How small businesses became the most trusted institutions in the US

Americans trust small businesses more than any other institution — the military, the police, and the medical system.

Sixty-eight percent say they have a “great deal” or “a great deal” of confidence in small businesses, down slightly from 70% last year, according to a new survey from Gallup.

Meanwhile, Americans have much less trust in large financial institutions, with 27 percent trusting banks, 26 percent trusting large technology companies and 14 percent trusting big business.

But most Americans don’t really have a handle on what defines a small business and romanticize small businesses as part of the American dream, experts explain.

The Small Business Administration generally defines small businesses as those with fewer than 1,500 employees and generating less than $41.5 million in annual revenue. However, when the average person thinks of “small business,” they probably have mom-and-pop shops in mind, said Cindy D. Participation. (Gallup did not define “small business” for its responses.)

According to Samara Clare, associate professor of government and public policy at the University of Arizona, small businesses are part of the American dream and the nation’s capitalist ideology.

If you go to many political campaign sites, you’ll find that the candidates are small business owners. It is one of the institutions that has not been politicized and has the support of both Republicans and Democrats, Clare pointed out.

“There is no doubt that he is one of the most respected figures in American politics. And [they’re] Something that people really root for,” she explained.

“Small businesses are so diverse, I think it’s hard to get stereotypes out of them, except for the idea that they’re a local mom-and-pop,” Cam said.

And that bias masks the possibility that businesses classified as “small” may be bigger than we expect, still pulling in millions of dollars a year, cheating, or selling dubious products – just like any other business.

“I think there’s still this romanticized view of how business should operate that creates a foundation for people to trust small businesses,” Cam said.

When small businesses are covered in the news, the press is generally positive, Cam said, pointing to the creation of movements like “Buy Local.” But when there’s negative talk about small businesses, because they’re seen as individuals, the category as a whole “doesn’t get upset,” Cam said.

If small businesses benefit from a “romanticized, very American view” and are seen as the “heart and soul of the American economy,” big businesses will see it as the opposite, Kamm said.

“They are robber barons, railroad empires, monopolists, the men at the top – usually these men – are taking advantage of the little guy,” she said. “So in that sense, the whole perception and vision of what big business is is the antithesis of the romantic notion of the American dream.”

In the mid-19th century, nearly all businesses were small, says Naomi R.

But with the rise of railroads and large manufacturing firms, the term “small business” was defined in contrast to these entities.

“Small business is always positive because those have such a negative association in people’s minds,” she said. This is what protects you from these monsters like Standard Oil. The public had a hostile reaction to Standard Oil based on the idea that the company drove legitimate businesses into bankruptcy or used unfair means to acquire small businesses, Lamoreauer explained.

There have been points in history where the public has become accustomed to the dominance of large corporations, like the big three automakers of the 20th century, Lamore Ause said. Some larger companies — such as call centers after World War II — were able to offer higher wages and better benefits to workers, she added.

“Then the economy became more competitive again in the late 20th century. And as the economy becomes more competitive, some new giants have emerged,” Lamoureux said.

All the companies we know: Microsoft, Walmart, Amazon, Google, Facebook, have been heavily criticized for their influence on our lives.