Bill Diggs is president/ CEO of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, the area's historically black chamber.

Q: What do you think about this bailout?

It's a redistribution of wealth. If you're talking about redistributing money to major corporations that need these dollars, I'm saying, ''You know what? Let's keep the economy going, let's get the deal done.'' But let's call it what it is: It's welfare for the rich. . . . There are many small businesses and people that are living below the poverty level that need those dollars, too.

Q: So you're saying the bailout package should have also included what?

Once we wipe our brow and say, ''Thank God we made it through by giving all of our major and mega-corporations this $700 billion'' . . . we ought to begin to have a discussion about what that same kind of economic benefit could be to poor America.

Q: What would you like to see happen for small businesses?

I'd like to see an open discussion about set-aside programs and affirmative action. . . . We need to realize that to get America back to work, not just middle-class people, you're going to have to put real money in plans like that.

When you have a good discussion with a small business owner, he'll tell you he needs two things: He needs access to credit in a major way, to relax the banking laws so that these difficult loans or lending practices can be relaxed enough, and also to give him an opportunity to have a decent benefits package for his workers. I think if government were to really take a look at universal healthcare, then these workers could come to work and know that their health would be taken care of.

Q: So you see universal healthcare as a small business issue?

Yes, because the majority of uninsured that are working exist in small business. It's a serious issue.

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