Few Florida small business owners back stimulus plan, survey finds; most seeing significant decline in revenue

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus plan might be a source of hope for many, but most small business owners in Florida don’t see it that way.

MerchantCircle, the social network of local business owners, Tuesday released a survey that found that only 3 percent of small business owners in Florida believe the plan does enough for them, while 70 percent believe it does not. Twenty-six percent say they don’t know enough about the plan to form an opinion.

The survey questioned 685 local business owners throughout Florida. More than 78 percent of business owners say they have seen a "moderate" to "severe" decline in sales and revenue from the same point last year.

"I think what this survey shows, is that Florida's local businesses are struggling and are still unsure about the future of our nation's economy," says Darren Waddell, vice president of MerchantCircle.

"The local business owners we surveyed overwhelmingly disapprove of the stimulus and don't believe it does enough for small business owners,” Waddell said. “Clearly the messages of hope and recovery are not resonating with local businesses. Part of that may lie in the fact that the administration has not done enough to explain the impact and benefits"

Nationally, Florida (54 percent) topped the list of states with the highest percentage of business owners who said their business was "unhealthy" or "in danger of closing." The state was followed by Nevada (54 percent), California (50 percent), and North Carolina (50 percent).

The 11-question survey was conducted via email to MerchantCircle's core base of 700,000 nationwide members and was not limited to the current stimulus bill. More than 79 percent of Florida business owners believed the first stimulus bill passed under the Bush Administration did not work, while 19 percent believe it will take time.

Other key numbers include:

— President Barack Obama's approval rating: 34 percent approve, 38 percent disapprove, 28 percent unsure.

— Congress' approval rating: 8 percent approve, 68 percent disapprove, 23 percent unsure.

— 27 percent say they "don't know enough about" the $787B stimulus bill to "approve" or "disapprove."

—  The most important issue addressed in the stimulus, as rated by small business owners: "Job Creation," followed by "Business Breaks." The least important: "Unemployment Benefits."