Tomorrow is the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which opened the door for unlimited corporate spending to influence the outcome of elections.
On the eve of the anniversary, a new survey reveals that small business owners overwhelmingly say the ruling hurts their business:
Two-thirds of American small business leaders believe the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case handed down two years ago on January 21 hurts small companies.
In fact, only nine percent of small business leaders thought the ruling positive, according to an independent national survey of 500 small business leaders released today by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority.
The survey also found that 88 percent of small business owners hold a negative view of the role money plays in politics, with 68 percent viewing it very negatively. […]
“As we approach the two-year anniversary of the Citizens United case, the verdict is loud and clear: the ruling hurts the small businesses that we need to be strong for economic recovery,” said David Levine, executive director of the American Sustainable Business Council. “Business owners are frustrated because they have to compete with big business bank accounts to be heard, and they are fighting back.”
Small business has been hailed by legislators of both parties as the undisputed engine of economic growth. 51 percent of Americans are employed by small business, and small businesses generate 70 percent of new private sector jobs. But they increasingly find their needs ignored by lawmakers who favor corporate contributors with deeper pockets.
“America’s entrepreneurs feel corporations have an outsized role and say in politics — to the detriment of the small business community,” said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “They’re looking for a level playing field, and as the country’s primary job creators, they should have it.”