Tag Archive for 'economy'

SBA Poll: Who or what is responsible for the rise in gas prices

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on March 6, 2013
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

The Question:
Gasoline prices are up sharply and have doubled since Obama’s first election. Who or what is most responsible for this price hike?

20% - No one person or thing. It’s just supply and demand

13% - It’s the greedy oil industry - refiners, producers, OPEC

42% - Obama’s green agenda and anti-carbon policies contribute to high gas prices

24% - We’re all responsible because of our dependence on carbon fuel

My Comments:
The average price for gasoline in the U.S. has essentially doubled to almost $4 a gallon since President Obama began his first term. We wanted to know who you thought was the most responsible for this increase, so in our poll last week we gave you four possible options.

As you can see, one-fifth of our sample thinks the price of gas is just market driven, with 13% blaming oil producing countries and corporations. Almost one-fourth of you allowed that our collective dependence on carbon fuel makes us all to blame for high gas prices. But the big group, 42%, puts the blame on President Obama and his ideology and policies.

On that last response, there is precedent for a president’s behavior affecting oil prices. When crude prices last reached a high level, President George W. Bush merely announced his intention to encourage more oil drilling in the U.S. and prices dropped like a stone. I believe if Obama wanted lower gas prices, he could do something similar, like reverse his position on the Keystone pipeline and his opposition to drilling. Remember, Bush didn’t do anything different, he just announced his intentions. I think the president should give that “announce” thing a try, don’t you?

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SBA Poll: The likelihood of another recession

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on February 16, 2013
in Economy: National and Global
. 0 Comments

The Question:
The economy experienced negative growth in the 4th quarter. A recession is two negative quarters in a row. From your perspective, what is the likelihood of another recession?

4% - Zero - It was just one bad quarter and won’t be repeated

30% - 50% - This economy could go either way

39% - 75% - This economy is very fragile

26% - 100% - We may already be in a recession

My Comments:
Recently, we learned that GDP went negative in the fourth quarter of last year. There are many factors contributing to this drop in economic performance: decreasing defense spending, a drop in inventories and exports, Hurricane Sandy, and an election.

That last point is arguably the thing that influenced almost every American the most. We had what I believe to have been the most emotional national election in my life, that didn’t go the way at least half of us wanted, and we knew that almost two months before the end of the quarter.

A negative growth quarter in the U.S. is serious, since the definition of a recession is two consecutive negative quarters. So, when 96% of the sector that’s made up of the most pathologically optimistic of all humans - small business owners - say we have from a 50% to 100% chance of another recession, that’s not good news.

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Does the U.S. need another Jobs Council?

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on February 11, 2013
in Economy: National and Global and Presidential policies
. 0 Comments

Unemployment just went up – to 7.9%. The economy just went down – negative growth in the 4th quarter 2012. Consumer confidence (Conference Board) and small business optimism (NFIB) both are down.

The government is experiencing annual operating deficits of over $1 trillion and the national debt, over $16 trillion, is on par with GDP. Let’s put that last number another way: if the U.S. were a business, it would owe as much as it sells.

With this set of realities facing our nation, it’s interesting that President Obama chose to say very little about the economy in his second inaugural address, but did talk about his climate change agenda. We wanted to know what small business owners think about the president’s priorities, so last week we asked this question in our online poll: “The President said climate change will be a major focus of his second term. What do you think?” Here’s what we were told.

Those who said, “I agree. Climate change is our greatest problem,” came in at 6%. The middle group, at 38%, believes the president “… should focus on economy recovery more than climate change.” And the rest, 56%, allowed that Mr. Obama “… should focus on the deficit and debt more than climate change.”

Clearly President Obama is watching a different ballgame than 94% of small business owners, plus we just learned that his Jobs Council was disbanded after two years. This 25-member committee is noteworthy because of the make-up of the roster: big business CEOs (16), venture capitalists (3), academia (1), politics (1), union bosses (2), and 1 – count them, ONE – small business owner.

That’s right, the group that signs the front of the largest batch of payroll checks (70 million) every week in America and has created almost every net new job for more than a generation was represented on the President’s Jobs Council by one very brave small business owner, Darlene Miller, CEO of Permac Industries, Burnsville, MN 55306. Permac has 30 employees.

Miller has been a guest on my radio program and recently told me she believes the Jobs Council actually did create jobs. But if that’s true, with more than 20 million Americans still unemployed or underemployed, shouldn’t it still be in business?

Well, the truth is the president doesn’t need a Jobs Council to create more jobs. He just needs to spend his efforts on policies that make America’s job creators think he’s watching the same ballgame as they are.

Small business owners will create more jobs when the government stops acting like it’s working against them.

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Recently on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show, I also talked about the lack of businesspeople in President Obama’s cabinet plus the failure of the Jobs Council with Rick Newman, chief business correspondent for U.S. News & World Report. Click on one of the links below to hear what he and I had to say. I’m also interested in what you think, so please leave a comment.

Why no business people on Obama’s cabinet? with Rick Newman

Obama is not watching the same ballgame as small businesses with Jim Blasingame

Check out more of Jim’s great content HERE!

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Phil Mickelson should be praised for tax comments

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on February 5, 2013
in Economy: National and Global and Presidential policies
. 0 Comments

In America, there are 20 million small business owners who can be further classified as independent contractors (IC).

These entrepreneurs are sole proprietors, consultants, freelancers, or anyone who works alone, without a net, on the marketplace high-wire. When the person coined the term, “Eat what you kill” he was talking about this hardy group. On the scale that measures financial and professional risk, with 10 being “made in the shade,” and 1 being “OMG,” ICs begin with a 0.1 rating and 90% never get above a 2.

One of these ICs is Phil Mickelson, professional golfer.

Mickelson, 42, is a very successful IC: World Golf Hall of Fame, short list of “Greatest Golfers of All Time” and the greatest left-handed player. “Lefty,” has won 40 PGA tournaments, including four majors, career prize money over $67 million and annual endorsements estimated at $50 million.

Just like other ICs, and unlike NFL, MLB and NBA players, Mickelson has no guaranteed contract. If he plays poorly the first two days of a tournament he is “cut” and leaves without a paycheck. And if his poor play continues long enough, not only do tournament earnings diminish, but endorsements as well. “Phil the Thrill” has earned his wealth.

Recently this native Californian made news by voicing concerns about his state’s increasing income tax rates, that with Federal rates, conservatively puts him well above the 50% level. He lamented that he might have to move, or maybe even retire. If he lived in a state with no income tax, like Texas or Florida, his tax bill would drop more than $7 million.

Many in the press were critical of Mickelson for his comments, saying he shouldn’t complain since after all, how many millions does anyone need? But this is America; we have the liberty to earn and keep as much as we can, the right to voice our displeasure when the government is taking too much, and not apologize for either.

Small business owners agree with Phil and Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who wrote that while tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is commendable. Mickelson’s comments on high taxes were commendable, honest and courageous – too bad he later apologized.

We have just learned the U.S. economy had negative growth in the fourth quarter. One big reason we may now be slouching toward a double dip recession is because small business owners, like Mickelson, are shrugging in response to anti-growth tax and regulatory policies.

A small business owner’s motivation to take risks is in direct proportion to the level of government interference.

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Recently on The Small Business Advocate Show, I talked with a couple of pretty smart guys who defend Phil Mickelson’s comments, his right to say what he did, and why his position is on target with small business optimism and growth in the U.S.

Cliff Ennico is a lawyer specializing in legal and tax issues for small businesses, and is a popular instructor at eBay University. He is a frequent contributor to Entrepreneur magazine and the author of The ebay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book and Small Business Survival Guide. His weekly syndicated column, Succeeding in Your Business, appears in dozens of newspapers and websites.

Rick Newman is chief business correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and author of Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success.

Click on one of the links below to download or listen. We’d also like to know what you think, so please leave us a comment.

So what’s wrong with what Phil Mickelson said about taxes? with Rick Newman

In defense of Phil Mickelson and other small business owners with Cliff Ennico

Why Phil Mickelson was right about taxes with Jim Blasingame

Check out more of Jim’s great content HERE!

Take this week’s poll HERE!

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Small Business Advocate Poll: “Just get out of our way!”

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 25, 2013
in Economy: National and Global and Politics
. 0 Comments

The Question:
What do you want the federal government to do to help you with your small business?

0% - Initiate more programs to help small businesses

71% - Get out of our way by reducing taxes and regulations

29% - Both of the above

My Comments:
These days it seems a lot of people have their hands out for help from the government; from GM, Chrysler, and AIG, to who knows how many big banks. Then there are the unions, public and private, that rely on government support for their very existence. Big corporations make billions of profits doing business with the government. And one out of every seven Americans - over 50 million - now receives some kind of welfare.

But there is another group of folks out there that is about half the number of welfare recipients, produces over half of the U.S. economy, and sign over 70 million paychecks every week - small business owners. So what does this group want from the government? Well, we asked them about that last week in our online poll, with this question: What do you want the federal government to do to help you with your small business? Here’s what they said:

Not one person chose, “Initiate more programs to help small businesses,” as their answer. But those who believe the government should just, “Get out of our way by reducing taxes and regulations,” came in at 71%. The rest, 29%, allowed that the government should do “Both of the above.”

What if every group of Americans felt the same way small business owners do? I would like to see what that looks like, wouldn’t you?

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I talked more about what small businesses want from the government this week on my radio program. Take a few minutes to download or listen.

Check out more of Jim’s great content HERE!

Take this week’s poll HERE!

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Next Main Street movie: “Small Business Shrugged”

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 14, 2013
in Economy: National and Global and Presidential policies
. 0 Comments

At this moment four years ago we were in the middle of The Great Recession whirlwind. We didn’t know how bad things were going to get because all of the shoes had not dropped in reaction to the financial crisis. Millions were still being laid off, GM and Chrysler had not yet taken bankruptcy and the federal government was injecting the first of trillions of dollars into a shell-shocked economy.

Today, 43 months after the technical end of The Great Recession, surveys I report about on my radio program (NFIB, Tatum, our online poll, etc.), indicate that about a fifth of small businesses are doing well, about as many are doing poorly, and the middle 60% are doing just okay. This economy should be a rising tide floating all boats; but it isn’t. Instead, as in 2009, every small business owner is still anxious about the next 12 months.

During recoveries of past recessions, concerns were about market dynamics created by the usual suspects: inflation, global trade, supply and demand, technology disruptions, fear and greed, etc. But this not-so-great recovery is different.

For the first time in my long career (seven recessions), the origin of what will wake up small business owners at 3am in 2013 are mostly challenges created by the federal government. Here’s the short list: higher taxes; unsustainable budget deficits and debt; hundreds of Obamacare mandates, regulations, penalties and taxes (Galen Institute); thousands of new 2013 regulations costing businesses $123 billion, plus 13.6 million compliance man-hours (American Action Forum).

But alas, there is one more thing which may be more troubling to this market sector that produces over half of the U.S. economy: A zero-sum philosophy coming from Washington that the financial success of “fortunate” Americans is at the expense of others. But successful entrepreneurs are only fortunate because, like every American, they have a Constitutional right to pursue success, not a guarantee of success.

Small businesses take economic headwinds in stride because they know the marketplace is self-healing with the passage of time. But government-created headwinds not only don’t heal, they compound, and this truth does not motivate small business owners to take risks.

Most small business owners want to grow and hire, but they don’t have to. So far, that’s not a government mandate. The next movie the political class may see playing on Main Street could be titled, “Small Business Shrugged.”

Eventually government expansion and economic expansion become mutually exclusive.

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This week on The Small Business Advocate Show I talked more about America’s lack of small business optimism and why political policies are to blame for the slow economic recovery. Click here to download or listen. Afterward, please let me know what you think.

Check out more of Jim’s great content HERE!

Take this week’s poll HERE!

Watch Jim’s videos HERE!