What's Holding Back Small Business?

I think I know where he is headed. He thinks business is too stupid or stubborn to see that happy days are here again.

I've run a small business. My father ran a small business for 20 years. I was a stock broker primarily to small business owners. I routinely ask small business owners where I live and when I travel how they are doing. And although I don't conduct a survey ticking off boxes to a number of questions, when I ask, they always refer first and foremost to the decline in sales, not to the government. That doesn't mean they aren't worried about the government, but if sales hadn't fallen off a cliff, they would have more people employed, although perhaps less with the new laws.
 
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I think I know where he is headed. He thinks business is too stupid or stubborn to see that happy days are here again.

I've run a small business. My father ran a small business for 20 years. I was a stock broker primarily to small business owners. I routinely ask small business owners where I live and when I travel how they are doing. And although I don't conduct a survey ticking off boxes to a number of questions, when I ask, they always refer first and foremost to the decline in sales, not to the government. That doesn't mean they aren't worried about the government, but if sales hadn't fallen off a cliff, they would have more people employed, although perhaps less with the new laws.

Don't you see that's a bit cyclical? I sell to businesses so if they aren't buying my sales go down. The sales of my vendors go down. My employees make less, so the sales of their businesses go down.

Why are my customers not buying? Uncertainty. 4 years ago the environment moving forward was relatively stable and credit was available. That's not the case now. What's driving the uncertainty now? According to my customers and peers (and I did take a survey) it's expected increases in higher costs with no lines of credit to use as a cushion.

That information is indirectly reflected in the data you posted, the Poor Sales response is trending down and the Government Requirements and Taxes responses are trending up.
 
It began with the week of TARP when Summers and Geithner went into meltdown mode

Umm, Geitner and Summers had nothing to do with TARP. That was Paulson and Bush.
 
I think I know where he is headed. He thinks business is too stupid or stubborn to see that happy days are here again.

I've run a small business. My father ran a small business for 20 years. I was a stock broker primarily to small business owners. I routinely ask small business owners where I live and when I travel how they are doing. And although I don't conduct a survey ticking off boxes to a number of questions, when I ask, they always refer first and foremost to the decline in sales, not to the government. That doesn't mean they aren't worried about the government, but if sales hadn't fallen off a cliff, they would have more people employed, although perhaps less with the new laws.

Don't you see that's a bit cyclical? I sell to businesses so if they aren't buying my sales go down. The sales of my vendors go down. My employees make less, so the sales of their businesses go down.

Why are my customers not buying? Uncertainty. 4 years ago the environment moving forward was relatively stable and credit was available. That's not the case now. What's driving the uncertainty now? According to my customers and peers (and I did take a survey) it's expected increases in higher costs with no lines of credit to use as a cushion.

That information is indirectly reflected in the data you posted, the Poor Sales response is trending down and the Government Requirements and Taxes responses are trending up.
I've had no problem with lines of credit. IMO, it sounds like a bunch of shaky businesses to begin with.
 
What's Holding Back Small Business?


It is a total mystery! You would think the billionaires would have cleared up all the problems by now the way the fuckwit NewGOPers claimed the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent would provide all the jobs we needed.:cuckoo:
 
I think I know where he is headed. He thinks business is too stupid or stubborn to see that happy days are here again.

I've run a small business. My father ran a small business for 20 years. I was a stock broker primarily to small business owners. I routinely ask small business owners where I live and when I travel how they are doing. And although I don't conduct a survey ticking off boxes to a number of questions, when I ask, they always refer first and foremost to the decline in sales, not to the government. That doesn't mean they aren't worried about the government, but if sales hadn't fallen off a cliff, they would have more people employed, although perhaps less with the new laws.

Don't you see that's a bit cyclical? I sell to businesses so if they aren't buying my sales go down. The sales of my vendors go down. My employees make less, so the sales of their businesses go down.

Why are my customers not buying? Uncertainty. 4 years ago the environment moving forward was relatively stable and credit was available. That's not the case now. What's driving the uncertainty now? According to my customers and peers (and I did take a survey) it's expected increases in higher costs with no lines of credit to use as a cushion.

That information is indirectly reflected in the data you posted, the Poor Sales response is trending down and the Government Requirements and Taxes responses are trending up.

I think there's some truth to that.

However, this recession is playing like all other recessions that occur when there has been a credit collapse after a huge housing bubble. Growth is slow and anemic as the excess capacity gets eliminated and the debt gets wiped out. This occurs whether or not a government is pro-growth or pro-distribution, high tax or low tax, high regulation or low regulation. This is how a market works. It takes time. You could cut business taxes to 0% and eliminate all regulations, but if there are still 7 million houses sitting empty and too much debt clogging the financial system, the economy will still grow slowly.
 
The idea of a switch from the party of ineptitude and incompetence to the party of corporate corruption will help small business only makes sense if you think Exxon-Mobil and Morgan Chase are small fry. China is trying to stave off inflation internally and the Fed is trying to make the Yuan peg inflationary. So the Far East is going to be toast soon. Ireland can only survive by dropping out of the EMU which will cause problems. The states are teetering on bankruptcy. The currency wars are going to be bloody. Who is going to get out of this mess with a major party platform?
 
Most recessions are over by now.

What's holding back business is a regime that gets up every day and publicly trashes them and threatens more taxes and more regulation.

There will be no hiring until Obamacare is repealed.

you're an idiot.
 
Fannie and Freddie are still in business and the US government controls 100% of the housing market even making mortgages on million + Manhattan condos, how can there be any housing problems?

Signed,

Confused in Pleasantville
 
Problems that small businesses face are much the same as they have been for some years, such as health insurance and complex tax laws. But to that the recession has added cost conscience customers and banks that are slow to lend to all but the most credit worthy.

Typically, businesses with large capitalization are the first to recover as we come out of a recession. That recovery is well underway. Small business just like jobs are the last to recover after a recession.
 
I've run a small business. My father ran a small business for 20 years. I was a stock broker primarily to small business owners. I routinely ask small business owners where I live and when I travel how they are doing. And although I don't conduct a survey ticking off boxes to a number of questions, when I ask, they always refer first and foremost to the decline in sales, not to the government. That doesn't mean they aren't worried about the government, but if sales hadn't fallen off a cliff, they would have more people employed, although perhaps less with the new laws.

Don't you see that's a bit cyclical? I sell to businesses so if they aren't buying my sales go down. The sales of my vendors go down. My employees make less, so the sales of their businesses go down.

Why are my customers not buying? Uncertainty. 4 years ago the environment moving forward was relatively stable and credit was available. That's not the case now. What's driving the uncertainty now? According to my customers and peers (and I did take a survey) it's expected increases in higher costs with no lines of credit to use as a cushion.

That information is indirectly reflected in the data you posted, the Poor Sales response is trending down and the Government Requirements and Taxes responses are trending up.

I think there's some truth to that.

However, this recession is playing like all other recessions that occur when there has been a credit collapse after a huge housing bubble. Growth is slow and anemic as the excess capacity gets eliminated and the debt gets wiped out. This occurs whether or not a government is pro-growth or pro-distribution, high tax or low tax, high regulation or low regulation. This is how a market works. It takes time. You could cut business taxes to 0% and eliminate all regulations, but if there are still 7 million houses sitting empty and too much debt clogging the financial system, the economy will still grow slowly.

I agree. The clog has certainly had an effect, and I don't think the current efforts to "fix" things are helping either.
 
What's Holding Back Small Business?


A lack of demand for American goods and services... Complicated by a lack of liquidity in that so many mortgages being upside down. The reported unemployment figures are a lie. It is really more like 20%. Many have just stopped fruitlessly trying to find work and are just getting by on less and treading water. Or..for the simple minded..It's all the black guys fault. The treasonous NewGOPers like the boner gaurtanteed Obama would fail and they made good on their threat. A lot more could have been done to turn around the economy but certain elements in our government thought it was more important to sacrifice our country than let a ****** have any credit for anything.

Oh goodness gracious!!! Did I say "******"? My bad!!!! What I meant to say was "uppity ******"!
 
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Lack of sales is a problem you see every day. That's why people answer it is their number 1 concern. But high regulatory costs and taxes are things you see only occasionally.
Like next year when Obamacare will mandate that I take a tremendous amount of time and complete 1099s for all my suppliers. This will take about half a day or more to get all the information and complete the forms. This is on top of the extensive other regulatory compliance items I have to do. It is one more thing. But it isnt every day.
But people are fooling themselves if they think taxes and regulations don't affect the economy.
 

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