Earlier today we posted a Yahoo! Small Business Advisor article about  legislation that would make it legal for entrepreneurs to sell small stakes in their companies through online crowdfunding platforms. Just a few hours later, the House voted to pass the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, a package of six separate pieces of legislation, including the one supporting crowdfunding that it had approved in a vote last November. The Senate will consider a similar bill next week.

Business owners have told Yahoo! that a lack of access to capital is hurting them. Crowdfunding is just one element of the JOBS Act meant to address that problem. As the Washington Post reported this afternoon, small business advocates are applauding the bipartisan passage of a bill that "would ease Securities and Exchange Commission rules that can impede or slow the process for companies trying to enter the public markets."

Aside from legalizing crowdfunding--which would let proprietors raise investments

The Young Entrepreneur Council today kicked off a national initiative to steer politicians' attention toward policies and programs that YEC and its partners say would encourage and enable more entrepreneurship among young people and tackle "an epidemic of youth unemployment and underemployment."   

YEC's ambitious and energetic founder Scott Gerber, a 27-year-old self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, says his organization's #FixYoungAmerica movement will feature a social media campaign, nationwide events, and the publication of a compilation of essays on entrepreneurship written by the country's "brightest intellectuals, nonprofit founders, philanthropists, educators, politicians, and entrepreneurs."

He says the goal is to create a "positive conversation" about how to build solutions for young entrepreneurs. "Whenever you hear about youth unemployment, it's always in the negative. We're the 'lost generation'," Gerber says. He'd prefer to focus on what's working and legislate from that

Karen G. Mills was sworn in as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in April 2009. Last month, at the same time he sought Congressional authority to reorganize and consolidate SBA with the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, President Obama elevated Mills' post to the Cabinet level.

Yahoo! Small Business had the opportunity last week to ask Mills to discuss her new post, her plans for 2012, and her take on small business owners' top priorities now.

U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills visits a North Carolina small business

SmallBiz Vote: What does the elevation of the Small Business Administration to the cabinet level right now mean for small business owners? How will your new seat at the cabinet table impact what you are able to accomplish for small businesses, near-term and long-term?

Karen G. Mills: Small businesses are the economic engine of our economy. They create 2 out of every 3 new jobs. Roughly half of America owns or works for a small business.

The President understands the importance of

If you're a small business owner suffering the effects of the stalled economy, you're far from alone. More than 70 percent of respondents to a Yahoo! Small Business survey this month said they're hurting. Detailed results of the survey—which polled 250 owners of businesses that employ between 1 and 100—is available here.

An open-ended survey question asked respondents "what one issue affecting your business would you like to see policymakers address?" The most common replies focused on taxes, access to capital, healthcare, and unemployment.

Do these business owners' comments echo your sentiments? What would you add to the list?

On taxes:
•    "Taxes on the small business man are thru the roof and need to be addressed."
•    "[Give us] clear, simple tax codes so we can gauge our future expenses accurately."
•    "We need real incentives and real tax breaks for the Mom and Pop companies."
•    "I want [policymakers] to recognize that taxes are killing small businesses."
•    "Small

Mom and Pop are taking off the gloves. Today the New York Times reports on a growing trend among independent online businesses to tap into the anti-corporate zeitgeist that fueled the Occupy movement. Independents have long competed using tactics such as personalizing service and dodging direct price comparisons. Now there's a new approach: small business is good business.

The Times quotes one online small business owner: "you end up relying on what hopefully becomes an emotional or personal connection with the retailer online."

What's your experience? Does your business compete directly with the online goliaths? If so, share your success strategies in the comments.

We're pleased to announce that Yahoo! Small Business Advisor - including the Profit-Minded Blog - is now available on iPad through Yahoo's Livestand iPad app. You'll find us in the Business & Finance section. To pin Advisor to your Livestand library, simply tap the green plus sign when you view Advisor in the Livestand table of contents.

Advisor for iPad includes the same lineup of ideas and advice for entrepreneurs and growing businesses as the Advisor web site, in a format optimized for tablet viewing. You'll find original articles and blogs as well as content from leading partners including Entrepreneur, Inc., and Reuters. The iPad is a great place to explore Advisor's video library.

More about Livestand here.

Small business information any time, anywhere. Check out Advisor on your iPad today!

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Welcome to The SmallBiz Vote, a new blog from Yahoo! Small Business Advisor, where we'll be tracking the political issues that matter most to small business owners throughout the 2012 election year. In the coming weeks and months, this space will feature the political views of small business owners and keep you updated on the election news that affects you.

If you're a small business owner, bookmark us now, and return on Monday for detailed results of a new Yahoo! Small Business Advisor survey that reveals how people like you have been impacted by the stalled economy, whom they blame, and what changes they're looking for from Washington.

And stay tuned for our Q&A with Small Business Administrator Karen Mills. She'll share her goals as she takes a new Cabinet post in the Obama Administration, and explain how the 2013 budget proposal strives to serve the needs of small businesses and the priorities of the SBA.

It's clear that President Obama and the candidates who would like to replace