Give us a break.
That's the message President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Milt Romney would hear if they patronized small businesses along downtown Rialto's Riverside Avenue.
"Quit taxing us so much," said Janine Bennett, owner of Bennett Escrow Services. "Make it easier for small businesses to survive."
Bennett has operated the escrow service for more than nine years.
As if the housing bubble wasn't enough to cripple her business - at one point Bennett went from a seven-employee office to running the place herself - she says the government is hindering a recovery from the devastating recession.
"They don't make it easy," Bennett said. "The laws, the rules, the regulations...oh dear."
Taxes and keeping up with new regulations eat about 10 percent of Bennett's working time.
"Just to open your door it costs money," she said.
Indeed, 73 percent of California small businesses say fees and licensing requirements have an impact on the success of their business, according to the George Washington University-Thumbtack.com Small Business Political Sentiment Survey released in September.
The wide-ranging survey saw 6,164 respondents answer business-related questions.
Not surprisingly, California small businesses overwhelmingly rank the economy and jobs as the most important factor in choosing a president, according to the survey.
Ethics, honesty and corruption in government rate as the second-most important issue for small businesses in the state.
Small business owners in California cite fuel and gas costs as their single most burdensome expense, even more than health care costs and self-employment taxes, according to the survey.
Perhaps surprisingly, taxes are not a deciding factor for small business owners, with the survey showing just 3 percent of small businesses nationally ranking it as the most important issue in their choice for president.
Fewer than 6 percent of small businesses rated tax policy as the top economic concern, according to the survey.
Some small business owners say government pays little attention to their plight, while corporations enjoy tax loopholes and favors from politicians looking for support.
"We pay taxes like everyone else," says Lena Hayes, owner of Hands Down, a hand and foot spa in Claremont's quaint downtown, known as Claremont Village. "I don't know why we don't get help like the big guys."
Hayes has run her shop for about 12 years.
When she started, Hayes looked into business-friendly government programs for minorities but says the maze of paperwork, and the time and cost of trying to get a break weren't worth it.
She even tried to get grants.
"I paid for the grant writer, but didn't get the grant," Hayes says.
She says sometimes it pays less to be honest, because many small business owners skirt regulations and make a bigger profit, some by getting paid under the table.
Then there's the cost of health care. Hayes pays for her own insurance. Sometimes she doesn't go to the doctor, because deductibles are too high.
"My husband and I are thinking if this continues, we'll get out of California," Hayes says. "It used to be called the American Dream. Now we don't know what it's called."
On Rialto's Riverside Avenue - dotted with shops ranging from tattoo parlors to party supplies - taxes are a common theme among small business owners looking to navigate troubled economic waters.
Ramona Myers, who owns the tidy and bustling Fresh Start Beauty Salon, says that between the local, state and federal governments, small business owners are "taxed every which way."
A former postal worker and teacher, Myers, who has owned her business for about 15 years, says she has no regrets about working for herself, despite the time-consuming work put into complying with government regulations.
"Being a small business, I think they're very hard on us," Myers says. "We're struggling. We're not a Fortune 500 company, so yes, it's been difficult."
In Redlands, Michael Bevis helps customers pick out instruments at Redlands Guitar Shop on Orange Street. Bevis says he's made just about all the cuts in expenses he can make, to save money.
"If business is bad, my rent doesn't go down," Bevis says. "My landlady doesn't say you had a bad month, I'll give you a break."
While the big stores have crowded out some small businesses, Bevis, who took over the guitar shop about 15 years ago, says he's able to stay afloat because he offers what the likes of Target and Walmart can't - rental instruments, repairs and lessons.
Bevis says cutting sales taxes would help spur economic growth because cash-strapped customers would be more willing to shop. And, like others, if he makes more money, he'll turn around and spend some at local stores.
"There's going to come a point where I can't cut anymore and I'll be out of business," Bevis says.
But on Riverside Avenue in Rialto, some business owners don't expect politicians to get out of the way. Indeed, many have given up following politics altogether. Some speak with the rugged individualism that marks so many do-it-yourself entrepreneurs.
Among them is Miguel Acevedo, who runs We've Got Mail Package & Shipping Center.
Acevedo says that no matter who's in the White House, success in business comes down to providing the right product at the right price.
"Why should I expect them to lower my taxes because I want to be in business and I want to make money?" he says.
"I want to give the service to the customers. I don't want a handout from the government so that I can get rich. Other people might think differently."
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