I received a press release yesterday containing results of a survey conducted by Suffolk University and released by American Management Services, the results of which say that a majority of small business owners (that's a lot of you out there) are incredibly dissatisfied with how the federal government treats small businesses. And the future doesn't look too bright, either, as the polls say the candidates don't have their acts together. Here's a brief summary of the findings:
"81% feel we are in an economic recession
78% feel economic stimulus checks are useless
86% say the federal government is doing “nothing” or “little” to help small businesses
Labor costs and inflation considered much larger problems than healthcare
72% believe that the federal government bailing out Wall Street and big business
80% have no idea what McCain's and Obama's platforms are on small business
Romney and Clinton are overwhelming choice of VP candidates for small business owners
90% of small businesses did not participate in the administration's small business week
77% feel that the US needs to open up the restricted oil reserves in Alaska, and off-shore in Florida and California"
Now, I don't want to get into a heated political debate (Go, Obama!), but I wonder how may in our little niche industry have the same complaints. I would guess the majority of folks out there working freelance or even small manufacturers (you know those hundreds of smaller booths at LDI?) qualify as small business owners. Is it as bad as ever out there?