Birddogging in New Hampshire, 2012

There are over 23 million self-employed Americans. They account for nearly three-quarters of American businesses, with over a trillion dol­lars in receipts. The labors of the self-employed are as old as agriculture, and as new as computer program­ming. The self-employed cut across political party, age, sex, education, religion, creed and geography. They are the backbone of rural and many local urban economies. Because of the Self-Employment Tax, they are acute­ly aware of their identity as "self-employed," but not of their large numbers and diversity in the United States. The self-employed are also the fastest growing and largest untapped voting block in the country. Their influence can easily swing future Congressional and Presidential elections.

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