“But I wonder how long it’s going to be before businesspeople really do start walking away and deciding it’s not worth doing business in America today. Or it it already happening and we just don’t know it?”
It’s going on right now and we do in fact know all about it.
I have a good friend from high school, drafted in Vietnam era, got his civil engineering BS degree afterward, started his own construction company and has run it ever since, directly employing dozens of people and spending millions annually on equipment and materials (thereby employing countless others).
Until now. Since Obama was elected. The bottom fell out of the economy under Obammunist economic policies and then Obamacare de-exempted small construction companies from the 50-employee exemption as demanded by the unions so they could kill all non-union construction companies.
Well it worked. My friend said he was finally fed up and decided he had enough money and it was time to enjoy it. He fired all his employees, gave away all his equipment (which was fundamentally worthless anyway since everyone else was dumping their equipment too) and retired.
Like many who enjoy the work they do, he probably would otherwise have died with his boots on, contributing to society right until the end. But Obammunism forced his hand, and for him personally it was a good thing because he has health problems and in the not too distant future would not be able to enjoy his hard-earned savings.
And the benefit to society of my friend retiring? Not so much. Yet another productive individual removed from the productivity pool by Obammunism. Another employer prematurely removed from the employer pool by Obammunism. Another producer who “Went Galt” without even knowing what the phrase means.
I did not post this trying to be funny.