National Write Your Congressman Quarterly Index Finds Small Business Owners’ Optimism, Satisfaction and Confidence in Congress Increases
DALLAS – October 3, 2019 – National Write Your Congressman (NWYC), an organization that gives small businesses a voice in American government, finds in its Q3 2019 Quarterly Index trust, hope and satisfaction in U.S. Congress has increased since last quarter from approximately four percent to almost six percent.
Business owners remain most hopeful and satisfied in the president but less hopeful in Congress, state and local government and national government agencies.
NWYC’s Quarterly Index measures small business owner sentiment towards Congress and their top concerns for their business and legislative issues. The Q3 Index found small business owners most concerned with taxes, health insurance expenses, hiring qualified workers, and regulations.
“Our business owner members continue to voice that taxes and health insurance are the top concerns for their business, and demand more action from Congress that will positively impact their business,” said Randy Ford, President and COO of National Write Your Congressman. “As Congress works to enact legislation before the next election, our members are hopeful they are impacting change.”
The NWYC Index Score, which takes into account six factors measuring small business owners’ trust, hope and satisfaction towards Congress and government, increased since the last quarter, signaling hope for the end of the year.
When asked how the president’s trade negotiations were affecting their business, 27 percent of business owners said that it was helping their business, almost half said it did not help or hurt their business, and 25 percent said that it was hurting their business.
“It is no surprise that issues such as jobs and the economy, healthcare, immigration and tariffs and trade are most important to business owners as they consider how they will vote in the 2020 election,” said Ford.
More than 40 percent of businesses trust in their own members of Congress and more than half of business owners surveyed agree their own elected members of Congress know their opinion on important issues.
NWYC provides members with non-partisan information and research along with the tools they can use to connect with their representatives in Washington and advocate for the policies and actions that will help their small businesses be successful for their families, their employees and their communities.
Methodology
NWYC’s Index on the Sentiment of Small Business Owners towards Congress is based on data collected using an online survey administered September 17-24, 2019. A total of 940 respondents participated. Respondents represent 47 of the 50 states in the U.S. Fifty-eight percent of business owners surveyed employ 1-9 employees and 38 percent employ 10-99 employees. The predominant industries represented are construction, services, automotive repair, health, legal, accounting, engineering, advertising, education, manufacturing, agriculture, and retail trade.
About National Write Your Congressman
National Write Your Congressman (NWYC) is an organization that gives small businesses a voice in American government. As the nation’s largest, privately held, nonpartisan membership organization made up of small businesses, NWYC is dedicated to the delivery of constituent opinions to representatives in Washington. For 60 years, NWYC has provided small business owners and operators the tools necessary to connect with members of Congress and a platform to let their collective voice be heard. NWYC’s team of experts provides unbiased, nonpartisan information and research on top issues and pending legislation relevant to small business owners today. NWYC presents both sides of the issue so that members can form an educated opinion and let their opinions be heard.
