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NSBA1 The Politics of Small Business
FOREWORD
As the 2012 elections kick into high gear, America’s small businesses continue to be a focal point for stump speeches, however
what really matters is what happens after the campaigning is over. While we have no realistic expectation that this bipartisan
rally cry for small business will translate into an easing of the partisan politics that are gridlocking the federal government, we are
hopeful that lawmakers will take this time to consider the important role small business plays not just in the U.S. economy but in
our overall political system.
NSBA surveyed a broad number of member and nonmember small businesses on a variety of topics related to politics and the
U.S. political system. The survey evaluated small business opinions on topics ranging from Congress’ understanding of small
business to which party best represents small-business issues. And while the respondent’s political persuasion played a key role
in their opinions, all small-business owners surveyed agreed on one thing: economic and fiscal issues drive their voting decisions.
A key take-away from this survey is the fact that small-business owners are very active in politics with 97 percent saying they vote
in national contests and 94 percent voting in state contests. Comparatively, voter turnout among the U.S. voting-age population
for the 2008 presidential race was 57 percent. Additionally, 69 percent report they have contributed to a candidate’s campaign and
76 percent have contacted their lawmakers on small business issues.
While the survey does show significant differences of opinion between Republican and Democratic respondents, there is broad
agreement that politics have become more partisan in the last 10 years. Small-business owners expressed significant discontent
with their elected officials and the overall U.S. political machine. Fifty-eight percent of small businesses think they are not well
represented by nationally elected officials and 62 percent believe the U.S. political system does not serve their business well.
Furthermore, most respondents agree that Congress and the administration don’t really understand small business.
NSBA’s 650-plus respondents do not appear to be overly partisan, regardless of their own party affiliation. While there were more
survey respondents who identify Republican, 80 percent say they do not vote a straight party ticket: 60 percent of Republicans say
they occasionally vote for a Democrat and 68 percent of Democrats say they occasionally vote for a Republican. Large majorities
of both parties report occasionally voting independent.
Despite the many challenges thrown their way in the last five years, the Great Recession and a sluggish economic recovery, small
businesses are still here. In fact, there are 70 million small-business owners or employees in the U.S.—that’s one in three of the
U.S. voting population. While the outcome of this survey shows a relatively strained relationship between lawmakers and small
business, it is not too late. Lawmakers have a long, and growing, to-do list which includes many measures that could positively
impact small business beyond a stump-speech here and there.
Current and hopeful lawmakers have an opportunity to reach out to a massive voting block by underscoring their commitment to
America’s small-business community.
We hope you find the information in this survey useful.
Sincerely,
Todd McCracken Chris Holman NSBA President and CEO NSBA Chair
Michigan Business Network
NSBA2 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT THE
DEMOGRAPHICS
How many full time employees do you have?
1-5
5 - 19
Which of the following best describes the industry or sector in which
your business operates?
36%
Professional Services
Manufacturing
29%
25%
20 - 99
100 - 499
0
500 + 0%
5%
4%
Which of the following best describes the structure of your business?
S-Corp
Corporation
LLC
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
Other
40%
29%
18%
10%
2%
2%
Less than $100 K
$100 k to $250 k
$250 k to $500 k
$500 k to $1 million
$1 to $5 million
$5 to $25 million
$25 to $75 million 4%
$75 million + 1%
11%
10%
12%
13%
31%
19%
19%
11%
Construction
Retail
High tech/Biotech
Distribution
Computers/IT Services
Transportation
8%
6%
5%
5%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
Health Care
Real Estate
Printing and Publishing
Insurance
Finance
Fabricated Products
Food Service
Chemicals
What were your gross sales or revenues for your most recent fiscal year?
23%
1%
Worth Noting
The businesses surveyed represent a slightly
larger proportion of c-corps than what is found
in the at-large small-business community
where approximately 17 percent are c-corps.
Additionally, employee size and revenues are
slightly larger among the survey sample than
what is generally found among the at-large
small-business community. Finally, the survey
respondents represent a slightly higher proportion
of manufacturers and professional services.
NSBA3 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Are you registered to vote?
99%
reported being registered to vote.
Worth Noting
Small-business owners have a remarkably high
percentage of being registered to vote and are politically
active on myriad issues—not just small-business specific
issues. Comparatively, voter turnout among the U.S.
voting-age population for the 2008 presidential race was
57 percent.
Small businesses also are highly engaged with 69
percent reporting they have contributed to a candidate’s
campaign and only 20 percent reporting they have never
given money to any political campaign or organization.
How regularly would you say you vote in the following elections/
ballot initiatives?
Never
97%
Occasionally
94%
1% 3%
1% 5%
National Contests
State Contests
Regularly
85%
1%
13%
Local & City Contests
NSBA4 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Have you ever contributed money to… (Check all that apply)
A candidate’s campaign
A political party
An issue-specific campaign
A political action committee
A 527 organization
Never contributed money
69%
56%
42%
38%
6%
20%
Have you ever contributed money to… (Check all that apply)
A candidate’s campaign
74%
70%
A political party
47%
An issue-specific campaign
45%
41%
31%
A political action committee
A 527 organization
Never contributed money
66%
43%
9%
5%
20%
17%
Republicans
Democrats
Worth Noting
Democratic and Republican small-business owners
make similar levels of contributions, however
Republicans have a notably higher rate of making
contributions to political parties and political action
committees.
NSBA5 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Worth Noting
Do your elected officials know who you are?
Beyond simply contributing money toward
campaigns and political parties, small-business
owners are very actively engaged with their
elected officials. Three in four small-business
owners report contacting their lawmakers on
small business and other key issues, and 40
percent report that their lawmakers know who
they are or have an ongoing relationship with
their elected officials.
Have you ever contacted your elected officials on an issue NOT
having to do with your small business?
24%
28%
40%
Yes
No
Not Sure
32%
Have you ever contacted your elected officials on a smallbusiness issue?
24%
76%
76%
Yes
No
Yes
No
NSBA6 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL DISCONTENT
How well do you think your elected officials represent you?
Nationally elected
officials
38%
State elected
officials
58%
34%
9%
14%
Moderately Well
33%
62%
51%
19%
Not Well
4%
48%
30%
Local elected
officials
Do you think the current U.S. political system serves your business...
Not Well
Moderately Well
Well
Well
In the last 10 years, do you think politics have become…
Total
84%
85%
Republican
Democrats
89%
5%
More Partisan
6%
11%
2%
Less Partisan
9%
9%
About The Same
NSBA7 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL DISCONTENT
Do you think the ability of the U.S. political system to deal
effectively with its problems is…
Worth Noting
There is growing discontent among smallbusiness owners with their elected officials and
the overall U.S. political machine. Significant
majorities of both Republicans and Democrats
agree that politics have become more partisan
in the last 10 years and that the ability of
lawmakers to deal with problems in the U.S.
political system is deteriorating.
Total
89% 87%
Do you support campaign reform strategies?
10% 13%
8%
Improving
12%
9% 10%
Deteriorating
Staying The Same
Worth Noting
Yes - Restrict
campaign
contributions
Yes - Liberalize
campaign
contribution rules
No reforms are
necessary
70%
Democrat
83%
2% 2% 5%
a
Republican
Interestingly,
despite
the
majority
of
respondents noting that they have made
political contributions, 70 percent support
some kind of campaign finance reform, namely,
restrictions on campaign contributions.
Other
NSBA8 The Politics of Small Business
A LOOK AT
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Worth Noting
Although there are clear differences among
Democrats and Republicans in terms of their
issues, their support of particular lawmakers
and how they view both parties, there are
several unifying facts about the small-business
community. Among those: the majority of
both Republicans and Democrats agree that
Members of Congress and the administration
don’t really understand small business.
Do you think Congress understands small-business issues?
88%
12%
14%
86% 89%
Total
Republican
11%
Democrat
Yes
No
Do you think the administration understands small-business issues?
87%
96%
53%
47%
13%
Total
Republican
4%
Yes
Democrat
No
NSBA9 The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
On The Issues
Worth Noting
Most small-businesses owners, regardless of political affiliation, place a higher level of importance on
economic and fiscal issues than they do on national security and social issues.
Please rank 1 through 3, with 3 being the most important, how the following issue areas determine how you vote.
2.88
2.83
Total
2.7
1.66
Economic & Fiscal Issues
1.77
Republican
1.95
1.65
1.39
Foreign Affairs/National Security
Democrats
1.53
Social Issues
Please check where your political affiliations lie in the following three categories.
52%
35% 36%
27%
14% 13%
33%
30%
13%
Strong Conservative
31%
21%
18%
6%
2%
Overall
41%
Social Issues
Moderate Conservative
9% 8%
9%
1%
1%
Fiscal Issues/Economy Foreign Affairs/National Security
Independent
Moderate Liberal
NSBA10
Strong Liberal
The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
On The Issues
Worth Noting
When it comes to key
issues, Republican
and Democratic smallbusiness owners
agree that controlling
health care costs
and tax reform are
important by weighing
in with their Members
of Congress.
However, when asked
to rate which party is
better on a particular
issue, political
affiliation played a
significant role.
If you have contacted your elected officials on a small-business issue, what were
the issues? (Check all that apply)
Controlling Costs of Healthcare
Tax Reform
Regulatory Reform
Deficit Reduction & Entitlement
Reform
A local issue
Small-Business Contracting
Tort Reform/Medical Malpractice
Reform
Immigration Reform
Fair Labor/Union Issues
SBIR Reauthorization
Improving Access to Capital
A casework issue involving my business
Other
White House Conference on Small
Business
Exporting/Free Trade Issues
SBA Lending Programs
SBA Office of Advocacy
Energy Efficiency for Small Business
Total
Dems
Reps
48%
47%
34%
33%
41%
35%
23%
11%
49%
52%
38%
38%
33%
25%
22%
37%
37%
8%
33%
21%
27%
21%
19%
16%
15%
13%
10%
10%
23%
30%
13%
23%
20%
12%
10%
13%
12%
12%
18%
23%
11%
9%
11%
11%
11%
5%
13%
20%
14%
11%
11%
10%
8%
5%
NSBA11
The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
On The Issues
Republican survey respondent answers to: “Which party do you
think is more supportive of small business on the following issues?”
Controlling Costs of
Healthcare
Deficit Reduction &
Entitlement Reform
Energy Efficiency for
Small Business
Exporting/Free Trade
Fair Labor/Union Issues
Immigration Reform
Improving Access to
Capital
Regulatory Reform
SBA Lending Programs
SBA Office of Advocacy
SBIR Reauthorization
Small-Business
Contracting
Tax Reform
Tort Reform/Medical
Malpractice Reform
White House Conference
on Small Business
Not Neither Dems Reps
Sure
3% 23% 3%
72%
3%
20%
2%
75%
32% 23%
12%
33%
15%
8%
10%
17%
23%
11%
30%
26%
3%
8%
4%
4%
59%
72%
55%
53%
8%
32%
34%
44%
24%
22%
24%
18%
17%
24%
2%
7%
5%
5%
5%
69%
36%
44%
34%
47%
2% 14%
12% 21%
1%
2%
84%
66%
19% 16%
4%
62%
Democratic survey respondent answers to: “Which party do you
think is more supportive of small business on the following issues?”
Controlling Costs of
Healthcare
Deficit Reduction &
Entitlement Reform
Energy Efficiency for
Small Business
Exporting/Free Trade
Fair Labor/Union Issues
Immigration Reform
Improving Access to
Capital
Regulatory Reform
SBA Lending Programs
SBA Office of Advocacy
SBIR Reauthorization
Small-Business
Contracting
Tax Reform
Tort Reform/Medical
Malpractice Reform
White House Conference
on Small Business
Not
Sure
4%
Neither Dems Reps
21%
68%
7%
11%
37%
40%
11%
17%
19%
63%
1%
22%
10%
12%
17%
27%
18%
36%
36%
43%
63%
45%
43%
8%
8%
6%
4%
13%
22%
32%
36%
20%
31%
23%
18%
25%
33%
40%
51%
47%
37%
45%
16%
4%
2%
2%
2%
6%
23%
33%
33%
52%
23%
9%
20%
26%
19%
50%
5%
NSBA12
The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
On The Issues
Worth Noting
In-line with NSBA’s
member-approved
priority list, tax
reform comes in at
the top, however
among Democrats,
it only ranks as the
number three issue.
One common thread
among these issues
that both Republicans
and Democrats
support is leveling the
playing field for small
business. Because
there were more
Republicans in the
survey sample, the
overall issue rankings
tend to put higher
priority on typicallyheld Republican
priorities such as
taxes and regulatory
reform. However, a
recent Gallup Poll
showed that regulatory
burden was the
number one issue for
small businesses.
What do you think the federal government should do to help
your business? (Check all that apply)
Reduce & reform
taxes
37%
66%
Reduce & reform
regulations
34%
65%
18%
Get out of the way
63%
Level the playing field
for small business
48%
53%
Improve lending
Other
Provide more
assistance programs
27%
31%
6%
6%
75%
75%
76%
65%
48%
24%
11%
31%
11%
Republicans
Democrats
Total
NSBA13
The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS AND
PARTY AFFILIATION
In this survey of more than 650 small-business owners—both members and nonmembers of NSBA, we found a higher proportion
of Republicans to Democrats. While this is somewhat in-line with past NSBA surveys, it does appear to be higher than a 2007 Fortune Small Business/Zogby poll which pointed to a smaller disparity among small-business owners. Unfortunately no follow-up has
been provided to the FSB/Zogby poll and no other independent polls on this issue were found.
When comparing among NSBA data-sets, we found a notable drop in Democrats. This is partially attributable to the fact that in past
surveys the only answers offered for party affiliation were: Republican, Democratic and Independent. In this survey, we also offered
Tea Party, Libertarian and Green Party.
What is your political party affiliation?
54%
54%
48%
33%
16%
19%
NSBA 2011
Republican
30%
20%
NSBA 2008
Democrat
37% 35%
26%
16%
NSBA 2007
ZOGBY/FSB 2007
It is worth noting that in the 2011 survey,
NSBA offered other party choices.
Independent/Unaffiliated
Another likely cause of the drop in Democrats is likely due to economics: a) most small businesses place a very high priority on
fiscal issues over national security and social issues, and b) there exists a general mistrust of the party in power whenever there are
economic hardships. As seen in the 2008 NSBA Survey, there was a slight increase in those identifying as Democratic – given that
this survey was conducted nearly six months into the recession and that Republicans were in power, that shift makes sense.
Worth Noting
Despite political party
affiliation, small businesses are
overwhelmingly independent,
with the majority—80 percent—
say they don’t vote a straight
party ticket.
Do you vote a straight party ticket?
20%
80%
NSBA14
Yes
No
The Politics of Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS AND
PARTY AFFILIATION
Among Republicans and Democrats, how regularly would you say you vote:
95%
73%
86%
70%
60%
68%
74%
72%
39%
27%
3% 2% 3%
Regularly
5%
24%
4% 6%
0%
Occasionally
Never
Republicans
Federal Agencies
2.98
2.62
2.84
1.73
The U. S. Senate
1.98
2.02
The U.S. House of
Representatives
Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid
1.38
President Barack Obama
1.34
3.03
2.95
3.32
3.72
Republican
28%
21%
4%
0%
Occasionally
Democrats
Independent
Never
Democrat
Other
Worth Noting
Of particular note is the fact that there is a very
high rate of “cross-over” voters. Sixty percent of
Republicans occasionally vote Democratic and 68
percent of Democrats occasionally vote Republican.
Large majorities of both parties report occasionally
voting independent.
2.69
1.86
House Speaker
John Boehner
Regularly
Republican
Rating Average: Please rank 1 to 5, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst
how well the following elected officials are supporting small-business
Your U.S. Senators &
Congress Members
14%
24%
When asked to rate the performance of their elected
officials, both Republicans and Democrats had
somewhat higher marks for their own Senators and
Representatives but expressed less-than stellar
marks for the collective bodies.
Democrat
NSBA15
The Politics of Small Business
METHODOLOGY
The Politics of Small Business survey was conducted
on-line the first three weeks of October 2011 among
670 small-business owners, both NSBA members
and nonmembers representing every industry in every state in the nation. While the results in this survey can be extrapolated to the at-large small-business community, it is worth mentioning that NSBA
members tend to be older, more well-established
small businesses.
NSBA16
The Politics of Small Business
NSBA17
The Politics of Small Business