Small Business Owners Not Buying Republican Lies

It has become obvious to all but the most thick-headed voters that the Republicans care only for the rich and the giant corporations. The Republicans have tried to hide this by telling Americans that raising taxes on the rich (those making more than $1 million a year) and eliminating corporate loopholes would hurt most of America's small businesses. That is a lie. And small business owners know it's a lie.

Three organizations that represent small business owners recently conducted a joint survey of those small businesses. The organizations are the Main Street Alliance, Small Business Majority, and American Sustainable Business Council. The business owners surveyed were 50% Republican, 32% Democratic, and 15% Independent (so an anti-Republican bias can't be claimed). Here are some of the results of that survey.

* 90% believe big corporations use loopholes to avoid paying taxes that small businesses have to pay.

* 91% believe that multinational corporations using loopholes to move money to offshore accounts to avoid taxes is a big problem.

* 75% say their own small businesses are harmed when corporations use loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

* 67% say big corporations pay less than their fair share of taxes, and 73% say multinational corporations pay less than their fair share of taxes.

* 58% say households making more than $1 million a year pay less than their fair share of taxes, and 57% say the tax rate on those making more than a million a year should be raised.

* 81% believe hedge fund managers should pay the ordinary tax rate on earned income for "carried interest" instead of the 15% capital gains tax rate.

* 51% say the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to expire next year for those making more than $250,000 a year.

It looks like small business owners are starting to realize that congressional Republicans are not representing them, but only the rich and the giant corporations. Most of them no longer believe the Republican lies.