Due to burdensome regulations, taxes, government spending, and the increasing cost of health insurance and energy under President Barack Obama’s administration, a majority of small business owners and manufacturers believe the economy is in a worse position for them to succeed than three years ago, according to a new survey. 

Nearly 70 percent of small businesses and manufacturers surveyed said Obama’s regulatory policies have hurt them and there was too much uncertainty in the economy to expand.  Over 50 percent of those surveyed said they would not start a business in today’s economic environment, and foreign countries like China and India are more supportive of small business and manufacturers than the United States. 

Public Opinion Strategies (POS) surveyed 800 small business owners, manufacturers, and decision-makers at small and medium-sized  companies on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). POS conducted the interviews August 13-September 4.

“The data in this survey offer a striking picture of how American businesses view the current state of the U.S. economy,” Bill McInturff, of POS, said. “It’s clear that small business owners and manufacturers are becoming increasingly more frustrated by the federal government’s inability to solve America’s economic problems. Manufacturers place most of the blame squarely on policies coming out of Washington.”

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said  the survey’s findings “show that manufacturers and other small businesses have a starkly negative outlook for their future—with good reason.”

NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner said the “government continues to erect more barriers to growth through burdensome regulations that increase costs for small businesses and all Americans.”

Among those surveyed, 67% percent said there was too much uncertainty in the market to expand, 69% said “President Obama’s Executive Branch and regulatory policies have hurt American small businesses and manufacturers,” 55% felt “they would not start a business today given what they know now and in the current environment” and 54% said “other countries like China and India are more supportive of their small businesses and manufacturers than the United States.”