In our recent survey, we asked readers how much they thought political gridlock would affect their businesses in 2015. Here is a sample of their responses:

"As a banker, regulatory burdens seem to grow unbridled by gridlock."

"As long as the rates stay low and the economy moves forward as it has lately, my business will continue to improve. On a personal note, I am disgusted with the lack of compromise with our lawmakers. It appears that politics [are] more important than what is good for the people."

"[President Barack] Obama continues to be a drag on possible partisan support of many reasonably good ideas."

"I’m a real estate appraiser and the rules that govern us from the government are killing the business. The rules for borrowing money are absurd, the regulations, the process that I see for mortgage brokers are ridiculous. We need to get back to basics with safeguards and regulations that are easy to conform to and easy for the people involved to understand. Fannie and Freddie should be privatized immediately. They are now profitable and over the next one to two years they should be broken."

"The idiots in Washington have already killed my appraisal business thanks to HVCC and Dodd Frank."

"The Republican majority coming into office in January 2015 should eliminate much of the House and Senate gridlock. Concern is noted for the affect that the president and his own personal policies will have on the business mentality."

"We do not need hedonistic, self-aggrandizing politicians … we need astute businessmen with honor and integrity – something lacking in our government."

"We are printing money at an astounding rate, with no gold reserves to back it up. We have a political nightmare at hand."

"The middle class is the ugly step child in Massachusetts."