The conversation at some Chamber of Commerce events may be getting heated about now. The reason? Small-business owners are almost evenly split on whether they support the protest movement Occupy Wall Street.
A new study of more than 200 business owners -- most with fewer than 100 employees -- from email marketer VerticalResponse found 49 percent of business owners support OWS, while 46.6 percent said they opposed the street protests against big business and wealthy individuals. The remaining 4.2 percent were unsure of their views.
Many supportive business owners have been actively involved in OWS, either participating in protests or in feeding protesters. Others have asked that protests stop because they are driving customers away from businesses near the protest sites.
The relationship between the entrepreneur's income and their viewpoint was interesting -- just 40 percent of those supporting OWS had income below the 50th percentile, meaning a substantial number of higher earners support the cause. On the other side of the fence, 30 percent of OWS detractors had income below the 50th percentile -- so more are in the lower-income category, but still think OWS isn't a good idea.
A few sample comments VerticalResponse made available from the study shed light on business owners' reasoning, both for and against:
-- "Should their message become more coherent and gain political traction over the long-term, they could inspire knee-jerk legislation that could be harmful to both small and big business alike."
- "Banks, both commercial and retail, have little interest in small business. In fact, they have little interest in making money the old-fashioned way, earning it with banking principles. Again, this brings attention to the unsavory greed of the banks at the expense of the small businesses who carry this nation on their backs."
- "It promotes uncertainty in the state of our country. People who are uncertain about the future tend to spend less."
Some owners clearly feel it's smarter to simply concentrate on building your own business than to spend time in park protests. Others feel solidly part of the 99 percent and hope to push for legislative changes that might favor small businesses as compared with large ones. Business-turnaround expert Grant Cardone recently opined that instead of protests, entrepreneurs should focus on selling to those 1 percent wealthiest Americans that OWS supporters blame for our current economic woes. As the protests roll on, business owners will have plenty of time to think about their viewpoints on whether the movement is good overall for small-business owners -- or bad.
What's your take on Occupy Wall Street? Leave a comment and make your case.
Related: Occupy Wall Street Is No Friend of Small Business (Opinion)
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Comments:
I had a vision & it was so real that Wall Street crashes in Jan. 2012.
OWS is more organized than it's given credit. I'm a child of the '60s. It was the youth that began needed change. Apathy is the killer. http://occupywallst.org/
I find it hard to understand why small business owners could be against the occupy movement. Of course, I also don't understand why small business owners would be against single payer health care. Occupy is the very foundation of a democratic government. They are trying to start a discussion about the influence of corporate money (including the big banks) on what is supposed to be a government of the people. Just a reminder... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
I was neutral on the OWS protest... I currently don't believe they have a strong direction. They are against big banks but in Los Angeles California they opened a bank account with Wells Fargo and not at a small community bank. Not sure what they want changed??? The majority of the big banks paid back the government loans with interest... At least the Tea Party Patriots had and still have a direction with focusing on Federal fiscal responsibility.... Time to regroup and come back with a plan... Nice try though...
I support OWS because I support capitalism. What we have now is not capitalism, it is Congress for sale, corporate welfare, crony capitalism.
According to me the business who first interested to change the circumstances around them or of the countries then it is definitely going to be supportive for the business , as county growths then obviously businesses would get the benefits. And business who thought like this , they can get the more benefit than the businesses who just think about own firm without caring for the circumstances that faced the state whole or country.
First people need to understand the media bias on what is being reported and the fact that a common strategy of those opposed to a movement is to have someone incite violence or behave badly and catch it on camera to cast what is going on in the most negative light possible. Only those who do not realize the serious jeopardy our economy is presently should be opposed to protesters using one of the few means we have left to stop the train wreck our economy is from heading off the cliff that is looming. The truth is that the money of the wealthy elite - not the entire 1% - only a few of the wealthiest - has corrupted our government and legal system so completely that there is no other way to stop them from continuing to take all the assets of our country. I know that many just can not believe that and most of those who can't are still comfortable at this point and believe what they've been conditioned to believe and what the media reports. I have much more information on why our economy is still in decline and the solution on my blog. http://www.growmap.com/small-business-economy-occupy-wall-street/
someone recently said that the biggest problem with capitalism today is that there arn't enough capitalists..couldn't agree more.
The system isn't going to change. I have heard the term fairness for three years. What does that mean?
Hard for me to believe that smart small business owners would support Occupy Wall Street. Damaging property, yelling at police, hurting local business, and threatening to fire bomb Macy's isn't in our DNA. We are builders, not destroyers.
OWS does not have direction or leadership ,and it is becoming a joke .
I do agree thought that with a samples size of 200, this study is seriously flawed.
I disagree that the message is "death to capitalism". While some want that, the more general message is death to corporate greed. I totally support the occupy movement because I believe in fairness and justice for all. Our system is seriously flawed and it's about time this movement got off the ground.
I'm an OWS supporter and a proud capitalist! It's okay to be both! And right now, you've got to accept that there will be some hypocrisy, opposing views, etc. I just don't want the banks to hold the ears of my government. I still want to make a lot of money for me and the awesome company I work for.
The comment about banks is mostly correct. Banks are in business to serve businesses, not individuals. Before deregulation of the savings and loan industry, it was savings and loans that served the individual family with installment loans and savings accounts, CD's and mortgages. Unfortunately they wanted to compete with banks, got the banking laws changed and then proceeded to implode, a messy result that cost the taxpayers. Credit unions have tried to fill the gap and many have done so successfully, but they don't have the marketing dollars so they have little visibility. So, banks have become more powerful with mega-mergers and lax oversight and a powerful lobby. I don't agree with the protesters methods, but I do agree that many bank and investment company executives got away with what amounts to robbery. I don't see any good answers coming soon unless Congress grows a spine.
I agree, with Obsidiandog. How can anyone really support this? How is sitting in a park with signs changing anything? They aren't starting businesses, aren't out looking for work, aren't buying anything to support even small business - they are railing at the wrong people as the government is the primary problem. There will always be the lower, middle, and upper class which in America USED to offer great mobility. People want to sit and text all day, not put in hard work, creativity, and think anymore! We have lost the true foundation that made America what it was and what is making India and China's economy surge!
If there is one overriding theme of the OWS protests, it is "Death to Capitalism". What kind of 'business' owner suppots that? This poll is a joke.