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Obama & McCain Battle for
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You might be surprised as a regular reader to know that I am a closeted political junkie. I hide my strong opinions pretty well around here. 
But one of the things I have been watching extremely closely as the election heats up is how each candidate approaches helping small businesses. And how both of them are using their campaign promises to small businesses as a way to sway voters. (This whole Joe the Plumber thing is completely out of control!)
I have to say that I think both McCain and Obama tend to focus on ‘Small Businesses’ as those companies that have ‘less than 100 employees’. We can agree to disagree if we have to, but that is not a small business to me. I consider a business small if it has less than 10 employees, maybe 15. Not independent contractors, but actual employees. And while those bigger ’small’ businesses are critical to the health of our economy as they lead job creation, it also means that the ‘rest of us’ these tiny businesses, tend to get a little lost in the crowd. And that’s short-sighted, because single-person businesses bring in over $951 billion (US) in annual receipts or sales to the U.S. economy (source).
In other words – we single business owners are the ‘long tail’ of the US business economy.
In case you were getting scared with where I am going with this, I am not going to ask you who you are voting for. And I’m not going to tell you who I am voting for (though I haven’t hidden it well elsewhere online ).
I want to know what issues that you are facing in your business that is influencing your vote this November 4th.
- Are you concerned or not concerned about being taxed at earnings above $250K?
- Do you fear that taxes will limit your business growth?
- Are other economic factors affecting your business?
- Would a vote for either candidate benefit your customers or clients better?
- Do you think that a tax break for the middle class would boost your business?
- Is getting good health care an issue, or does your spouse get health care through their employer?
Please speak out!
Joe the Freelancer, Jane the Writer and Wendy the Professional Blogger want to know.
PS – Just be nice – you all know how scared I get about being mean in the comments around here. I’ll delete you if you personally attack anyone – please stick to the issues. 
OR alternatively, you can skip the election and just vote WITH Joe – as in a cup of Joe.
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Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow). 
Easton Ellsworth is owner of 
I work in the IT business and besides for the industry being very unstable in times of financial issues or political issues. I worry about the stability of the market im in. I will say that my group IITW of course being there to help small and medium business especially for the IT niche market. So along with my group my concerns are not just for this election but other elections to come long term retirement, investments and financial stability, Insurance for industry workers and family and legal protection. and to date once again the IT market looks to be left out.
I can’t imagine voting for a candidate based on what I think that he will do for me. With everything going on this world, I want the candidate that will do the best for our country and our future. When I here friends of mine say that they are voting for a candidate because they will pay less taxes I can’t believe the selfishness. Besides the fact that you can never believe a candidates campaign promises (Read My Lips), is that really more important than Supreme Court picks, the war, the state of our economy and the many other important issues that the candidates would treat differently.
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I think the small business is more than the tail – it’s the backbone and where many larger businesses develop from. I would not like my one-woman show to be taxed anymore than it already is. I’m supporting McCain because he sees the bigger picture – more revenue to (any size) business means growth more often than not. Growth means the ‘little guy’ is taken care of better. If you start increasing taxes (decreasing revenue) in a tough economy everyone hunkers down and doesn’t spend (also decreasing revenue). Owners/employees/Businesses don’t go out to eat, they see less movies, spend less…this removes ‘little guy’ jobs/benefits.
I’m a Democrat living in the “swing state” of Nevada. A couple of weeks ago Gov. Bill Richardson held a roundtable discussion with small business owners and I think the biggest employer there had 30 employees. Most were under 5 or solos like me. Affordable medical insurance was a top issue as was the grim prospect of retirement as we see our savings dwindle. Several asked for increased funding for the SBA and a new lending program.
Our official guests always ask about “burdensome government regulations” which shows that they don’t understand what micro-business is all about. None of us are burdened by regulations because we aren’t that large. The participants pointed out that we have the same concerns – health care, energy costs, slumping economy, as large businesses except that everything hits us sooner and harder. On the other hand, we are more flexible and can adjust more easily to change.
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HIRH : @eMom If you are self-employed, what business issues are influencing your vote? Universal Healthcare.
Of course in a business sense or in an unprotected industry like IT and a few others Health care and financial future. Of course knowing that my job is stable and to be not moved to another country. investing in local US businesses that will provide that working stability for workers business owners and the consumers.
Joe The Plumber is…
A. Not a licensed plumber.
B. Doesn’t have the money to buy the business that makes $100k not $250k a year.
C. Makes $40k/yr
D. Would pay $500 a year less in taxes under the plan he is critical of.
E. All of the above.
The reality is top down economics is a theory that doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work in the future. Trickle down economics is a lot like communism, you can make it sound real good and get a lot of people to believe in it but it is a system that will collapse under its own weight.
I am going to leave this with two statements.
1. “A poor person voting republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders” – Robert Kiyosaki
2. A rising tide lifts all ships.
salesrecruiter: @eMom Security/leadership trump small bus. issues for me. After those, I am for lower taxes for business and investment – that makes jobs
salesrecruiter: @eMom Healthcare is a huge issue – but I have seen the Canadian and UK plans failing…..so govt provided doesn’t work.
@emom, I’m wary of policies, including tax programs, that simply encourage the government or individuals to resume their spending sprees to drive the economy.
This may sound overly simplistic but the best thing the next president can do to help my small business IMHO is use the “bully pulpit” to help us regain confidence in ourselves and to rebuild our reputation overseas. We’re not so attractive when we feel backed into a corner.
First, it’s not about me. There is more to consider than my own pocketbook. I’m also concerned about civil rights, Constitutional Authority, Net Neutrality, the Iraq War, and many other issues that are beyond my financial situation. But to answer your questions:
* Are you concerned or not concerned about being taxed at earnings above $250K?
Not concerned.
* Do you fear that taxes will limit your business growth?
Yes.
* Are other economic factors affecting your business?
Not really.
* Would a vote for either candidate benefit your customers or clients better?
Probably, a vote for either candidate would benefit my clients in some way.
* Do you think that a tax break for the middle class would boost your business?
Yes.
* Is getting good health care an issue, or does your spouse get health care through their employer?
This issue not really important to me even though neither I nor my wife have health insurance. I believe in providing for myself. There are much more important issues to be dealt with than what merely affects me.
daisybones: @eMom health care, ending war, & social issues are more important to this business owner than taxes.
FWIW, one of the big issues for self-employed in Canada in our recent election was access to maternity and parental leave benefits that are usually only available to people who are employees.
Another big issue up here for small business owners is paperwork burden. Too many forms to fill in!! It takes up thousands of dollars in accounting fees each year and about 1/2 a day per week that I could be spending on my clients.
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My business helps the micro businesses – usually just one or two, and a more mom-and-pop mentality. So for me, it’s definitely about the under $250k mentality. I teach Six Figure strategies, so my clients are starting businesses and figuring out how to build a six figure business. Because this is my target market, that’s also where I focus politically.
Health care is one of my biggest concerns. If you decide to start your own business and can’t get insurance, can you really concentrate on building a strong business? and in many cases, its not even about the availability of insurance – its whether you qualify and can even have access to it.
There are two big ones. The whole 250K discussion. And Health Care.
As the wife of a small business owner I have what is basically catastrophic insurance because it is so hard to find good insurance. So do my 5 kids. They receive medical care on schedule but it is pretty much out of pocket. We paid out of pocket for the last birth and the prenatal care. To punish him for not providing his 5 full time employees with health care when we can’t get affordable health care ourselves is ridiculous. Go after the insurance companies – who argue over every dime and deny half the claims – don’t go after us.
Second, it is an LLC and some years it hits 250K. Yay for us. We are aggressively saving for 5 college educations and retirement. In reality, that doesn’t leave THAT much for us to write welfare checks out of.
I have very little faith in government regulated anything. There are always loop holes and there is always way too much spending involved.
Have you ever had to sit and wait on a military base to be seen? Ask around… waiting to be seen with small kids screaming and over worked staff… I remember and will never forget being 5 years old having stepped on a hot coal that fell out of our friend’s grill, and waiting around because it was a base hospital and my dad’s rank didn’t get me far enough up in line to be seen in a reasonable amount of time. I will pay out of pocket to get my kids seen any day.
My biggest concern is which candidate will most favor trickle UP economics and do more to factor microbusinesses into their fundamental economic policy development. I care about income inequality and the various ways the middle class is being squeezed, and I think that small and microbusiness issues (and especially nonemployer businesses) are central to lifting the middle class.
At each debate, I heard Obama talk about how he wouldn’t increase taxes for anyone earning less than $250K. And each time I screamed, “What about those making more?” I wanted to know.
So I asked an Obama campaign volunteer if she knew. And she asked a campaign staffer, who shared with her (and which ultimately came back to me) a comparison of the tax increase/decrease plans of both candidates that ran in the Washington Post.
Interestingly, it shows that Obama wouldn’t raise taxes on anyone earning less than $603K/year. Maybe that makes some people feel better. Maybe the Post is full of crap. Maybe the candidates are. Who knows? In reality, none of us *know* what’s going to happen.
I don’t believe there will be tax cuts; how can there be with our deficit? And although a cut would be nice, the only thing that actually rankles me is the idea that someone smart (or lucky as the case may be) enough to have a high-paying job or business doing well would pay MORE than others. My good fortune should never obligate me to pay more than my share of things, IMO. And from my own socially conscious perspective, any giving one does should be at his or her discretion and choice, not done as a tax.
Am I worried about small/micro business, or myself in that landscape? I actually try not to think about it, and, instead, focus on my own path and keeping my business strong and moving forward.
But I think, in general, with the candidates we have in front of us, we’re all damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.
I look forward to seeing the other comments!
@ Stacy Brice:
It’s my understanding that Obama wants to basically eliminate the tax cuts put in place by Bush and push the highest tax bracket back up to 39%. I haven’t been able to confirm this, and in fact, have an email in to someone who might be able to get me a straighter answer from someone on the campaign.
Perhaps the answer can be found in the Obama Tax Cut Calculator?
As a tax attorney who works with small to mid-size businesses, I echo the “confidence” argument. Most of my clients net (not gross) less than $250k – even those in very successful businesses – and are not concerned about a tax increase. They are much more concerned about their ability to move product, attract clients and compete in a global market. Economic uncertainty will do more damage than anything – just look at Wall Street’s wild ride of late.
So, at the end of the day, I’m looking for a mixture of leadership and cheerleading. Yes, it sounds simple. But some of our best presidents – on both sides of the aisle – have been the ones that have told us that it’s going to be okay and made us believe it.
Much has been made about John McCain not being able to tell how many houses he owns. Much has been made about Barack Obama’s plan to roll back the tax cuts that the current administration has given the insanely wealthy. For me the decision has had little to do with either of these things.
My decision was made based on who I feel will be able to rally the American people to a more productive state (Obama), who I feel reflects my ideals that universal healthcare should be available because the economy we have can afford it (Obama), and who I feel has chosen the better running mate (Obama).
I think it’s bad when we force our politicians to promise things they obviously cannot deliver. This country can’t afford another tax cut – in fact, we’re already so deep in the red it’s likely we won’t ever work off the debt we’ve accumulated.
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You mean, as opposed to those who told us that it would be OK and we didn’t believe it?
My decision is based on what is going to be best for my children. This is the last election they will NOT be voting in. As they approach an age where they will no longer be on the insurance plan they are – knowing their history of asthma, etc. I am concerned about their health first and foremost.
Next I’m concerned about keeping more money in MY pocket to support my kids (have you seen how teen boys eat?) – I don’t make $250k a year and doubt I will anytime in the next few years, at least.
I have to say I’m with the candidate who will serve to give our country HOPE in the face of such economical turmoil. We all know how depression and despair tends to spin out of control. I think it’s time we all get a hefty dose of hope, dreams and change.
What can I say, I’m an advocate at heart
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My husband (’Joe the Lumberjack’) owns a tree and landscape company, so the most important issue to us is gas prices and which candidate has a better plan for alternative fuel/keeping prices lower. When the dump trucks and bucket trucks cost $100 more each to fill up and the supply companies charge an additional $250 gas surcharge to bring materials to the job site, it becomes very hard to make a profit, or payroll for that matter!
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I concur with #20 Sean Bossinger. I’m also more interested in the people who are losing their homes, homeless, healthcare-less, hungry and for those Men and Women who are serving our country and not being compensated or supported properly when they do arrive home.
The mess that has been made in the last 8 years will take more than 10 years to fix it therefore, we all need to pray that the next person will have the opportunity to fix just one of the challenges we’re facing as a Country.
Health care is a big issue for this solo consultant:
Universal Health Insurance is pro-entrepreneur. I know too many people who stay at jobs they don’t like rather than risk going out on their own because they are afraid of losing health benefits. Ditto people who won’t take jobs with start-ups for the same reason. It doesn’t have to be Canada or England, but guaranteed health insurance of some sort will make entrepreneurship easier.
And let’s be realistic: it’s not like we have a free market in health insurance: in most states, it’s an oligopoly, with two or three primary players all of whom are completely unresponsive to customers and often downright cruel. Obama’s story of his mother having to fight with insurance companies over paperwork as she lay dying from cancer is a familiar story to people on all sides of the political spectrum. It often seems that the insurance companies work on the theory that a certain percentage of people will be too busy or too distracted to bother to argue with their glaring mistakes and try and get what’s rightfully theirs.
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Higher taxes for any business or segment of the population will be bad for entrepreneurs. Corporate tax rates are already uncompetitive on a global basis, and it’s costing us growth and jobs now. Neither McCain nor Obama has a clue about economics or what’s good for business, nor should they be expected to. Business is incredibly complex and even the best economic minds in the world can’t agree on policy or forecasts. The real impact of either will depend on their advisory team, Congress, and the public mood. My fear is that the combination of a Democratic President, a Democratic Congress, and a public accepting of “big government” will lead to an economic policy based on protectionism and redistribution of wealth. What we should do is cut billions (trillions?) in wasteful government spending in order to clear the decks for money we desperately need for such things as a decent system of health care. I don’t see it happening in the next four years.
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I think the most frustrating thing is that regardless of how we vote and regardless of who actually is voted in, change will take time. Things will not suddenly become right overnight. And who ever is voted in, does not govern alone – the best intentions of presidents are often derailed by congress and the senate.
Trickle up economics? That would be socialism. Where does the trickle stop? At the very bottom of the ladder. Ever wonder why the Great Depression took so long to recover? You’ll be able to find out firsthand with these two spenders.
The greatest disservice is having two candidates promoting universal health care programs that can’t possibly work. One is not enough and the other has been proposed in the past, has had the numbers crunched by Congress, and has been proven impossibly expensive to implement (see http://www.cbo.gov).
Anyone touting that tax cut should look again. Thanks for that $1200 this year but when the bills come for the proposed spending for all the other programs, you had better bet small businesses will crumble under the weight.
Without fiscal conservatism, we are screwed.
Yes, I resent the more you make the more you pay. It diminishes incentive unless you know how to work the system and I don’t. I’m sick of the health care system having to rely on some person who never met me yet will decide if I can have a PET Scan or not..and you know I just went through that with my Cancer..Doctors and doctors only should make those decisions not strangers..I want our Senate to stop allowing us to be dependent on oil from the middle east and continue to support automobiles that use less gas…it’s terrible that they ignored this for so long…and wherever we have to drill we should do it along with other energy saving ideas we are all aware of now..including Pickens and the windmill.
Immigration is a big concern, I support coming to our country however, following the rules and not immediately going on welfare or a form of my social security…It was never meant for anyone other then those paying into it.. I’m very generous and will share however, I prefer keeping it in my country for our needy children first. When we have surplus; go back to the care packages we us to give, where we teach them how to survive once we’re gone…independence with short term help after we give it to our own..make us stronger first so we can then, help others..
Sadly there’s not much detail from either candidate..So I’ll vote for the politician who loves
his country, and wants to serve not be served by his constituents..all too often once they enter that little boys club they forget who their real bosses are….lets see who gets in and if they reduce the deficit or make it larger..unfortunately then it will be too late..and oh yes I didn’t even touch on the war..my grandson is there for his second time and he tells me he doesn’t even know how to vote…get that.. I was sure he could share a direction. So to this moment I’m not sure who to trust…
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