Middle Market Leaders Weigh in On Fiscal Cliff, Recovery —President & CEO Magazine

U.S. Middle Market Leaders Express Preferences re: Spending, Debt, and Fiscal Cliff 

The National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) recently (early December 2012) conducted a survey of 1,000 U.S. middle market business leaders across all industry sectors and geographic regions to gauge their preferences for the outcome of the negotiations.  Here’s what they found:  

(Note: NCMM classifies U.S. middle market companies as those with annual revenue between $10 million and $1 billion). Ninety-six percent of participants responded with their preferences. Here is the breakdown of the most-preferred outcomes:

• 64 percent want deficit reduction in some form
• 54 percent want additional cuts to government spending
• 43 percent want reform to the corporate tax code
• 29 percent want increased taxes for higher-income earners

Additionally, 64 percent of surveyed participants stated that they have reduced spending due to the uncertainty associated with the looming fiscal cliff. That fact is interesting to note as NCMM research shows middle market companies account for one-third of the private sector gross domestic product and more than 43 million jobs.

The survey was included in research for the NCMM’s quarterly Middle Market Indicator study, an economic and performance outlook report that is due out in mid-to-late January.

Read the piece here.