Small Biz Gets Plenty of Love, but Where's the Action?

In election years, Democrats and Republicans talk about small businesses as the epitome of America’s can-do spirit and the foundation of the nation’s economy. President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have seen no reason to deviate from the script. But while they profess to have entrepreneurs’ best interests at heart, flattery is no sure route to winning their votes.

One reason is that small business owners are not a monolithic interest group. The proprietor of a neighborhood pizzeria and a small-scale manufacturer don’t have a lot in common. Even some of the associations that represent small businesses stand far apart on issues of importance to their members. Small business owners do agree on this, though: What’s good for USA Inc. isn’t necessarily good for America & Sons. “There is always a tendency for lawmakers to think that small businesses are just smaller versions of General Motors, and they’re not,” says Dan Danner, chief executive officer of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a right-leaning lobbying group in Washington.