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There are more than 33 million small businesses across America. Together, these companies, each with fewer than 500 employees, make up 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses and are responsible for at least 46 percent of the nation's private sector employees, according to the Small Business Administration. In the upcoming election, these founders and self-starters will not be just employers. They will also be voters. Here are four bipartisan issues that are important to them.
There were more than 46 million immigrants in America as of 2022, according to the most recent available data from the United States Census Bureau. While immigrants come here for many reasons, it's often for better economic opportunities for themselves and their children. And Americans generally welcome them: 68 percent of Americans say that immigrants are good for the country, according to a poll by global analytics and advisory firm Gallup.
But data shows that immigrants particularly benefit the U.S. economy, especially since they are willing to work in many types of jobs that are difficult to fill. They also create jobs; immigrants are 80 percent more likely to start their own companies compared with those born in the U.S., according to a 2022 study. SBA data shows that immigrants with employees own 18 percent of all small businesses.
However, what immigrants bring to the table is often eclipsed by how they came to the U.S. and whether or not they arrived with the proper documents. It's a thorny issue, especially for the right. Seventy percent of Republicans say illegal immigration is a very big problem, as opposed to 25 percent of Democrats, according to a survey from Pew Research Center this year.
What can policymakers do to help small businesses? In the long term, the nation needs "comprehensive immigration reform," according to Start Us Up, a nationwide coalition of groups and organizations seeking to level the playing field for entrepreneurs in America. In the short term, however, the federal government can make the process easier for immigrants who are already here on a temporary basis, the coalition said. This can be done by increasing the number of employment-based green cards and eliminating the per-country limit for high-skilled immigrants. The federal government can also establish a startup visa that can eventually lead to permanent residency.
The majority of Americans see health care costs as a "very big problem," second only to inflation, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. The U.S. is the only high-income country that does not guarantee health coverage, according to an issue brief by The Commonwealth Fund, a foundation focused on making health care access more equitable.
Health care insurance is a huge burden to shoulder, especially for small businesses. In fact, 62 percent of the small businesses surveyed said they do not offer any health insurance to their employees, according to the trade group Small Business for America's Future, which polled over a thousand respondents. A separate survey by the National Federation of Independent Business showed that of the small employers that offer this benefit, 49 percent of them have taken a lower profit or a loss to pay for health insurance premium increases over the past five years. The same survey showed that 98 percent of small businesses offering health insurance are concerned that the cost will become "unsustainable in the next 5-10 years."
Among the policy interventions that can be done, Right to Start, a nonpartisan organization advocating for entrepreneurship, suggests that the federal government create a fund to support lower health insurance premium costs for new businesses in the first three years of their operations, which is "when businesses are most fragile."
Just how big a problem is inflation for small businesses? It has been considered their biggest challenge for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to the MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index. Inflation affects businesses of all sizes and in different ways. Some businesses, however, are more vulnerable than others, especially if they operate in industries that are considered luxuries during difficult financial times, like entertainment, fashion, or tourism. It has wide-ranging effects on operations, from higher costs to weaker demand and even higher interest rates, which would make it difficult for a company to borrow money. The latest available data, however, shows that inflation is slowing. In November, prices went up 3.1 percent, down from 3.2 percent in October. This is a significant improvement, especially when taken in the context of the pandemic: inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022, the highest since 1981.
But just because inflation is slowing does not mean people can feel it, especially when slower does not necessarily mean lower prices. Many see inflation as a huge consideration in this election. Although the situation is complex, 60 percent of Americans believe inflation is something a president can control, according to a December 2023 CBS News/YouGov survey
What can artificial intelligence do for your small business? And what can it do to you? It depends on whom you ask. Seventy-five percent of Americans think AI will hurt the job market, decreasing the total number of jobs in the next decade, according to the Bentley-Gallup Business in Society study. But where a worker might see fewer job opportunities, an employer might see efficiency. This is especially true for about a quarter of small businesses today. Twenty-three percent of small businesses already use AI, mostly for marketing and communications purposes, according to a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Out of this group, 84 percent expect AI will help their company grow. More small businesses are expected to follow suit so as not to be left behind, given that two-thirds of businesses anticipate their competitors will adopt AI sometime in the next five years, if not sooner.
That said, there is still the matter of regulation, which is important especially when, according to the same Bentley-Gallup survey, 79 percent of Americans do not trust that businesses will use AI responsibly. AI, after all, is potentially harmful when used to mislead. Take, for example, the dangers of deepfake -- a fake image or video generated by the deep learning capability of artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, the U.S. Chamber believes small businesses should also be considered when talking about AI regulation "so that businesses of all sizes can benefit from AI's productivity."
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