Small businesses are creating the bulk of the new jobs in the United States, yet they are hit hardest by government regulations.

That comes as no surprise to any small business owner, including the Golding family of Golding Barge Line.

Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., toured Vicksburg’s Golding Barge to see how that company operates and to hear about its dealings with the federal government.

Golding Barge, considered a small business, employs about 230 people and is adding about 30 jobs per year. Yet, the company competes with others vastly larger than themselves. That’s actually one of the secrets to its success.

It’s what Austin Golding referred to as the company’s competitive edge. Because it is nimble, it can work more directly, offering a level of custom customer service larger companies cannot.

The other side of that equation, however, is that Golding Barge and other small companies like it are faced with meeting the same, often costly, government rules and regulations as those with vastly larger resources.

During his visit, Wicker made a point of asking Golding company officials about their experience with the Affordable Care Act. Steve Golding said it has meant less broad and more expensive coverage for some in his company. Golding said, as a perk for its barge pilots, it paid their entire group medical, dental and vision insurance coverage. However, Golding said his company is no longer allowed to do that. He also said benefits for his pilots have decreased. “It has to be the same for everybody,” he said.

Wicker is wise to take the time to listen to small business owners and operators and work to lessen the burden of compliance for them when reasonable and responsible. For the foreseeable future, economists predict small businesses will be the cornerstone of our country’s economy.

Taking care of those job creators benefits us all.