Glenview — September 15, 2008 — A survey conducted this month by online payroll service SurePayroll reveals that 64% of small business owners plan to vote for Republican Senator John McCain in the November presidential election.
The survey, which follows up on SurePayroll’s presidential primary survey from October 2007, finds that small business owners are most concerned with the economy and how candidates will address current economic woes. Based on the survey results, most small business owners believe the Republican Party has the solutions that will provide the most benefit to the small business community.
The Importance of the Small Business Vote
According to the August 2008 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, a monthly indicator that tracks the state of the small business economy, small businesses are preventing the economy from being in much worse shape. Despite many big businesses reporting financial setbacks, the report indicates that small businesses actually increased staff levels by 0.42% in August. So far this year, small business hiring is up 2.4% nationwide.
“The small business community matters to this election in a big way,” says SurePayroll President Michael Alter. “Small businesses account for more than 99 percent of U.S. businesses, supply half the country’s jobs and are the only sector contributing growth to the economy. Politicians need to pay attention to what’s important to this powerful group.”
The Issues: Economy Remains the Biggest Concern
The economy – including taxes, national debt and the budget deficit – ranked as the issue most important to small business owners as they decide how to vote in November. Approximately 60% of respondents selected the economy as the number one concern over other issues, such as healthcare, defense, Social Security/welfare, government regulation and foreign policy. This ranking of the economy as a big topic of concern is consistent with SurePayroll’s findings last October in its pre-primary survey.
While national defense/homeland security has remained the second most important issue for small business owners, energy has replaced the war in Iraq as the subject rounding out the top three.
Are Democrats Working to Reach Small Business Owners?
Last year’s survey revealed that small business owners favored Republicans, and this month’s survey shows it to an even greater extent.
The survey results suggest that the majority of small business owners do not believe Democrats have their best interests in mind. In fact, only 18% state they believe the Democratic Party is better for small business, and only 36% are planning to vote for Senator Barack Obama.
According to Alter, the Blue Party should not discount the importance of the small business vote, and will have to work hard between now and polling time if it wants to secure more business owners’ support.
“The SurePayroll ScoreCard data shows that small businesses are driving the economy, continuing to hire and making up for the shortfall of big businesses,” he says. “If the Democrats want to reach this critical group, they need to convince them they are ready to implement policies that reward and encourage entrepreneurs.”
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SurePayroll Small Business Owner Survey Total Responses: 1062 |
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About SurePayroll:
SurePayroll is the online alternative to ADP® and Paychex®. SurePayroll's service and team members are dedicated to providing an easy, convenient online payroll service at a price small business owners can afford. Tens of thousands of customers rely on SurePayroll to process payroll wherever they want in as few as two minutes.
In addition, SurePayroll offers small businesses solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers' compensation, HR compliance and employee screening. For accountants and banking partners, SurePayroll provides private-label services that enable them to offer payroll processing to their small business clients.
Over the last decade, SurePayroll has received numerous prestigious awards for its innovative technology and outstanding customer service, including recognition from PC Magazine, Inc. 500, Accounting Today, the Stevie Awards and many others.
For more information, you can visit http://www.surepayroll.com, call 877.954.7873 or follow us on http://twitter.com/SurePayroll.
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