United Liberty

While Rick Santorum is railing on and on about what he sees as dangers of contraceptives and concern for the sex lives of Americans, the latest poll from Gallup highlights, you know, actual concerns of small business owners:

Most small businesses that aren’t hiring say they don’t want to bring on new employees at this time because of concerns about the economy, as well as fears about the cost of health care, according to a new poll Wednesday.

Seventy-one percent of those surveyed said revenues/sales wouldn’t justify hiring additional workers, while 66 percent expressed worries about the overall economic situation, Gallup found. Seventy-six percent of small businesses said they simply don’t need any more workers at this time.

Gallup said that 85 percent of the small businesses survyed indicated that they are currently not looking for new workers.

Meanwhile, 48 percent of those not hiring said it was due to concerns about possible rising health care costs, while 46 percent said they were worried about new government regulations.

“The debate over why U.S. small-business owners aren’t hiring more aggressively tends to hinge on whether overall business conditions, including a lack of growth and revenue, are the primary culprit as opposed to the potential cost of healthcare and government regulations. Apparently, both sides of the debate are correct,” Gallup said.

Almost one in four small-business owners who are currently not expanding their workforce, 24 percent, said they are holding back from hiring because they are worried about no longer being in business in 12 months.

As businesses go, so go the opinions of voters. They are not going to be concerned about contraceptives or banning gay marriage at a time when unemployment is still stuck between 8.5% and 9%. They’re going to be concerned about whether or not ObamaCare, which comes before the Supreme Court next month, is going to cause them to change health insurance policies.

You’ve heard this before, but it rings just as true today — if not more so — as it did in 1992; it’s the economy, stupid! It always has been. And while Republicans may recently have been handed a wedge issue, that is hardly something they’ll be able to ride into the White House or keep the House and gain control of the Senate.