BISMARCK, N.D., Oct. 13, 2014—Results from a poll of North Dakota small-business owners released today showed near unanimous opposition to Measure 5 on the November 4 ballot.
When asked if Measure 5 should be approved by voters, 93 percent of National Federation of Independent Business-member, small-business owners said ‘No,’ 7 percent said ‘Yes,’ and a statistical 1 percent was undecided.
“Small Business is the backbone of North Dakota and those businesses, in order to be successful, understand the economic realities in our state,” said Rae Ann Kelsch, North Dakota state director for NFIB. “The new conservation fund Measure 5 would receive over $150 million dollars a year of our tax dollars no matter what, and the money is required to be spent each year. Measure 5 places conservation spending ahead of educating our children , building our roads and other required infrastructure, health and human services, and tax relief for North Dakotans. It’s no wonder small-business owners would be opposed to the measure.
“All North Dakotans want to preserve our environment, but decisions on how to do this are best left with our elected Legislature, not an appointed board. Our elected representatives are in the best position to balance all of our societal needs, and to determine the amount of our tax dollars to be spent on those needs, rather than having large amounts of required spending for conservation in our constitution.”
America’s largest small-business association, the National Federation of Independent Business has 350,000 dues paying members across the nation, including almost 2,300 in North Dakota. Brief, single-pages of bulleted information on the power of the small-business vote, what a small business is and the distinctions it has from a big business can be found here.
“Small businesses significantly impact North Dakota’s economy,” reports the Office of Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration. “They represent 96 percent of all employers and employ 61.9 percent of the private-sector labor force. Small businesses are crucial to the fiscal condition of the state and numbered 65,218 in 2010. Most of North Dakota’s small businesses have fewer than 20 employees.”
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/North Dakota
PO Box 7370
Bismarck, N.D. 58507
701-220-0003
