MANDATORY HEALTHCARE? Small Business Owners Oppose It 2-1,
Opinions Mixed on Threshold for Exemption
STAYING AFLOAT: Borrowing Increases But Not From Traditional
Sources
Economic confidence among small business owners rose for the second
consecutive month, although concerns about being able to pay their bills
jumped significantly in July as measured by the latest Discover®
Small Business WatchSM.
The index rose to 82.1, up from 80.9 in June.
Cash flow concerns in July hit the highest level in the Watch’s
three-year existence. More than half of small business owners, 53
percent, say that in the past 90 days they have encountered temporary
cash flow issues that caused them to hold off on paying some bills, up
from 42 percent in June.
“Although they seem to have a gradual sense that things are improving in
the economy, small business owners are still hurting for profits,” said
Ryan Scully, director of Discover's business
credit card. “They continue to take home less, more of them are
borrowing and the majority have not increased prices in the past six
months to reflect higher costs of doing business. We still don’t have a
definitive sense whether small business owners will be the ones leading
us out of this recession or riding the tailwinds.”
July Highlights:
-
30 percent believe the overall economy is improving, up from 26
percent in June. Those who believe it is getting worse fell to 50
percent, down from 57 percent in June, the lowest reading since May
2007. The other 20 percent aren’t sure or think it’s staying about the
same.
-
58 percent of small business owners rate the economy as poor, 35
percent rate it fair and 7 percent say it’s excellent or good.
-
29 percent of small business owners see economic conditions for their
businesses improving, up from 25 percent in June, while 46 percent see
conditions getting worse and 19 percent say conditions are the same.
-
49 percent of small business owners say they plan to cut spending on
business development over the next six months, down from 51 percent in
June; 23 percent plan to increase spending, 23 percent are planning no
changes and 5 percent aren’t sure.
Mandatory Healthcare Opposed 2-1, Opinions Mixed on Threshold for
Exemption
Sixty percent of small business owners say that they oppose any
legislation that requires businesses to provide health insurance for
their employees.
