National

Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy. Across the country, there are nearly 4.8 million businesses that employ 25 or fewer workers. They’re your local diner, the hardware store down the street, and the mechanic in your neighborhood. 

Congress included in the Affordable Care Act a significant new tax credit for small business owners who provide their workers with health insurance. Under this new tax credit, businesses that have fewer than 25 full-time workers and average wages of less than $50,000 are now eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 35% of the cost of the health insurance that they provide for their workers.

Although large employers have been expanding wellness programs in recent years, small businesses have lagged in this endeavor. Since small businesses employ nearly 50% of all private-sector workers, any comprehensive expansion of wellness and prevention efforts must include a role for this large swath of private sector employers.

Small Business Majority and Main Street Alliance commissioned opinion surveys of small business owners in 7 states across the country to learn their attitudes toward the clean energy bill being debated in Washington.

The poll showed that among small businesses, there is strong support for the clean energy and climate legislation currently being debated; small businesses believe that moving the country to clean energy is a smart way to restart the economy and help small businesses create jobs. A majority of those polled want their business to be part of a new clean energy economy.

Small businesses make up 99 percent of businesses in the United States and employ about 56 million of the nation’s private sector workers. New scientific polling shows small business hiring of lower-level employees is diverse and varies geographically, but more can be done to increase diversity in the hiring of upper-management employees.

Scientific opinion polling shows small business owners support implementing laws that would allow employees to earn paid sick days to use when they or an immediate family member is sick, and the majority also offer a variety of benefits to their employees. 

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision any day in the case against the Affordable Care Act, filed by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and state attorneys general. The polling of 800 small business owners in eight states (Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas and Virginia) found 50% of small business owners want the healthcare reform law upheld—either as is or with minor changes—while only one-third want the Supreme Court to overturn it.

It’s no secret that big businesses struggle to find skilled and credentialed employees. But this issue also impacts our nation’s job creators: small businesses. New scientific polling shows small businesses around the country believe lack of education, experience and training is one of biggest challenges they face when it comes to hiring and employment, and they’re willing to act to ensure they have the skilled workers they need to run their businesses.

The topic of religious liberty and how it relates to business practices has been front and center in the media. And once again, small businesses are in the middle of the debate. A national scientific opinion poll conducted for Small Business Majority by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found entrepreneurs strongly believe small business owners should not be able to refuse goods or services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals, or to deny services related to the wedding of a same-sex couple, based on an owner’s religious beliefs.

Historically, small businesses have faced punitive healthcare costs, paying on average 18% more than their large business counterparts. This places an economic burden on small business owners and their employees that has led to distressingly high numbers of uninsured or underinsured workers. New scientific polling shows the rising cost of prescription drugs also are becoming a major concern for our nation’s small business owners.