A large national poll of independent business owners finds that cutting taxpayer subsidies to big business is their top-rated public policy priority. And a smaller survey of high-growth entrepreneurs finds that the last things they are concerned about are low taxes or business-friendly regulations.
The large poll, conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Advocates for Independent Business, surveyed 2,602 small business owners nationwide. It asked them which two public policy changes would most help their business. Their single most common reply (36 percent) was “eliminate public subsidies for big companies.”
The smaller survey, by Endeavor (a global network for accelerating entrepreneurship), surveyed 150 founders of some of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. It asked them why they chose the locations in which they built their businesses. Their typical answer: before starting their company, they moved to a city of one million or more because of personal connections and quality of life. Their most critical business reason for staying was a pool of talented labor, followed by access to customers and suppliers.
Only five percent cited low taxes and only two percent cited business-friendly regulations as a reason for choosing their successful location.
Watch this blog for big news soon from Good Jobs First on the issue of subsidies to big business.