Economy, health care press businesswomen

When given a list of nine key business issues, 93 percent of NAWBO members said that the state of the economy is an extremely or very important issue for them as business owners. Following closely behind are: the cost and availability of health insurance for the owners and their employees (82 percent); fuel and other energy costs (81 percent); and business tax issues (75 percent).

“NAWBO members share the general concern of voters about the state of our economy,” said NAWBO President Lisa Kaiser Hickey, in a news release. “At the same time, our members also show differences in the way they see other important issues, such as health care – where they want to see more focus on prevention; and immigration – where they want the focus to be on systemic reform.”

On national politics

When asked an open-ended question about the issues that will impact their votes for president and Congress this fall, NAWBO members cite the state of the economy (48 percent) and health care (47 percent), but the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will also factor heavily into 42 percent of the members’ decisions.

In the second tier of vote influencers will be the candidates’ positions on: taxes and government regulations for business (21 percent); the environment and global warming (10 percent); immigration policy (10 percent); and terrorism/national security (10 percent).

Other issues of importance

Education policies and their impact on the quality of the work force were very important to NAWBO members, as well as national security issues, access to capital, immigration reform and more access to federal contracting opportunities, according to the survey.

The survey also took a deeper look at some of the identified key issues from an advocacy perspective.

In the health care/health insurance arena, NAWBO members chose reducing costs over expanding coverage as the area of greatest importance, followed by expanding coverage for the uninsured, improving quality of care and reducing spending on government programs.

With respect to federal procurement and actions that could be taken to help meet the government’s 5 percent goal of purchasing from women-owned small businesses, 78 percent of NAWBO members would favor holding federal procurement officials responsible by linking performance on goals to their performance reviews. Sixty-seven percent would favor punitive action against prime contractors who do not meet their subcontracting goals with women-owned small businesses, and 52% would favor requiring agencies to set aside specific procurement opportunities for competition only among women-owned firms.

On balance, 53 percent of NAWBO members believe that immigration is an economic asset to the United States, and 18 percent view immigration as an economic threat.

In addition, those polled expressed stronger support for systemic reforms, such as a guest worker program than for punitive action or increased border security and deportation.