With the elections over, those in the Bush Administration find themselves gainfully employed for a while longer. Now, however, is the time when the President must set the tone for his second term. Will the Bush Administration be friendlier toward American businesses, both large and small, or will energy costs and taxes continue to plague business owners? Just in case the Commander-in-Chief is open to listening to some advice, we conducted a survey of our readers and asked them what they thought should be at the top of the President’s agenda over the next four years.
Sample: Respondents to our online poll came primarily from the public accounting industry (55 percent). The vast majority said they work for small businesses with 50 or fewer people (73 percent). Individually, most respondents fell into the upper echelons of management, either CEO/managing partner (38 percent) or senior executive/partner level (25 percent).
Results: Not surprisingly, Cost of Health Insurance was the No. 1 concern on almost everyone’s list as the most pressing issue facing businesses today. A whopping 93 percent of respondents agreed that the President must do something to control the upwardly spiraling costs of health insurance premiums, something that can easily make or break a small business. Research has shown an alarming trend of small businesses that have ceased offering health insurance all together. If costs continue to skyrocket as they are, then businesses will stand to lose valuable employees and will suffer for it competitively.
Coming in at a distant second was Cost and Frequency of Law Suits (68 percent). The topic of frivolous lawsuits was addressed by both of the candidates in this election, mostly as it pertains to medical malpractice (something which indirectly affects the issue of high health care costs addressed above). Small companies often do not have the luxury of being able to retain a team of pricey lawyers, unlike their larger counterparts. As people become more litigious in today’s world, small businesses find themselves in the crosshairs of predatory lawyers and their unreasonable lawsuits. Even if the business is not found at fault, the legal costs alone are enough to plunge some companies into deep debt.
Tied for third place are two loosely-related topics – Energy Costs and Unreasonable Government Regulations, both at 67 percent. It has become painfully apparent to all Americans that the days of $1.30/gallon gasoline are over. With the decreasing oil output by the OPEC cartel and the increasing demand for more fuel from developing industrial countries like China, the energy crisis is likely to worsen before it gets any better. Once again, small businesses often bear the brunt of such seemingly far-removed dynamics. Raise the price of gas and diesel, and a small company pays substantially more for shipping its goods. Not only is fuel for vehicles an issue, but electricity has jumped and the portents for high heating oil prices this winter are very ominous. All of these factors can add up to significantly higher operating expenses for businesses of all sizes.
Of equal importance to respondents are government regulations that go too far. These can encompass any number of areas. Environmental regulations, for example, can be so strict in some parts of the country that it simply is not worth doing business there. Or what about the new overtime regulations enacted by the U.S. Department of Labor just a few months ago? Although getting companies into compliance was not the total nightmare critics had envisioned, the reforms still left some companies scratching their heads for one reason or another.
Conclusion: These are just some of the findings that can be found in Set the President’s Agenda. The results of our study are clearly in line with the general feelings of America’s small businesspeople today. The Bush administration would do well to listen to the people in the trenches, the small business people, about how to keep America competitive.
