As the owner of a small restaurant, it felt good the other
morning to open the newspaper and read this sentence: “Be proud,
small-business owners! You’re now the most trusted group in
America. Listen up, federal government! You’re neglecting small
business — and most people think so.”
That was how Rhonda Abrams
summarized the findings of a recent study
by the Pew Research Center in USA Today.
“Small business is the most trusted institution in
America,” explained Abrams. “More than churches. More than
colleges. More than technology companies. And certainly more than
labor unions or large corporations.”
Maybe that’s because we operate in a competitive
environment and can’t force people to deal with us. The
interchanges with our customers are basically voluntary and
mutually beneficial, unlike what happens to people when they’re
dealing with monopolistic agencies in the public sector and the
less competitive sections of the private sector.
We’re also not too big to fail so we aren’t draining
billions out of taxpayers’ wallets for any bailouts. And unlike
the cushy retirement deals for “public servants” that are
bankrupting America’s cities and states, we don’t have cooks and
servers who expect to retire at 50 and live off the taxpayers for
35 years.
Small business was at the top of two lists — the most
highly regarded institution by the public and, in contrast, the
most disregarded and neglected by the politicians.
“When asked about which groups were getting too much or too
little attention from the government, Americans felt small
business was getting dealt the worst hand,” reported Abrams.
“Small business is one of the few groups that Americans want to
get more government attention.”
The survey’s respondents might be wrong about that. Being
overlooked by the politicians and bureaucrats might well be the
best hand to be dealt. As Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying
words in the English language — ‘I’m from the government and I’m
here to help.’”
In any case, during this era of growing polarization and
harsh partisanship, the favorable ratings for small business cuts
across party lines, with 72 percent, 70 percent and 73 percent of
Republicans, Democrats and Independents, respectively, saying
that the small business sector plays a key and positive role in
how things are going in the United States.
“What’s really interesting is that large corporations are
viewed almost as negatively as Wall Street,” explained Carroll
Dougherty, Pew’s Associate Director. “The contrast between large
corporations and small business is enormous.”
Banks, the federal government and large corporations ranked
at the bottom of the pile in public approval, receiving favorable
ratings, respectively, from only 22 percent, 25 percent, and 25
percent of respondents.
Also ranking poorly in public approval were federal
agencies and the national news media, each receiving positive
ratings by only 31 percent of respondents. Also at the bottom in
approval, labor unions and the entertainment industry received
positive ratings, respectively, by only 32 percent and 33 percent
of the public.
Nancy Pelosi, ranked in the cellar of the bottom-ranked
Congress, attempted to tie her faltering wagon to the top-ranked
small business community by going to the podium in the House
chamber shortly after the health reform bill was rammed through
and declaring that the unpopular legislation would “unleash
tremendous entrepreneurial power” and create millions of new
jobs.
I’ve never met an entrepreneur, current or potential, who
was keeping his entrepreneurial power on a leash because
Congress hadn’t passed a bill.
More specifically, Speaker Pelosi, with no expertise or
experience in small business or economic forecasting, proclaimed
that the health reform legislation would be a government-granted
stimulant to entrepreneurial growth, a special Congressional gift
to America’s mom-and-pop enterprises, creating “4 million jobs in
the life of the bill,” i.e., 400,000 new jobs per year for a
decade.
More in touch with reality, Susan Eckerly, senior vice
president at the National Federation of Independent Business, the
nation’s leading small business association, issued the following
warning in January: “Like a freight train without brakes,
Congress is determined to pass health reform, even at the expense
of our nation’s chief job creators — small business.”
In March, three days after the health overhaul legislation
was passed, Eckerly warned of the job-killing impact of
legislation’s mandates for higher taxes: “This isn’t a health
care bill. This is a tax bill wrapped in health care
paper.”
Eckerly’s right. Incentives and job creation aren’t
stimulated by way of higher taxes and increased mandates.
