SmallBusinessNewz

No matter which side of the Atlantic you live on, or what political party you belong to, it should be easy to agree that elected officials have a well-deserved reputation for screwing things up.  You may be pleasantly surprised to hear, then, that small business owners in the UK aren't dreading the 2010 Budget or the general election.

The Forum of Private Business recently surveyed its members, and found that 78 percent of them aren't altering their plans to account for the Budget.  What's (literally) more, 81 percent of small business owners believe that the election won't have an effect on their operations.

Now, there could be two problems with these stats.  First, it'd be nice if everyone had reason to believe the government will help them.  Second, it's possible that big-picture stuff only fails to interest small business owners because they're so overwhelmed with more pressing problems.

Still, the FPB's figures are at least an encouraging sign that politicians won't do much to have an adverse impact on small firms this year.

Let's hope the government proves able to keep out of everyone's way in accordance with that expectation.