November 6, 2006—Amid unpredictable energy costs, US business owners want Congress to make the US more energy-independent even as high healthcare costs remain a concern, according to the biannual PNC Economic Outlook survey.
When asked which issues they would most like to see addressed in the 2006 midterm elections, reducing US dependence on foreign energy sources (29 percent) topped the list, followed by health care reform (24 percent) and tax reform (16 percent), PNC’s findings revealed. The order of the top two issues is reversed from the spring survey of small and mid-sized business owners across the US.
Uncertainty over energy prices along with concerns over the possibility of faster inflation and higher interest rates, meanwhile, have also led business owners to temper their business outlook for the coming six months, PNC found. Energy costs are the dominant concern, with 50 percent saying the higher prices have the greatest adverse impact on their business.
The survey was conducted for The PNC Financial Services Group in July and August by Harris Interactive, a global market research firm, with responses from more than 1,000 business owners and senior decision makers. This survey, done every six months since April 2003, gauges the mood and sentiment among business owners about business expectations, economic factors, and other issues.
