Bag's Rants

Another poll that makes no sense to me.

It always surprises me when polls are held that some of the results are so contradictory to what I personally believe.

In particular ones like this one where small firms were questioned. Read here. Now I've managed two small companies and worked in a few as well. Bureaucracy due to government interference has continually plagued us for as long as I can remember until I got out in 2000 because I had just had enough.

The reports say that more than 60% think economic conditions will get worse in the year ahead, a 24 percentage points rise on the same period in 2006. Only 7% think the outlook will improve. Who are these 7%? Are they all working for the government on it's many pork barrel projects? In addition it is interesting that small firms who feel the impact of Gordos legislation quicker than most only have 60% thinking it will get worse. Am I missing something? Are these people natural optimistic or something?

Now, this one was the one that caught my eye. Only 33% of those with small firms think it is a good time to have a firm in the UK while 38% believe the opposite. wtf? That means that 62% don't think it is a bad time to have a firm in the UK. When I speak to people with small firms I just don't get that feedback from any of them. They all have moans about what they have to do now for the government outside running their business.

Now this survey was performed after a credit crunch earlier this year. So not at a particularly buoyant time. Yet to me the survey results don't show the doom and gloom I would expect to see.

Now the survey was for the Bank of Scotland. Is it possible that most of the firms are actually based in Scotland and although perhaps not with the state teat directly in their mouths they are still getting their funds from the state indirectly? If so that could explain why these results seem so skewed to me.

Or it could just be that I am just too pessimistic? Maybe everything is OK but I'm just too stubborn to see.

OK. Enough of that. I wasn't serious anyway. Another crap poll with insufficient information to draw any conclusions.

posted by Bag @ 12:33 pm