Small/Medium Size Businesses are part of the 99%

Saw this on Think Progress in reference to Citizens United.

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.”

Made me think that when you come right down to it…

Its not only the big business bank accounts that are heard and the small and medium businesses are not heard.

It’s the big businesses who belong to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that are heard.

Think about it – small and medium businesses can’t afford to pay the hefty dues of ALEC.

Small and medium size businesses have no voice at ALEC

Because of that – small and medium businesses have no one writing pro-business legislation for them.

Therefore – small and medium businesses are part of the 99%

- in competition with the 1% corporations who have a voice

- in a lot of different ways that the small and medium businesses do not have.