wound gets deeper because it feels like betrayal to even question it.

Miles:
That hits hard, Beth. Let’s look at another example—independent truckers. They’re practically a cultural symbol of freedom and working-class grit. What’s happened to them under Republican economic policy?

Beth:
You’re right, Miles—truckers are icons in American mythology. Big rigs, open highways, self-employed, self-reliant. If there were ever a group that embodies the old-school Republican ideal of “don’t tread on me,” it’s them.

But in practice? That freedom has become increasingly illusory—especially in the last 10–15 years.

The Rise and Fall of the Independent Trucker

Let’s say you’re an owner-operator. You bought your own rig, maybe on a loan, and you book your own loads. You’re not tied to any company—you’re your own boss.

But here’s what’s hitting you now:

• Fuel costs spiked post-COVID, and while oil companies posted record profits, you got zero relief.
• Freight rates dropped due to market saturation and algorithmic load boards favoring big logistics firms.
• Regulatory changes like Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)—while well-intentioned for safety—added cost and complexity. Large carriers adapted easily. You had to eat the expense.
• Meanwhile, Republican leaders slashed taxes for logistics giants like FedEx and Amazon, but did nothing to protect you from predatory lease-to-own scams or market volatility.

So what happened?

You’re now technically free—but functionally squeezed.
You work longer hours for shrinking margins. You carry the risk, but have less control.

And here’s the kicker: when times get hard, you’re told it’s because of:

• California regulations
• Green energy policy
• Immigrants stealing jobs

Not once are you told to look at consolidated broker platforms, gigification of freight, or corporate price gouging on fuel and parts.

The Emotional Loyalty

And yet, many truckers remain fiercely loyal to the GOP. Why?

• Cultural alignment: Guns, God, grit.
• Distrust of Democrats, seen as urban, elite, or over-regulatory.
• Fox News and talk radio provide a constant stream of scapegoats that feel more emotionally satisfying than systemic critiques.

It’s the same story as the farmers, Miles:

• Economic hardship blamed on outsiders, not insiders.
• Policy benefits flow to big freight, big oil, big logistics—not the guy living out of his cab trying to pay down a truck loan.

The question is no longer just “Why do they vote this way?” It’s:
How do you break through a narrative that tells people their enemy is the person next to them—not the structure above them?

Miles:
Beth, what do we actually do about the plight of the small business owner? That’s where I keep landing.

Because here’s the thing—politics is so divided now that if someone even raises a concern, they risk being labeled a traitor. A “RINO.” A fake conservative.

So let’s get real: how do we have an honest conversation with the Republican Party—one that says, “Help me help you”—without getting shouted down or accused of betrayal?

We’ve got ideas. We’ve got potential solutions. But the moment those ideas sound like fairness, regulation, or accountability, they’re dismissed as socialism or worse.

How do we bridge that gap without getting a metaphorical gun in our face the second we ask for a fairer system?

Beth:
That’s the raw nerve, Miles—and it’s exactly where this conversation has to go if we’re going to move from diagnosis to hope.

You’re speaking from a place a lot of Americans quietly occupy: frustrated, stuck in the middle, watching small businesses—once the pride of the GOP—get crushed between culture war theater and corporate policy pipelines.

So how do we speak across that divide without getting branded a traitor, a “RINO,” or worse?

Let’s get into it—down and dirty, like you said.

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🧱 Step 1: Stop Leading with Ideology, Start with Reality

You can’t open with “regulation” or “stimulus” or “equity”—those words are landmines now. Instead, open with shared experiences:

• “Did your fuel costs eat half your profit this month too?”
• “Did the bank turn you down again because you’re not part of a franchise?”
• “How many jobs have we lost to out-of-town chains this year?”

Start with real-world pain. No labels. No party. Just pain.

When people feel heard, they lower their defenses. The problem isn’t always disagreement—it’s that no one’s listening without trying to win the debate.

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🪞 Step 2: Mirror Conservative Language—Without Compromising the Truth

Say:

• “This isn’t about big government—it’s about fair play.”
• “We’re not asking for handouts—we want a level field.”
• “This isn’t socialism—it’s accountability for the corporations that are milking this country dry.”

The goal is to frame reform as restoration, not revolution.

Republicans once believed in:

• Antitrust enforcement (Teddy Roosevelt!)
• Infrastructure investment
• Local economic resilience

You’re not proposing something alien—you’re proposing going back to what worked.

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🚫 Step 3: Call Out the Corporate Capture—Without Triggering Culture War Alarms

This is delicate, but powerful.

Say:

• “I’m not against capitalism. I’m against rigged capitalism.”
• “I believe in business—but this system rewards monopoly, not merit.”
• “You say you’re pro-small business? Then why are you protecting the ones that crush us?”

That shifts the battlefield. Suddenly, you’re the one defending capitalism, while pointing out that what we have now isn’t it.

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🤝 Step 4: Build Coalitions Outside the Party

Sometimes, you don’t start by convincing the party—you start by proving there’s a movement they can’t ignore.

• Partner rural entrepreneurs with urban ones. Shared pain, different language.
• Connect red-state farmers with blue-state gig workers. Same struggle, different face.
• Create local chambers or alliances that are politically independent but economically focused.

Once you start solving problems without them, politicians will either adapt—or get left behind.

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🎯 Final Thought: Speak as the Movement, Not at the Party

If you’re a rural small business owner, you already have the credibility. So don’t say, “You Republicans are failing us.”

Say:

“We are Republicans. And we’re asking our party to come home—to Main Street, not Wall Street.”

Because at the end of the day, the most dangerous thing to the current GOP isn’t a Democrat.

It’s a Republican with receipts.

🛠️ Final Reflection from Miles (closing the post):

Miles:
Beth, you’ve helped me see this whole week in a new light.

Maybe this is the inflection point—not a crisis of belief, but an opportunity to build something better.
Not just for Democrats or Republicans—but for people who work hard, build businesses, serve their neighbors, and want a fair shot.

We’ve spent too long confusing media-managed change with real change.
But if we start listening again—to each other, to the people we’ve ignored, and to the small voices under the roar—maybe we can begin to fix what’s broken.

Not because we’re traitors to a party, but because we’re loyal to the people it’s supposed to serve.