Small business owners are OK with gov't regulations

Small business owners are OK with gov’t regulations

February 13, 2012 by Fred Hosier

Posted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, New rules and regulations, Research on safety, What do you think?

With all the political rhetoric out there regarding government regulations, you’d think it’d be No. 1 on small business owners’ list of problems right now. But it’s not.

The American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority conducted the survey, Small Business Owners’ Opinions on Regulations and Job Creation.

The groups asked: What is the most important problem right now for your small business?

Weak customer demand: 34%
Cost of health coverage and other benefits: 15%
Level of government regulation: 14%
Competition from larger companies: 10%.

(No other responses got more than 6%.)

Another question: What would do the most to create jobs?

Eliminate incentives for employers to move jobs overseas: 24%
Cut taxes: 14%
Increase consumer purchasing power: 13%
Improve infrastructure like roads, bridges and water systems: 12%
Reduce regulation: 10%.

When asked whether their small business could live with some regulation if it is fair, manageable and reasonable, 93% said they could. And 78% said some regulations are important to protect small businesses from unfair competition and to level the playing field with big business.

“Despite the heated rhetoric, regulations simply aren’t small businesses’ top concern,” said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “Policymakers should listen to what real small businesses are saying and act accordingly.”

You can download a PDF of the survey here.

Do you agree with what small business owners said in this survey about regulations? Let us know what you think in the comments box below.

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Tags: cost of health coverage, government reuglations, Small Business Majority, small businesses

http://morrislevin.com paul atlas

It is too bad I didn’t get a call asking me for my opinion re: government regulation. For me and our business, it is the #1 problem we face, whether it is Federal or State. We are overrun with regulations everyday and to be in business in California is becoming impossible. The fees (taxes) have become a burden and the faceless bureacratic staff that write these laws have no concept
#1 what they are doing and #2 what effect it will have in the present or the future. And worse, it seems that they don’t care!!, ” they” are just doing their job.
Dale

I appears to me that the statement “Despite the heated rhetoric, regulations simply aren’t small businesses’ top concern,” by John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “Policymakers should listen to what real small businesses are saying and act accordingly.” is contradicting in it’s self when you look at the numbers and questions asked.
Weak customer demand: 34%
Cost of health coverage and other benefits: 15%
Level of government regulation: 14%
Competition from larger companies: 10%. 78% said some regulations are important to protect small businesses from unfair competition and to level the playing field with big business.
Sounds like they don’t want to be have regulations themselves but want other business to be regulated. Nothing is ever equal between the small and the large and never has been.
Jon

The writer clearly had an agenda and was attempting to spin the survey. The title has nothing to do with the truth. Look at the top three problems:
» Weak customer demand: 34% – Government neglect and incompetance trashed the economy.
» Cost of health coverage and other benefits: 15% – Caused by Government regulation and pandering
» Level of government regulation: 14% – Bam!

In addition the answers to the second question are screaming that government regulations are the problem:
» Eliminate incentives for employers to move jobs overseas: 24% – Government created the incentives for jobs to move overseas!!!
» Cut taxes: 14% – Government Taxes!!!!
» Increase consumer purchasing power: 13% – Maybe less taxes would work!
» Improve infrastructure like roads, bridges and water systems: 12% – A legitimate job for government and they fail miserably.
» Reduce regulation: 10% – There it is again less government!!!.
Marc

The results are skewed. According to this article the question asked was if the small business “could live with some regulation if it is fair, manageable and reasonable”. The problem is that most of the new regulations are not “fair, manageable and reasonable”.

If you ask the question in reverse “could you live with some regulation if it unfairly targets your business, adds complexity that is difficult and expensive to manage, and is not going to result in any reasonable improvement to you or your products” I guarantee the results would be switched.