Romney Campaign Press Release - The Upside-Down Obama Economy: Hostility To Small Businesses

"President Obama has turned our economy upside down with his hostility to small businesses and job creators. After three and a half years, new business startups are at 30-year lows and small businesses are more pessimistic about the Obama economy. Job creators need a new direction and a new president who knows how to turn this economy around." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

The Obama Economy Is Upside Down With Fewer Business Startups And More Pessimism Among Small-Business Owners:

"Small-Business Owners Grew More Pessimistic In June ... The Latest Sign That The Economic Recovery Has Slowed." "Small-business owners grew more pessimistic in June, according to an industry index, in just the latest sign that the economic recovery has slowed. The National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday that its small-business optimism index plunged three points, to 91.4, in June, wiping away incremental growth from earlier this year and dropping the index back to roughly its October 2011 level." (Bernie Becker, "Small-Business Optimism Takes A Tumble," The Hill, 7/10/12)

• "The Report Also Found That Fewer Owners Were Saying They Had Openings That Were Hard To Fill — A Shift From May And, NFIB Says, A Suggestion That The Unemployment Rate Might Rise." (Bernie Becker, "Small-Business Optimism Takes A Tumble," The Hill, 7/10/12)

New Business Startups Are At 30-Year Lows. "Not only the rate, but the raw numbers have declined, he said. In 1977, SBA figures show, Americans started 563,325 businesses with employees. In 2009, despite an increase in the population, they started 403,765. And no previous valleys dipped so low. A spreadsheet from Shane shows that neither the rate nor number of startups since 1977 ever hit the most recent level." (Tom Feran, "U.S. House Speaker John Boehner Says New Business Startups Are At The Lowest Levels In 30 Years," PolitiFact.com, 3/23/12)

And President Obama's Disastrous Policies Have Driven Job Creation Down And Taxes On Small Businesses Up:

Nearly Three-Quarters Of Small-Business Owners Blame Obamacare For Hurting Job Creation. "As part of the explanation for the general economic pessimism, 78 percent of small businesses believe that taxation, regulation and legislation from Washington make it harder for businesses to hire more employees — and 74 percent blame the recent health care reforms passed by the Obama administration for creating an impediment to job creation." (Tim Mak, "Chamber Poll: Small Biz Blames D.C.," Politico, 1/18/12)

• CNBC Headline: "Small Business On Obamacare: No Reason To Hire Or Invest" (Patricia Orsini, "Small Business On Obamacare: No Reason To Hire Or Invest," CNBC, 6/28/12)

According To The Small Business And Entrepreneurship Council, "Business Owners Remain On Edge Regarding The Tidal Wave Of Federal Government Regulation." "'Business owners remain on edge regarding the tidal wave of federal government regulation that has been advanced or proposed over the past two years. ... The pain of the harsh recession was intensified and lengthened by this hyper-regulatory environment,' Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, wrote in a Jan. 12 letter to Issa." (Philip Rucker and David S. Hilzenrath, "GOP Eyes Rules That Firms Say Hurt Jobs," The Washington Post, 2/7/11)

President Obama's Tax Plans Would Come "At The Expense Of Smaller Businesses That File As Individuals" By Hiking Their Marginal Rates To "41% Or More." "By contrast, President Obama's proposal yesterday (see below) to cut the corporate rate to 28% from 35% wouldn't apply to this 'pass-through' business income. It would thus favor big corporations at the expense of smaller businesses that file as individuals and would see their marginal rate rise to 41% or more under Mr. Obama's plan to raise individual tax rates." (Editorial, "Romney's Tax Reboot," The Wall Street Journal, 2/23/12)

• President Obama's Massive Tax Hikes "Would Mean Higher Taxes On 53 Percent Of Business Income Reported On Individual Returns." "President Barack Obama's plan to raise tax rates for the top 2 percent of U.S. households would mean higher taxes on 53 percent of business income reported on individual returns, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The nonpartisan analysts prepared the data at the request of Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee." (Richard Rubin, "Obama Plan Means Higher Taxes On 53% Of Business Income: Study," Bloomberg, 6/19/12)