Small firms say regulation is fastest-growing concern
It’s been exactly three and a half years since Barack Obama was inaugurated, and here are two things that folks on the left have been saying about the economy every day since then: It’s Bush’s fault, and the problem is a lack of aggregate demand.
Here’s what small businesses have to say about the situation:
Chart by Dan Clifton at Strategas Research, via the AEIdeas blog
Keeping in mind that these are what small firms are “most concerned” about, meaning many likely have concerns to varying degrees about all three, a few things jump out at me:
1. In 2005, these three concerns accounted for a little more than one-third of small firms’ biggest worries. Today, they combine for about 60 percent. That suggests to me that these firms have less time and energy to devote to specific concerns about growing their business.
2. After shooting to the top in the second half of 2008, concerns about sales plateaued for about two years. Those concerns have been falling pretty steadily for the past year and a half.
3. Concerns about regulation, which more or less mirrored those about sales from 2005 to the start of 2008, began a steady ascent in 2009 and have almost doubled since then.
4. Concerns about taxes have remained fairly steady over these years.
5. At the beginning of 2009, the sum of concerns about regulation and those about sales was in the neighborhood of 40 percent — pretty much the same as today. But the division between them is starkly different: Whereas there were three small firms concerned about sales for every one worried about regulation then, now the two are dead even. In other words, worries about sales have been gradually replaced by worries about regulation.
6. If current trend lines continue, both taxes and regulation will soon rank higher among small firms’ concerns than sales.
Even if one wants to credit Obama’s “stimulus” package with the decrease in worries about sales — totally ignoring the effects of the Federal Reserve’s ultra-loose monetary policy — this graph clearly shows why improved demand hasn’t shifted the economy out of neutral: Increased regulation has stifled the recovery we might have had.
Small firms are generally credited with the bulk of job creation in this country. So the question this information puts to voters is: Which candidate do you expect to do more about the most pressing problems faced by small firms — Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
575 comments Add your comment
gm
July 23rd, 2012
12:38 pm
Tiberius – pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
This is about character, the man knew for years that his assistant coach was messing with little boys and said nothing, when will you idiots get it? this is bigger then football, I wonder would you people feel that way if it was your kid?
I guess football fans suppose to care about wins over kids safety?
Dirty Dawg
July 23rd, 2012
12:47 pm
Earlier I had asked, ‘Where’s the beef?’, in reference to the ‘real’ cost of government regs versus the ‘perception’, or ‘worries’ about the cost of regs. Looking back and doing a little checking shows that the costs, according to the most recent study data, was from 2008 and showed that those grew by over 50% between ‘00 and ‘08…more than twice the rate compared to the previous four years…wonder which Party was in the White House during those years? And furthermore, wonder why Kyle failed to make that point in his piece…then again, I know why and have grown to expect to expect it from the right-wing thought machine.
stands for decibels
July 23rd, 2012
12:49 pm
I guess football fans suppose to care about wins over kids safety?
that football fans would elevate the importance of an unpaid NFL farm league to some kind of superstar status in the first place should tell you all you need to know.
but as to your specific question–if fans cared about kids’ safety, they wouldn’t have them playing a “sport” that involves potentially concussive injuries on every single play.
md
July 23rd, 2012
12:54 pm
“This is about character, the man knew for years that his assistant coach was messing with little boys and said nothing, when will you idiots get it? ”
Yet, those that actually played on the team had nothing to do with either action…..merely guilt by association.
Would you prefer to be punished if your ceo got caught with his hand in the cookie jar or would you prefer he suffered for his own actions?
Carol
July 23rd, 2012
12:58 pm
Small business, talk about generalities. Didn’t I hear recently that Paris Hilton was considered a small business? Anyway, I really was expecting to get some meat and potatoes from the chart and article. All I got was the same garbage that the Repubs have been spewing for three years.
No specifics. Let’s be honest, if you are a business period, don’t you make projections based on a number of scenarios? And are the unexpected part of the game. For instance, do you project the possibility that the supplier of one of the key components of your product may increase their price by 15% or do you wring your hands and go out of business because of it? Do you close up shop and call it a day because a business similar to yours opens a mile away, or do you come up with creative ways to make a distinction?
All of this talk about uncertainties, regulations, etc. is BS. Any skilled business person projects and plans for some unexpected events. How in the heck do you think IBM, Coke, Home Depot stay in business?
getalife
July 23rd, 2012
1:12 pm
Same ole failed ideology when loopholes like the insider trading bill by canotor are the norm.
“John McCain and Mitt Romney share a secret. It’s 23 years of Mitt’s tax returns.”Aol
Show us willard.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 23rd, 2012
1:14 pm
gm, in case you haven’t noticed, the man is DEAD. Don’t think this will mean anything to him, or change the way he behaves.
Second, I can’t stand college football, so you’re wrong about me again. Where I grew up we cared more about creating captains of industry than captains of the football team.
And if it were my kid, I’d go after the perpetrator, as they did.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 23rd, 2012
1:19 pm
Haven’t heard any fresh new stupidity emerge from the mouth of the choom gang leader as of 1:20 Eastern.
Did he take the day off?
md
July 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
“Any skilled business person projects and plans for some unexpected events.”
Which is why trillions are currently out of circulation……guess they did their planning huh?
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
testing
Skip
July 23rd, 2012
1:32 pm
Is Kyle on vacation?
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
1:35 pm
And if it were my kid, I’d go after the perpetrator, as they did.
What puzzles me is how the crimes, if true, went on for so many years without even one kid saying something to their parents, teachers, or others.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
1:39 pm
Any thoughts here from the bloggers, left or right, about the appropriateness of Obama getting so involved with the Colorado shootings?? Maybe it’s just the statistician in me speaking, but the fact is that more than 100 people die on average every day from firearms, and a similar number from car accidents. Why aren’t their stories equally important??
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
1:41 pm
Also, per the earlier discussion about blog insults: There’s a big difference between insulting someone’s position and insulting that person as a human being.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 23rd, 2012
1:47 pm
Re: your 1:39 Bruno, I have no doubt that Obama cares about the people affected by this tragedy, but at the same time, I have no doubt he’s playing it for the votes as an added benefit.
Everything is political with him.
From the Center
July 23rd, 2012
1:48 pm
Bruno, IMHO both Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney have handled that situation appropriately. Cheers
Thulsa Doom
July 23rd, 2012
2:29 pm
“about the appropriateness of Obama getting so involved with the Colorado shootings??”
As Rahm Emanuel said “never let a good crisis go to waste”. Or a good photo op or a good chance to show off some compassion in this case. Takes the people’s minds off of the economy.
“Maybe it’s just the statistician in me speaking, but the fact is that more than 100 people die on average every day from firearms, and a similar number from car accidents. Why aren’t their stories equally important??”
You’re looking at it from the rational perspective. But the media and tv love anything that evokes emotion, fear, etc and anything which sensationalizes. You know the old byline- if it bleeds it leads as in leads the front page or leads off the newscast.
I think its 15,000 people a year get murdered here in the U.S. alone which comes out to an average of 41 people a day getting murdered.
I don’t want to diminish the tragedy in Colorado this week but in the big picture of things its just a day with a little bit bigger blip on the radar with 12 more dead. People may find that a heartless statement but what I find heartless is all the drama over one terrible incident as opposed to being upset over daily murders and crime that occur every day. I believe on St. Pattie’s day weekend a few of months ago there were 47 shootings in one weekend in Chicago alone. But that didn’t make much news of course.
This reminds me of the complaining I do about “missing white girl syndrome” every time a beautiful white women like a Natalee Holloway goes missing. It gets plastered all over the news for months on end and is just a waste of time and print or air space. Again. Not to diminish her death or anyone else but what makes her death any more important than a nameless young black woman that gets abducted that few people know or care about? Nothing. Except that the media just chooses to harp on it and sensationalize it because she was young, beautiful, and white.
Same with the whole OJ trial years back. Other than the families of the victims and the family of the accused why should anyone give a sheet about OJ’s innocence or guilt? And why did people- particularly the black community invest so much emotional energy into one trial? When the verdict was read an auditorium backed with a throng of students at a local HBCU went wildly crazy in celebration? When benefit did they possibly get? – Especially considering that many of them knew in the back of their minds that in all likelihood the man was guilty.
Sadly we are just a nation that thrives on sensationalism and are sadly devoid of rational thinking on the spoonfed garbage that the media delivers to us.
Thulsa Doom
July 23rd, 2012
2:31 pm
Bruno, BTW great to see you again.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
3:02 pm
Bruno, BTW great to see you again.
Likewise, Doom. Staying very busy with both work and the GF, so not much time to blog. We’re both going to start college next fall, having to start preparing now. We’ve been studying a few hours each night.
Just love that girl……
ODD OWL
July 23rd, 2012
4:08 pm
What regulations ??? i dare anyone to name one regulation that hamper small businesses, passed by the Democrat controlled Congress and signed into law by President Obama… Small businesses have one problem, no customers… Right wing Republican small business owners scape goat and blame President Obama and the Democrats because they have very little business savy and no customers…
md
July 23rd, 2012
4:25 pm
” i dare anyone to name one regulation that hamper small businesses”
Right off the top of my head….credit card rates…..both for the customer and the business.
Thank you
July 23rd, 2012
4:29 pm
Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama’s decision to meet with the families of victims of the Colorado shooting was “the right thing.”
The Republican presidential candidate spoke to donors in San Francisco Sunday night at roughly the same time Obama consoled grieving families in Aurora, Colo. A gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater there early Friday, killing 12 and wounding scores more.
Romney said he appreciates the president’s actions Sunday. And he generally avoided partisan attacks, declining to go after Obama by name “in keeping with the seriousness of the day.”
ODD OWL
July 24th, 2012
1:11 am
Credit card rates have been high as hell for the last 30 years… The results of Reagan deregulating the banks, which caused all the problems we have today…
vortex100
July 24th, 2012
6:14 am
Remember, 75-80% of regulations affecting small business are local and state regulations, not federal regulation, which usually affect large, global companies. There is little to nothing President Obama can do about local and state regulations, which makes the point of this entire article moot.
bu2
July 25th, 2012
11:54 am
The Obama administration reversed the Bush administration’s cost-benefit rules on mass transit projects and added economic development as a criteria (usually fictional). So he increases rules on business, but makes it easier for government agencies to do what they want with federal $ even if it doesn’t make any sense. Thus you have the TSPLOST project list. That needs to be voted down.
(now can you people quit hijacking EVERY thread to talk about Obama).