The Legal System Ranks Near the Bottom of Business Concerns
Small business surveys consistently show that lawsuits, or the “cost” of lawsuits, is an issue of less importance to small businesses than almost any issue they could possibly face. These surveys conducted by membership business organizations and business entities show that rank and file small businesses virtually always put “lawsuits” or “liability” at the bottom of their list of concerns – if they are mentioned at all.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recent survey of small businesses reveals broad concerns about revenue, inflation, the impact of rising costs and staffing issues. Neither the threat of lawsuits nor protection from liability due to the COVID-19 pandemic were mentioned.1
- The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) asked its members to check their primary business challenges from a list of options. Lawsuits were not even on that list, even during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.2
- According to a recent survey done by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), The “Cost and Frequency of Lawsuits/Threatened Lawsuits” was ranked 69 of 75 concerns on the list.3
- The 2018 mid-year survey done by National Small Business Association (NSBA) asked members, “What are the three most significant challenges to the future growth and survival of your business?” lawsuits was not even among the 16 options listed and only 1 percent of respondents felt that politicians should take up “tort reform.”4
- NSBA has never listed lawsuits among the most significant challenges to the future growth and survival of small businesses.5
Businesses care more about workforce skills, incentives, state and local taxes, transportation infrastructure, land/building prices and supply, workforce development, utilities (cost, reliability), higher education resources, ease of permitting and regulatory procedure and quality of life more than any threat of lawsuits.6
Insurance companies and huge corporations are simply creating fear to blemish our court system and discourage individuals from pursuing justice when they are injured or killed due to the negligence of others.
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1 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index Q3, September 2021. https://www.uschamber.com/sbindex/summary
2 National Association of Manufacturers, Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey: 2nd Q 2020, https://www.nam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NAM-2020-Q2-Outlook-Survey.pdf
3 National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Problems & Priorities, August 2020, https://assets.nfib.com/nfibcom/NFIB-Problems-and-Priorities-2020.pdf
4 National Small Business Association, 2018 Mid-Year Economic Report (2018), https://nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mid-Year-Economic-Report-2018.pdf
5 National Small Business Association, 2017 Year-End Economic Report (2018), https://nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mid-Year-Economic-Report-2018.pdf, National Small Business Association, 2016 Mid-Year Economic Report (September 2016), http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Mid-Year-Economic-Report-2016.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2015 Year-End Economic Report (2016), http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Year-EndEconomic-Report-2015.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2014 Year-End Economic Report (2015), www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Year-End-Economic-Report-2014.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2013 Year-End Economic Report (2014), http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2013-YearEnd-Economic-Report.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2012 Year-End Economic Report (2013), http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2012-Year-End-Economic-Report-Final.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2011 Year-End Economic Report (2012), http://www.nsba.biz/docs/2011_yearend_economic_report.pdf; National Small Business Association, 2010 Year-End Economic Report (2011), www.nsba.biz/docs/2010_ye_economic_report.pdf
6 Site Selection Magazine, survey of corporate real estate executives, October 2016.
PDF Fact Sheet: The Legal System Ranks Near the Bottom of Business Concerns
