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Thumbtack…
Gas costs,
tight lending weigh heavily on entrepreneurs
Ohio small businesses rate economy, ethics in government as most
important election issues
"I have good credit, but I am unable to get a loan for a house because
I am unable to save enough for a downpayment. This has held me back in
growing my business. I am barely able to pay my bills every month, let
alone save over $10,000 to be able to obtain a housing loan. I still
have outstanding student loan debt, and I will be unable to pay that
off because the job market isn't strong enough. I was forced to open an
in-home business, so I could stay at home with my young children. My
family can't afford child care, but we also can't afford to be a
one-income family. Times are tough for the young families in their 20s.
We've only known tough times. The last time the economy was strong, we
were just children ourselves.”
Daycare service provider, Columbus
Washington, DC, 10/16/2012 - The George Washington University and
Thumbtack.com have released new data showing that Ohio small businesses
overwhelmingly rank the economy and jobs as the most important factor
in choosing a president. Surprisingly, however, ethics, honesty and
corruption in government rated as the second-most important issue for
small businesses in Ohio.
Although both presidential campaigns claim to promote policies that
benefit small businesses, too little attention has focused on asking
entrepreneurs themselves which policies are most important to their
business. The George Washington-Thumbtack.com Small Business Political
Sentiment Survey is unique in investigating the political issues that
matter most to small businesses themselves, drawing data from an
extensive, nationwide universe of job creators and entrepreneurs.
“Small businesses are deeply attuned to the effect of politics on job
creation and the economy,” said Dr. David Rehr, a lead researcher on
the study with the George Washington University’s Graduate School of
Political Management. “Entrepreneurs are feeling squeezed by the tight
lending environment, and they want their elected leaders to curb the
influence of money in politics.”
Some of the key findings for Ohio include:
39% of all Ohio small business owners rated the economy and jobs as the
single most important factor for them in choosing a president.
Nationally, 39% of small businesses say that President Obama is the
most supportive candidate of small business, with 31% saying the same
of Governor Romney. And 28% are still not sure which candidate is more
supportive of small business.
Ohio small businesses rate gas and fuel costs as the single most
burdensome cost to their businesses - more burdensome than even
self-employment taxes or health care costs.
76% of Ohio small businesses stated that health care costs are
important to the success of their business.
Among small business owners surveyed nationally, President Obama fared
better than Governor Romney with businesses of five or fewer employees,
48% to 37%. The opposite was true among business of more than five
employees, with Romney earning 49% to Obama’s 39% (among those
registered and likely to vote).
17% of Ohio small businesses indicated that President Obama's health
care policy helps their business.
Taxes do not appear to be a decisive factor for small businesses in
this election, with only 3% of small businesses nationally rating it as
the most important issue in their choice for president. Even among
economic issues, tax policy was the top concern for less than 6% of
small businesses.
“After a month-long survey of over 6,000 small business owners
nationwide, we have heard an unusually nuanced story about what really
concerns them,” said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack.com.
“These entrepreneurs are an important barometer of our nation’s
economic health and political sentiment. When job creators speak, we
need to listen as closely as possible.”
The full survey results can be seen here and include full sets of
rankings, dozens of easily searchable quotes from small businesses
nationwide, state-by-state comparisons, and Census data comparing
states’ and cities’ key demographics against those of other states and
cities.
“Start lending to small businesses to help build the economy stronger.
They specifically could lean on the banks to lend to real estate
investors who have made it through the tough times and are still
afloat. The restrictions by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are killing the
smaller investors like me who are trying to provide affordable housing
and can't get a loan because I looked like I am at high risk, because
the bad investors during the housing crisis just walked away from their
mortgages, but I hung in there and kept on with the business. I feel
like I am no further ahead than the unscrupulous investors who just
walked away and stuck the banks and the government with all the
over-inflated loans that the lending world created through subprime
lending. ”
General contractor, Canton
Survey methodology
Thumbtack.com surveyed 6,164 small businesses across the United States.
The survey asked questions about political issues and business costs
that were important to small business, such as: “What is the single
most important issue in your choice for president?” “Thinking
specifically about the economy, what is the most important economic
issue in your choice for president?” and “How important are the
following issues to the success of your business?”
To find out more about Thumbtack, click here
To find out more about George Washington University, click here
To see more details about the survey, including searchable quotes,
click here
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