Small Business Conditions Horrible Again In December, And That's A Bleak Sign For Employment

The Business Insider ^ | 12-30-2009 | David Goldman

[blam]

Small Business Conditions Horrible Again In December, And That's A Bleak Sign For Employment

David Goldman
Dec. 30, 2009, 1:44 PM

The Discover Small Business Watch index is the most up-to-date poll on conditions in the sector which has accounted for the vast majority of employment growth in all the economic recoveries of the past thirty-five years. The DSBW Index collapsed in November, to 76.5 from 88 in October. December remains unchanged. But fewer small business owners expect the economy to improve.

December Highlights:

The number of small business owners who think the economy is getting worse was down to 49 percent from 53 percent in November; while 24 percent of small business owners see the economy staying the same, up from 16 percent in November; 25 percent see the economy getting better, down from 28 percent in November; and 2 percent are not sure.

[snip]

[andy58-in-nh]

Another ray of Obama sunshine. The prospect of higher taxes, massive government debt and more regulation just doesn’t seem to be working, for some reason.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Obama wants a second(coup de grace) stimulus.

IMPEACH

[The Antiyuppie]

“Another ray of Obama sunshine. The prospect of higher taxes, massive government debt and more regulation just doesn’t seem to be working, for some reason.”

Well, next will be a law requiring businesses to hire additional people or face fines. The few remaining workers are clearly being overworked.

Unthinkable?

[andy58-in-nh]

They won’t force businesses to hire people - they’ll just force them to pay higher wages than the market would otherwise dictate, offer benefits the businesses can’t afford, adhere to regulations that make them uncompetitive, and tax them at confiscatory rates. Oh wait: the government already does all of those things. That’s why all our jobs are overseas.

[max americana]

And they’ll force small business to buy windmills and electric cars.

[Leisler]

You think cell phones cause cancer, wait until all these electric cars start giving eco yuppies butt cancer.

[andy58-in-nh]

And they’ll force small business to buy windmills and electric cars.

Or an electric car powered by wind.

I don't know about the car, but the model next to it looks pretty fair. ;-)

[Red Boots]

One little extra in Obamacare for small construction companies: fines for not supplying employee health insurance, which kick in on any firm over 50 employees in ALL other business, start on construction firms at only 5 employees. Isn't that nice ? They got singled out for some reason, courtesy some congressperson in Oregon.

Not like the construction industry isn't reeling under the housing market crash right now or anything. This should ensure only illegal-only companies stay afloat.

[blam]

I'd say keep you eyes wide open to the definition of 'construction companies.'

My neighbor has a large and upscale landscaping company and he says he'll be unaffected due to under 50 employees.

He does do some decorative outdoor fences and brick driveways...I think he's going to be suprised to discover that he's 'construction.'

[Little Bill]

>Andy, for every MW of wind power that GE and Siemens builds, you have to have a MW of gas turbines, that GE and Siemens builds, to back wind turbines on the hot days when the wind doesn't blow.

Think the 2nd law of thermodynamics, nothing in, nothing out, scale it for conditions.

[andy58-in-nh]

Bill:

I know you're right; I studied physics (too damn long ago) but I recall that entropy is a b*tch. ;-). That car looked pretty cool though, and the girl standing next to it, well, let's just say (thermodynamically speaking, of course) that heat doesn't flow from cold to hot without work input. Sometimes, effort is its own reward.

Happy New Year!

[bert]

Also, by my actual count on several occasions in 4 western states, in excess of 10% installed wind turbines are not workinge . This adds to the total inefficiency

[Little Bill]

Bert forgive Andy, he is a Mad Hungarian and is just finding out that entropy increases, over time, with age, Happy New Year Andy.

I spent all of my formative years, and doddering, making electrons and looking at ISO projections for projected daily usage. You have a base, Nukes and Coal stations cheap and dependable, then oil and gas, price varies.

Then you have feel good crap, wind, Solar. ISO plans for worse case based on price. So if a big plant does a dive what do, you have with fast start, VERY EXPENCIVE, back up, GT's and what if the wind doesn't blow on that day and it is cloudy.I am glad I retired.

[bert]

I’m a nuclear believer. I worked for many years as a subcontractor who learned to deal with the tight specs and rigamarole. I was appreciated by the Tennessee Valley Authority because I made and effort to learn to deal with the extra work needed.

Nuclear plants take a long time and the work comes in spurts for some of the trades. It was good work and paid well. The business was killed by 1,000 cuts. I know of one door that was redesigned and replaced four times.

TVA has Raccoon Mountain pumped storage that uses the power from the Sequoyah units at night to smooth things out

The reformation will bring a resurgence of nuclear installations.

[Little Bill]

A fellow suffer Ping

[andy58-in-nh]

Thanks, Bill. Every turn of the calendar page does remind one of the immutable laws of physics, doesn't it? Especially when you first try to get out of bed in the morning. Coffee helps.

Man, if we had a government serious about getting the Arab oil monkey off our backs, we'd be building nukes and drilling for oil, but they'd rather go chasing after windmills and putting solar panels in places where you can only get a decent tan two months out of the year. I used to think they were just corrupt and scientifically ignorant but there's a real malevolence to the Obamists - they only seem to like America when it's on its knees and begging.

[Little Bill]

Andy, my family grew up in the Rockies starting in the 1840's. According to my Grandfather it sucked back in the earlies and he was forty years plus removed when he was born.

I can't survive with out Joe and there wasn't any in those days and if there were you had no money to buy any, the Green future.

[OCCASparky]

Ah, wintertime in New Hampshire (and America). What happened to all those “green shoots” the MSM kept harping on? Must be buried under all that snow.