Something about this story feels profoundly discouraging to me:

Forty Rhode Island business owners traveled to Washington D.C. last week as part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit to meet with hundreds of officials to discuss how to boost access to capital, child care and government contracting.

Katie Schibler Conn, owner of KSA Marketing in Warwick, was one of those participants that made the trek to D.C. and spoke with Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Jack Reed and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline.

“Small business owner” should connote a sense of independence — of providing for one’s self, one’s family, and one’s employees.  It’s “yes, I built that!”  Running to government for cash and subsidized family services is rent seeking, which is very much like working for the government.