Our Research: Infrastructure
Investment in our nation's infrastructure is an investment in America, creating tremendous opportunities for small businesses. Infrastructure spending supports access to customers and suppliers, enhances business operations and creates demand for the goods and services small businesses have to sell. What's more, infrastructure investments like broadband support the growth of a vibrant freelance and entrepreneurial economy that relies on the Internet for access to markets, customers and services to support operations.
Entrepreneurs continue to navigate a number of challenges operating their businesses, more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Small Business Majority and Start Small Think Big surveyed small business owners and managers in their networks to understand their current business conditions, how they are faring amid rising inflation, and what they need to maintain and grow their businesses over the next six months to a year.
As Congress debates a bipartisan infrastructure plan and a larger $3.5 trillion investment in “human infrastructure,” Small Business Majority surveyed its network to understand their views on key issues being considered such as child care and paid family and medical leave.
The White House's $2 trillion proposed American Jobs Plan—an infrastructure reform plan—continues to be hotly debated on Capitol Hill, and proposals to pay for infrastructure investments via tax reforms are some of the most contested pieces of the plan. A new small business survey reveals that small businesses strongly favor key provisions of the American Jobs Plan, and they support paying for them by enacting reforms that would require wealthy corporations and individuals to pay a higher share of taxes.
This report compiles findings from focus groups and roundtable discussions with rural small business owners and other small business stakeholders in four states, as well as the results of a national poll of rural small business owners. The report also features recommendations for policymakers and service providers to increase opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.
New scientific opinion polling found small business owners believe investing in infrastructure is important to their business, and they feel the federal government should play a significant role in funding infrastructure projects. Additionally, small business owners strongly support high-speed broadband infrastructure projects, especially in rural areas.
Small business owners are strongly opposed to the FCC’s recent move to repeal rules enforcing net neutrality, according to recent scientific opinion polling. Specifically, the poll found that 56% of small business owners oppose the repeal of the rules, with nearly 4 in 10 (39%) strongly opposed.
As small business owners prepare to close the books on 2012, our country is fast approaching the edge of what’s been dubbed the “fiscal cliff.” This critical situation—created by a host of tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2012, coupled with billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts that will be triggered if Congress and the president can’t agree on a way to reduce the deficit by year’s