Investigative journalism is apparently stone dead. For quite some time, the president has been maintaining that 97 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000 per year, and no one is challenging this.

Several decades ago, the Small Business Administration defined a small business as one that made $1,000,000 or less per year gross income. Looking at the various small businesses I patronize, I suspect that only my dry cleaner meets the president's arbitrary standard. While it may identify a true mom-and-pop endeavor, I doubt 97 percent of all small businesses fall into this income bracket.

Considering the number of times $250,000 is mentioned as the income marker for some proposed benchmark, I suspect it's a figure plucked out of thin air.

So--how about some independent verification by the fourth estate?

William Moore

Ladysmith