Women Impacting Public Policy News
WIPP Annual Survey Finds U.S. Economy and Rising Health Care Costs as Top Issues Affecting Women-Owned Businesses
"The response from women entrepreneurs clearly reflects the growing concern with the U.S. economic outlook," said WIPP President
Despite ranking the U.S. economy as their primary concern, survey respondents were optimistic about their business prospects in 2008. In fact, over 82 percent said they do not expect to downsize their business and 49 percent expect to add up to five new employees this year.
A close second in the poll, health care continues to be a critical issue. Almost two-thirds of the respondents stated they offer health insurance coverage to their employees, but were split on whether employers or individuals should be responsible for obtaining health insurance. In a 13 percent increase from last year, 46 percent of those interviewed said individuals rather than employers should be responsible for health care coverage. Although the majority opposed the federal government acting as the sole provider of healthcare coverage, 89 percent were supportive of proposals that would give small employers access to the same insurance offered to government employees.
Energy and environmental concerns ranked third on the survey, with two- thirds of respondents indicating they have experienced moderate or significant impact on their business from rising energy costs. To address those costs, 51 percent believe Congress should mandate technical innovations to reduce dependence on foreign oil and 37 percent believe changes are best addressed by the free market.
Other issues that ranked as important or very important in WIPP's survey include access to capital, federal procurement programs and telecommunications.
For the complete survey, visit http://www.wipp.org.
About Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP):
WIPP is a non-profit, national bipartisan group with over half a million members. WIPP is The Collective Voice in
SOURCE Women Impacting Public Policy
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