A new Gallup survey has prompted another round of debate over capitalism versus socialism. The headline number is striking: 43 percent of Americans now view socialism positively, the highest share recorded.
Yet socialism still trails capitalism, which 55 percent view positively, and free enterprise, at 77 percent. Small business leads the field by a wide margin, earning a positive rating from 95 percent of Americans. Big business is the outlier at 35 percent.
Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark was on Squawk Box earlier this week as part of their Free Enterprise Tour.
Here’s Clark on why Main Street businesses make the case for free enterprise so effectively:
It might be more understandable, more relatable, more touchable for the small business in your community. You probably know a small business CEO when you might not know a big business CEO…Americans see those businesses at work every day.
Our own Winston Group survey from June found that this goodwill carries into debates over the economy and taxes. Asked to choose their two most trusted voices on those issues, 35 percent of voters selected small and family-owned businesses. Only economists ranked higher, at 43 percent. Corporations and CEOs drew 7 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
The survey also showed how much context matters when voters consider a tax proposal. Fifty-three percent favored raising the top federal individual income tax rate when it was described as a tax increase on high-income earners. When told the same increase would also apply to small and family-owned businesses, support fell to 29 percent.
In a debate so often framed around “the wealthy” and corporations, these broad labels obscure what Americans value about free enterprise and who would bear the cost of a tax hike. Main Street makes those stakes easier to see.
The broader debate over capitalism will continue, and Gallup’s findings give advocates of free enterprise reason to take it seriously. They also show where a persuasive counter-argument begins — Main Street businesses put free enterprise into practice every day. The public trusts them, and lawmakers should ensure that the Tax Code does not hold them back.