The Forward Party has released the latest installment of its Controlling What You Can series, examining this week how supporters view the challenges and needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs in the current economic environment.
Since announcing the series in March, the party has gathered supporter input on a variety of issues. More recently, it has focused on several economic topics, with recent installments addressing cost-of-living anxieties, national economic competitiveness, and trade policy. On Tuesday, the party turned its attention to small business and entrepreneurship, describing its findings as one of its “most balanced and nuanced set of answers” to date.
A slider poll conducted on the party’s website found that 61% of respondents believe small business owners and entrepreneurs are faring poorly in the current economy. By contrast, 39% said they feel the environment is going well for these groups. Those with a negative outlook expressed stronger views, while those who were more optimistic were more evenly distributed in their beliefs. Like past slider polls, the party did not provide the total number of participants.
A separate poll on X around the same time asked users to identify which policies they believe are most critical to supporting small businesses out of four proposed suggestions. Of the 1,813 responses, 34.3% favored reducing current regulations, closely followed by 31.8% who said tariffs should be lowered. Another 22.7% wanted lower taxes overall, while 11.2% supported increasing access to small business loans.
In its summary of respondent comments, the party reported that supporters believe many government regulations, while well-intentioned, ultimately serve large corporations by providing loopholes, leaving smaller businesses at a disadvantage. Respondents urged a more targeted and effective approach to regulation than what is currently being followed.
Tariffs also emerged as a major concern, with members warning that recent policy changes could devastate small businesses. While some acknowledged that reshoring manufacturing to the United States may carry long-term benefits, members also expressed fear that current tariffs could prove too costly for small businesses and consumers to withstand.
I was notified by the Forward Party that the next installment in the series will focus on whether the United States is doing enough to prepare future generations for the workforce.