The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) today released its 14th annual rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entreprenuership, and Florida ranks 6th out of the top 10 states.
The “Small Business Survival Index“, which ranks the policy environment for entrepreneurship across the nation, is the most comprehensive measure of which states are truly friendly to small business, and which are not in terms of public policy decisions. The factors included in the Index – taxes, various regulatory costs, government spending, property rights, health care and energy costs, and much more– matter a great deal to the competitiveness of each state and to the well being of small business.
“It’s hard to find any good news at the national level for entrepreneurs, small business and their employees”, SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating, author of the study, said.
But Keating continued, “Policy matters. Most politicians talk a good game when it comes to small business, but their actions don’t often match their rhetoric. The ‘Small Business Survival Index’ gets at the public policy costs and trends that affect – directly or indirectly – entrepreneurship and small businesses. These measures should matter to everyone because small businesses, of course, drive innovation, economic growth and job creation. If we want to get our economy back on a solid, robust growth track, then we need pro-entrepreneur policies at the federal, state and local levels.”
The 9 other states joining Florida tn terms of friendly policy environments and as measured under the “Small Business Survival Index 2009” are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Texas, 4) Wyoming, 5) Washington, 7) South Carolina, 8) Colorado, 9) Alabama, and 10) Virginia.
Meanwhile, according to the Index, the Bottom-Ten states are: 42) Hawaii, 43) Minnesota, 44) Massachusetts, 45) Rhode Island, 46) Maine, 47) Vermont, 48) New York, 49) California, 50) New Jersey and 51) District of Columbia.
The 2009 Index has been expanded to cover 36 major government-imposed or government-related costs affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs. The measures are added together for an overall rating.
For more information on the “Small Business Survival Index 2009,” visit SBE Council’s website at www.sbecouncil.org.
