Small Business Owners Weigh In on Obama and McCain: And It's Not Pretty

As over 4,000 small business owners weighed in on our MerchantCircle Presidential Election Survey, more than 90 comments have been left on our survey results found here. The comments show that business owners are taking a very active, and vocal role in this year's election. The arguments for or against McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden are not always pretty. In fact, some of them border on outrageous. Here are some of the commenters against Obama say:

- "I don't know how Obama (we know what his middle name is) is so high in the polls when most people I talk to say they would not vote for him. He scares me to death!!"

- "Obama hates all that America stands for, and if he is elected it will be the begining of the end of America."

Not exactly sure what Obama's middle name has to do with his character or leadership skills or how he'll help out small businesses. Some of those against McCain have also shown little restraint:

- "He's lost his soul to win an election. We don't a need vindictive, wishy washy old troll leading this country!!"

- "If you really want 4 more years of what we have had to endure, please vote for the old guy and Gov. Avon Lady...give me a break...Just more of the Bush agenda."

Not sure what age has to do with someone's ability to lead either. Not everyone has been taken away with name-calling though, there were many comments that did focus on small business and the economy:

- "98% of small businesses make under $250,000 so they would actually benefit by Obama's plan, not McCain's. Obama wants to work from the bottom up instead of the policy we have seen for the past eight years, which is to work from the top down and hope some of it trickles down - it hasn't worked."

- "Raising taxes for anyone in this economic climate would be a mistake. Anyone who thinks that those companies who bring in 250K per year and will have higher taxes hit them won't affect those companies and individuals who bring in less are sadly mistaken. If you think unemployment is bad now wait until those tax hikes hit the employers who must cut jobs to adapt."

As the election comes down to it's final two weeks - we hope that the conversation does not become as hate-filled as some of the recent negative ads directed towards both candidates. For a look at up-to-date electoral votes for each candidate, you can check here. Here's a broad look at both candidate's proposals for Taxes, Health Care, Trade, and Startup Incentives.

Sincerely,
Kevin
Community Relations

Obama, McCain, Taxes, Small Business, and You

While we didn't hear much around the words "Main Street" this go around, there was plenty to do with taxes during the second of three debates between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. There seems to be more blame and misleading statements this election season than any in recent memory. To get a complete rundown of all the "mangled facts" between both candidates, check out this link from FactCheck.org. Here's an excerpt below:

• Obama said his health care plan would lower insurance premiums by up to $2,500 a year. Experts we’ve consulted see little evidence such savings would materialize.
• McCain misstated his own health care plan, saying he’d give a $5,000 tax credit to “every American” His plan actually would provide only $2,500 per individual, or $5,000 for couples and families. He also misstated Obama’s health care plan, claiming it would levy fines on “small businesses” that fail to provide health insurance. Actually, Obama’s plan exempts “small businesses.”

Both candidates had to spend the majority of their alloted time refuting what the other was saying about them, rather than answer the questions. Here a link to a KCBS5 story about each candidate's tax policies and what they mean to small business owners. Below is an excerpt:

First, on taxes: Experts say at least three out of four small businesses pay taxes through the owner's personal income tax. Under a Barack Obama administration, couples who make less than $250,000 will either see taxes stay the same - or drop. For those making more, taxes will go up. Under McCain, there would be no changes to the current tax structure. For the small remaining group of businesses that file corporate taxes, Obama proposes leaving the corporate tax rate at 35 percent. McCain would drop it to 25 percent.

With the results from our recently released 'Presidential Survey' and updates from the MerchantCircle blog, we want to make sure you can make informed decisions this election season and beyond.

Sincerely,
Kevin
Community Relations