As the culture wars play out on cable news, a nonpartisan group dedicated to giving small business owners a voice in government, National Write Your Congressman (NWYC), released it Q2 2024 indexwhich measures how SMBs feel about Congress and government business policies.
First, the surprising news: The index found that 1,011 respondents gave the highest ratings of “trust, satisfaction and hope in Congress” since 2020. That's up from a July Gallup poll which found that 79% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress does its job.
But while the poll (conducted before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race) found favorable sentiment toward lawmakers, it revealed “uncertainty and fear” about the direction of the economy, says Randy Fordpresident and chairman of the National Write Your Congressmen.
“Small business owners are worried about how the election results could affect their business and are downbeat about the current US economy,” says Ford. “We encourage our members to continue to use their voices to ensure their business priorities are heard in Washington.”
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Here are some key findings of the survey:
- 67% of business owners are worried and scared that the US economy is moving in the wrong direction.
- 51% said their business remained flat in the second quarter of 2024.
- 31% said their business declined.
- 19% said their business grew.
The Top Five Topics Small Business Owners Want Candidates to Address
- immigration
- inflation
- taxes
- The Debt Ceiling and Government Spending
- Regulations
The top five issues facing business owners today
- inflation
- taxes
- Uncertainty about the US economy
- Regulations
- High interest rates
Read more about the study at nwyc.com.