While Gov. Josh Shapiro was touting his “Main Street Matters” program in Lancaster on Wednesday, a small business advocacy group was calling out the governor and his administration for lack of action.

“Every community in our Commonwealth ― rural, urban, or suburban ― has a Main Street, and I’ve seen firsthand how critical they are to local economies. Our Main Streets are the beating hearts of towns and cities, and their success is directly tied to the small businesses that line them. That’s why my Administration has made investing in our Main Streets a priority, and we’re delivering a historic amount of support for projects across Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro. “Every Main Street matters ― and I’ll continue bringing people together to invest in and improve our communities. While the federal government is raising taxes and costs through harmful tariffs, my Administration is cutting costs and investing in places like downtown Lancaster to ensure every business has the support it needs to thrive.”

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an association of small businesses with offices in Washington and in all 50 state capitals, criticized Shapiro for using Pennsylvania’s smaller downtown areas as a “photo-op,” in lieu of real investment.

“The Main Street Matters program is unfortunately a way for the governor’s office to attempt to be small business friendly,” said NFIB Pennsylvania State Director Greg Moreland. “Instead of advancing actual legislation that would ignite economic growth and strengthen our workforce, this program is a photo-op for elected officials. If leaders in Harrisburg want to really invest in Main Street, they should prioritize lowering taxes and allowing small businesses and individuals to invest in their own communities.”

According to NFIB’s Small Business Optimism index, 18 percent of small business owners reported that taxes are their single most important problem – the highest total since February 2021. Quality of labor (19%) and inflation (16%) sandwich taxes among the top three problems.

“The implementation of new policy priorities has heightened the level of uncertainty among small business owners over the past few months.” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business owners have scaled back expectations on sales growth as they better understand how these rearrangements might impact them.”

The Main Street Matters program, funded by Pennsylvania taxpayers, is investing in 81 community projects across Pennsylvania, in hopes of revitalizing downtowns, supporting small businesses, and strengthening local economies.