WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 6, 2023) – Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade published an op-ed highlighting the 50th anniversary of NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends survey. Wade shares the history of the survey and the insight it has provided into the small business economy since its conception in 1973, including the most recent indicators showing consistently deteriorating optimism among small businesses.
Wade writes:
“In October 1973, NFIB launched its small business survey – the first of its kind, designed by NFIB’s Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg…As soon as NFIB published the survey’s inaugural results, it was clear that America was eager to hear from small business owners.
The monthly survey shows that top-down government control and one-size-fits-all policies inevitably stifle small businesses. The early 2010s were a painful period because government grew its power over Main Street. Not only was it clear that the economy was painfully slow emerging from the financial meltdown, but regulations and taxes were dragging down many small businesses as well. The same sad story is playing out right now, with optimism falling in September amid high inflation, an expanding regulatory environment, and the threat of higher taxes.
The ‘Small Business Economic Trends’ survey’s 50th anniversary is the perfect time for lawmakers to recommit themselves to a new era of policies that will strengthen Main Street and every community in the country. A half-century ago, lawmakers started to have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t in supporting small businesses. The health of the U.S. economy relies on small businesses. And with the right federal and state policies, small businesses can make it happen.”
Read the full editorial here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-fifty-years-small-business-surveys-have-proved-nfib-o8h5f/
Wade notes the need for Congress to take action to provide relief from the onerous regulations, high health insurance costs, and tax burdens that are impacting small business owners nationwide. One such source of relief is the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and in the U.S. House by Representatives Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX), which would make the 20% Small Business Deduction (Section 199A) permanent. Unless made permanent, this integral deduction for small businesses is currently set to expire in 2025.
