Posted on 07/07/2012 12:45:35 AM PDT by thecodont
Behind the weak job growth numbers and the uncertainty about the economic recovery, small-business owners see shrinking consumer confidence sapping demand for their products and services.
Many small firms say they are barely staying afloat and won't hire until they see signs of more stability in the marketplace. That sentiment doesn't bode well for efforts to push the economy forward.
Small business, the conventional engine of job growth, has been particularly active in the last two years in driving the recovery from the Great Recession. But it may not be able to sustain its efforts.
"There is no reason for small businesses to do well in this environment," said Chris Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. "Most of the employment growth you see coming out of a recession is coming from small businesses, but employment growth is anemic and the reason is small businesses not hiring."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I guess they need Captain Obvious to tell them that the unconscionable burden of regulations (federal and state) is what is crushing new small business.
They’re obviously just doing that to keep a black president from being reelected.
I don’t suppose it dawned on them that perhaps
we aren’t coming out of recession??
By them, I mean the pundits not small business.
So the problem is that small businesses are faltering, not the economy. Those damn small businesses aren't doing their fair share!
When, oh when will the L.A. Times go out of business?
Washington has one of the best “Job Killing Machines” in place. What else would you expect if you Rule, Regulate and Tax Businesses to death and not just small ones either. What would you expect from some one who could not even run a popcorn stand profitable. And those dumb a$$&* can’t seem to figure it out? The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that they must be doing it on purpose, as I can hardly believe that any one can be that stupid. Besides having all those degrees in education, probably more than Carter has liver pills, and still can’t figure it out.
California could open up offshore oil drilling and create their own economic and tax+budget boom overnight.
The solution is so simple. Raise the minimum wage, increase SS and Medicare payments, and add mandatory health insurance.
Although I’m not so sure what everyone is worried about. I heard they consider we are in a “Recovery”. Well a “Jobless Recovery”, but a “Recovery” none-the-less. (Somehow reminds me of safe-sex without a birth control method in use).
Well, why don’t they just follow the government’s example and pay new employees using money they don’t have? Sacrifice for the common good, you know.
People and buisneses are holding on to whatever money they have out of fear. No one knows what will happen in november, they have no idea who will be in charge of taxing them next.
The court actually hurt the economy by not killing obama care. That locked up a lot of capital.
I honestly think that no matter what happens in november some money will free up, how much depends on who is elected but this mess is far from over.
If Romney is elected I look for a few of my customers to buy some new equipment, if obama continues the only sales we will have will be maintenance or replacement machines. The result....stagnation or contraction.
The Republican slogan should be Restore Free Enterprise.
Black president? We don’t have one, according to Morgan Freeman.
They did the first of those in San Francisco. Thanks to the minimum wage being so high, Subway could no longer sell $5 foot long subs there . . .
Those damn small businesses aren’t doing their fair share!
. . .
How long before the LA Times suggests taxing small business for not hiring?
Regulation and taxation.
I work for a small company, I drive a concrete mixer, my job also requires me to multi task.
We normally hire a half dozen crew workers during the season, instead its just me and two others.
Not enough orders for concrete, but it has picked up pretty good lately, we are all working overtime.
But we know its temporary and thus we won’t hire any supplemental workers just for a short duration job, takes too long to train them and actually slows us down.
Dawn is breaking in La la land........ reality is finally recognized through the fog of hope and change
....so tax them some more....increase the minimum wage ....and make it more difficult for them to fire existing workers......just like in France.
Besides what is mentioned in the article, people don’t have the collateral to take out loans to give a small business a go.
California is pretty much doomed. It is beyond help or economic miracle......... there is no real hope for meaningful change
Rebel Scum!
Its the small businesses that are the Rebels, refusing to be part of the Empire.
defying Obamataxcare, defying Obama himself.
To see for yourself how many NEW TAXES are in the Obamacare Bill, all one would have to do is look at the NEW IRS TAX FORMS that must be printing up as we speak!!!
Same here. I used to hire more people but instead I keep it bare bones and we put in overtime to get through the busy times. I know they won’t last.
‘No one is spending “disposable income”.’
I opened a small business in May. In general, the sales have been rising, well above the industry norm for rate of growth in a new shop. The week for the Fourth of July was horrible though. It really tanked. It took me a while to realize that people were NOT adding to their purchases near the holiday. Instead, they were saving up for that event.
I sure miss the Reagan era that the Voodoo Republicans say is gone, and worked hard to make go away.
The owner himself will shut down the office after he batches a load of concrete and takes a mixer truck out himself, often swapping with either me or the other driver, we then make the delivery and the owner takes the empty truck back in for another load.
A couple of years ago it was just me and him, his dad actually did the batching and the two of us delivered 67 yards of concrete by ourselves with just two trucks, we would switch places on the highway, I did the actual offloading, he just brought the loaded truck to me.
I am very tired, spent all day driving just to one job on the rough Alaska highway, normally we deliver in a ten or twenty mile circle, yesterday my delivery was 72 miles away, we were cheaper than our competitors in a long distance delivery it seems.
We’ve gone from 20 employees to 6, and I guess that tells you what has happened to our bottom line.
Most days I just ask myself why we keep doing it. Then I remember that we lost everything it took 20+ years to build and we need the income.
"There is no reason for small businesses to do well in this environment," said Chris Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. "Most of the employment growth you see coming out of a recession is coming from small businesses, but employment growth is anemic and the reason is small businesses not hiring."
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Is that engine getting fire? spark? air?
Does anyone look at cause and effect anymore?
No, they just 'report'...it's not running.
Small businesses are faltering on job creation
One monumental drawback is the health care cost mandate per employee.
Instead we are going in the opposite direction...we just opened the sewer valve to flush $100 billion for a choo-choo nobody needs and rationale people don't want.
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