Why I am less than Optimistic at this time

We are now in a mild recovery for the current recession. So why aren't people dancing in the streets, why is President Obama's approval rating so low (lower than former Pres. Clinton's even today, according to a recently released poll) and why am I turning more pessimistic by the month?

Our government, which is today, the congressional majority led by President Obama and his administration have made many decisions over the past months. Those decisions, it is my opinion, have assured an economic recovery that will be anemic for years. This is not due solely by current government policy but is due to government policy over the past 25 years.  The current administration is merely accelerating the demise.

Why am I pessimistic at this time? After four years in the currently Democratically controlled Congress and after two years of "change" what has actually occurred? The country is more divisive than ever. Our government spends $billions on a jobs program called the "transportation security administration" but refuses to protect our nation's borders. We have millions of chronically unemployed, and unemployable. Infrastructure building by the government seems limited to roads and highways. How does that help the construction industry and the carpenters, electricians and plumbers, etc.? If there are any jobs being created, they are in government. Small businesses which are financed through cash flow, credit cards and personal reserves, are being starved.

Here are some sobering statistics on small business:

According to government statistics and documents released by the commerce department, "small business" represents 99.7 percent of all employer firms and:

• Employ just over half of all private sector employees.
• Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
• Have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.
• Create more than half of the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
• Hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers).
• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
• Made up 97.3 percent of all identified exporters and produced 30.2 percent of the known export value in FY 2007.
• Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms; these patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.

So what is the state of small business today? Another question is "What is government and the Obama Admistration doing to promote and support small business?  The President held a meeting in a sandwich shop on Wednesday. Wonderful!

Some other statistics about the role of government in small business. According to the SBA using U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, here is the cost per employee required by firms to comply with U.S. government federal regulations. Small businesses are those with fewer than 20 employees and large businesses are those with greater than 500 employees:

U.S. Gov't Regulations ---Small businesses --- Large businesses
All Federal Regulations ---$7,647 -------------- $5,282
Environmental Regulation - $3,296 --------------  $710
Economic Regulation ------ $2,127 -------------$2,952
Workplace Regulation ------- $928 --------------- $841
Tax Compliance Regulation - $1,304 --------------$780

While America declines, Congress obfuscates and President Obama makes empty promises and sits down to share a sub sandwich with the unsuspecting dolts. $30 billion is promised for community banks as low cost loans for small businesses, but can't get through congress. Another $5.5 billion is earmarked in legislation labelled "Small Business Assistance" and yet, most of that, it seems will go to "big business" including the airlines and telecommunications industry. $30 billion is 3 percent of $1 trillion. That's like 3 cents on the dollar. Chump change for chumps. Yep, my tax dollars at work! We are so easy, aren't we?