President Joe Biden wants you to believe that the economy is going great. And for many business owners, it is — at least if they are in a red state.
As reported by PJ Media on Sunday, the Freedom Economy Index, a joint project of Public Square and RedBalloon, released the findings of a survey of 80,000 small businesses across the country.
In short, red states are happy, while those in blue states got the business blues.
The pollsters asked a variety of questions, such as how many of their employees work a second job, is “job hopping” still a thing,” have revenues recovered over the past year, are they hiring, how big a factor is crime, the role of AI in their business, and so on.
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On questions of geography, red states won easily.
Overall, 52.3% of respondents reported that they were unhappy where they are or were undecided. Nearly 40% said they were planning a move, considering relocating, or wanted to but could not afford it.
Considering red vs. blue, nearly 80% of businesses in red states said they were happy where they are. On the other hand, about 30% of blue staters want to stay put.
But more business owners in blue states said they wanted to leave but could not afford to move than said they wanted to stay.
In California specifically, a whopping 67% reported that they were planning a move, considering relocating, or are feeling trapped to stay.
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In comparison, in Florida specifically, nearly 80% of small business owners reported being happy where they were.
Interestingly, California was viewed as such a drag for business that when the Golden State was excluded from the rest of the nation, the ratio of those who were satisfied with their current situation went from around 48% to approaching 60%.
And the reasons people want to relocate are indicative of left-wing control of the local economy.
Pollsters asked business owners to pick from among 10 reasons why they wanted out. Three of the 10 reasons topped 50% for the most cited responses: high taxes, “anti-business government policies,” and “woke” public schools.
PJ Media columnist Stacey Lennox, in reporting on the survey, noted shocking results in areas of the study outside of geography.
- Almost 40% of business owners report that more than 30% of their employees have a second job.
- Roughly 10% expect to lay off workers this year, while more than 60% say they will keep current employment levels steady.
- More than half said revenue was either lower or much lower than a year ago.
- More than half also reported being pessimistic or worried about the future of their business.
- 75% indicated that suppliers increased prices in the past 30 days
- Roughly half expect the Federal Reserve to increase or keep interest rates the same.
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“While the blue state blues have some business owners dreaming of leaving states like California, the disastrous set of policies known as Bidenomics is hitting them no matter where they operate,” Lennox noted.
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