What’s the Small Business Vote in November?
photo by AndYaDontStop
I typically don’t get embroiled into political discussions – for the most part they are a waste of time and it’s just a good way to get into an argument that no one can really win. My take is you do your homework on what’s going on, take a logical view of the alternatives and react accordingly.
Having said that, we are living in interesting times and the upcoming election looks like it could have a huge impact on the future of small business and entrepreneurs in our great country. Regardless of your political affiliation, I don’t imagine there are many who would argue that the economy has been awful for at least the last 2 years (not to mention the joblessness and the general lack of improvement).
All of that is leading people to believe there will be a strong message sent at the beginning of November. In fact Jim Blasingame – an author and founder of the Small Business Network has done a poll with his readers to get a sense on how they’re feeling and he reports the outcome in his post – What’s good for Small Business is good for the World:
“If the election were today, which party would you be more likely to vote for? (Note: Assume all Tea Party candidates are now on the Republican ticket.)”
Fifteen percent said they would vote for a Democrat and 85% said they would pull the Republican lever.
As you have likely seen, most polls indicate that Republicans will make major gains in the House and Senate. In fact, on my radio show recently, Steve Forbes predicted that the GOP would win a majority in both houses.
It’s not a surprise to me that our respondents tip even more heavily for Republicans than the national political polls, because our audience is primarily small business owners.
If that kind of outcome happens, it would be a resounding message and a vote for Small Business – and considering that Small Business accounts for 65% or more of all new jobs, hopefully it would be a step in the right direction.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming election? Will it actually matter when it comes to changes on Main Street or the economy in general? Share your comments below – I’d love to hear them.
Shawn Kinkade Kansas City Business Coach
1 thought on “What’s the Small Business Vote in November?”
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Shawn – Interesting post! Like you, I mostly research the candidates & issues before going to vote and don't spend lots of time in discussion. Anecdotally I had always heard that Republicans were the party most favorable to business and accepted that without too much question. With the economy being top of mind for so many of us, I found a series of articles in Slate.com last month very interesting. After reading your post, there was 1 chart that I wanted to share with you: http://www.slate.com/id/2266174/slideshow/2266174/fs/0//entry/2266218/. To summarize, it actually shows that prosperity (as defined by income growth rates) has actually been greater under Democratic presidents than Republican presidents during the post-WWII period. Hope you find this interesting!