Want my blog posts delivered to your inbox? Click here to subscribe
To listen to the podcast version of memo click here —> Podcast Version
As it is a presidential year, it is time for: (drum roll)
The Chris Whalen, CPA
Report On Business Owners’
Presidential Election Political Sentiment
Many of you who have been listening to my podcast or reading my memos for a while, know that I love statistics! I am constantly asking my clients business and personal questions as this is the best way for me to stay in touch with what is happening at the street level.
This analysis wants business owners to answer two questions:
- “What were your political leanings in the last presidential election (2016), and what are they currently (2020)?”
- “If your political leanings have changed, what do you feel are the main reason(s)?”
Sample Information:
# of Respondents 196
All are my business clients.
All respondents are from large cities with 1 million residents or more from the following ten U.S. cities.
| List of United States cities by population | ||||||
| Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population | ||||||
| 2019rank | City | State[c] | 2019 estimate | 2010 Census | ||
| 1 | New York[d] | New York | 8,336,817 | 8,175,133 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles | California | 3,979,576 | 3,792,621 | ||
| 3 | Chicago | Illinois | 2,693,976 | 2,695,598 | ||
| 4 | Houston[3] | Texas | 2,320,268 | 2,100,263 | ||
| 5 | Phoenix | Arizona | 1,680,992 | 1,445,632 | ||
| 6 | Philadelphia[e] | Pennsylvania | 1,584,064 | 1,526,006 | ||
| 7 | San Antonio | Texas | 1,547,253 | 1,327,407 | ||
| 8 | San Diego | California | 1,423,851 | 1,307,402 | ||
| 9 | Dallas | Texas | 1,343,573 | 1,197,816 | ||
| 10 | San Jose | California | 1,021,795 | |||
–
Let’s take a quick look at my results.
The high level takeaway is that in 2020 business owners will be voting much more conservatively than in 2016.
44 of 196, or 22.45%, of the respondents changed their political leanings. In my over 30 years of doing this specific poll, that is the highest move I have ever seen.
So 152, or 77.55%, of the respondents had no change in their leanings.
Another thing I have never seen before is that all the changes went in one direction, to the conservative column. When Obama was first running we saw a heavy swing in the other direction, but nowhere near this large percentage.
Not one respondent moved from conservative to liberal or moderate.
I want to go over the reasons business owners gave me for their change. But first I want to admit my own bias. I thought that many respondents were going to cite the recent unrest in liberal areas as the main reason, but this was not the case.
What did this show me? Well, before any of the life-changing events of 2020, the virus and the civil unrest mainly, the leanings of the business owners were already changed.
The virus lockdown and the unrestrained civil unrest solidified their new leanings, but did not have the main influence on that move.
Time after time, the same 4 reasons were given for the change in leanings.
- 2018 tax reform (tax reductions, especially QBI)
- Easing of business regulations since 2016
- International markets much more open since 2016
- Police absence during civil unrest
Overwhelmingly this shows that since 2016, the current administration has focussed on supporting business owners, especially small business owners.
This has NOT come at the expense of individuals. Click here to listen to a recent podcast where I detail the individual tax savings given to family since 2016. The average tax savings for middle class families is 15%.
Podcast – Trump Tax Plan Analysis – % Tax Savings 2018 vs 2017
In my CPA practice, since 2016 the growth in my business has been substantial, as two of our specialities are start-ups and mergers and acquisitions. Both of those have been booming the past few years.
The first two items on the list were no surprise, but I was very happy to hear so many small to medium sized business owners say they had seen much more access to international markets since 2016. Many of them said international customers were pursuing U.S.A. based products and services more than ever.
Then finally, how many governors have handled the Coronavirus lockdown and allowed unrestrained civil unrest has driven business owners and individuals to the conservative mentality. But again, it wasn’t the main reason.
Finally, over 92% of the respondents said they feel the economy is going to pick up where it left off before the lockdown, and their future business outlook is extremely positive.
Questions? Concerns? Call me on (732) 673-0510.
Want my blog posts delivered to your inbox? Click here to subscribe
Click here to request a consultation or ask me a question.
Please reach out to me without hesitation with any tax, business or accounting question, and to schedule a consultation.
Tax Laws are complex.
It is very easy to make mistakes that can incur penalties.
Do you have a Tax, Accounting or Business Question?
Call Me Immediately. (732) 673-0510.
Is your CPA or Attorney
ignoring your Phone Calls and Emails?
Call Me Immediately. (732) 673-0510.
Remember,
“If We Aren’t Working For You, Then You Aren’t Working At Your Best”
Chris Whalen, CPA
(732) 673-0510
81 Oak Hill Road
Red Bank, NJ 07701
www.chriswhalencpa.com
#Rioters #riots2020 #riots #RiotsInAmerica #RiotsAndLooting #riotsarentprotests #Lockdown #SmallBusinessSaturday #smallbusinessowner #Covid2019 #CoronavirusLockdown #CoronavirusPandemic #COVIDー19 #StimulusChecks #Covid19 #Coronavirus #smallbusinessowners #incometax #irs #businessmarketing #businessowner #yearend #jerseyshore #cpa #taxplanning #Accounting #TedTalk
