Demand that GE start paying small companies on time

GE has adopted the financial practice of typically paying their vendors in 120 days versus the 30 days that is normal in business. They are doing this so that they can effectively borrow money at no interest for 4 months from their vendors and use that cash to their financial advantage. In the meantime, small companies that are especially sensitive to cash flow are left at a significant financial disadvantage. They have no individual leverage with GE to demand that they pay within their companies 30 days terms and often are dependent on GE for a significant part of their business. GE knows this very well which is exactly why they formulated the policy in the first place, believing they could get away with it.

Other large companies watch GE's business practices and, if successful, often adopt them. This means that it could become the norm for large companies to pay their vendors whenever they feel like it rather than within the normal terms set by the vendor.

We do not want the U.S. to become Italy where invoices are often not paid for 6 months. That is a recipe for disaster and places a very unfair burden on the engine for America's economic growth and innovation - small companies.