If the economy is so good, then why do small business leaders feel so bad?

The latest NFIB “Small Business Optimism Index” could hardly be more depressing. Small business confidence reached its lowest point in 12 years and is lower today than it was during the Covid lockdowns when most businesses were shuttered. The index has fallen for most of the Biden presidency.

The confidence numbers have gotten worse every year Biden has been in office:

Why are small businessmen and women feeling so dreary?

Here’s a good analysis from former Trump Treasury assistant secretary and former World Bank President, David Malpass (and the new head of our CTUP economic advisory caucus):

“Smaller businesses are being crowded out by complex regulations and direct competition from the $35 trillion national debt. Treasury borrowed $23 trillion in 2023 alone, much of it in the expensive short maturities needed by smaller businesses for working capital.  Federal Reserve data through March 27 showed that commercial and industrial loans, a key resource for small business dynamism, fell over 5% in the last year in nominal terms, down over 8% after adjusting for inflation.”

Our friend Alfredo Ortiz, who runs the Job Creators Network, tells us that “our members feel as though Biden has declared war on small businesses.”