What do you make of this, mook?

I posted last year that a CEO I know (sorry, can't give his name) went to a major CEO Conference and at that time other CEO's noted they will do the barest possible hiring as the current administration was too unpredictable and punitive to risk hiring.

 

Remember when Clinton was President and he raised taxes AND made small business go back one year and pay retro taxes. Dozens of small businesses in Klamath Falls closed. Friends of ours closed a pizza joint, others closed an appliance store... it was a blood bath. Obama is unstable, unpredictable and punitive going after businesses and various sectors not run by unions and it's easy to see why a small business owner would be gun shy about adding staff and/or expanding.

 

64% of small businesses are 1-man businesses.

 

Yep, need to lower them taxes. Cutting a business's taxes a few thousands really pays a living wage to a new worker, that or it just gives the owner more money with no incentive to hire.

 

You might actually be underestimating here. http://www.census.gov/econ/smallbus.html

Here's the actual study: http://www.uschambersmallbusinessna...mmit-Presentation-from-Harris-Interactive.pdf

It's methodology is weak. It does not list the average size of each business & it only sampled 1409 businesses. The reasons your article listed for "not hiring" aren't actually reasons given for not hiring(edit: actually two of three are, page 8), they're listed in the study as the "top concerns" of small businesses owners. The concerns quoted aren't the correct order either. Comparatively, regulation(edit: 17%), legislation(edit: not on this list, but only has 7%) & taxation(edit:not listed as concern for hiring) are at the bottom.



Additionally the study does not link these concerns as reasons for not hiring. The main reason probably is because they are indeed sole proprietorships or companies with small payroll who do not do a lot of hiring on a yearly basis regardless.

 

Only page 8 specifically references concerns regarding hiring. Yes, legislation & regulation are on that page as being specific concerns regarding hiring, but they're not top reasons, heck, regulation is at the bottom of the list with a paltry 7% & legislation is at 17%.

One could almost take this study as a sign that small businesses are seeing less losses & the economic picture is possibly improving.

Regardless, relying entirely on the beliefs of the owner for why they're not hiring may be somewhat foolish. There are many internal factors regarding why a business might not hire. The study should have excluded all sole proprietorship business or businesses that have consistent employee levels year-to-year, which would indicate their business just doesn't do a lot of hiring or firing.

 

Let me pass on some worse news: What we've seen in the past years was the recovery and expansion. We're entering another recession that will be worse than the one we just exited.

 

Let me give you an example. My wife writes freelance educational supplemental curriculum. She makes about $14-20,000 per year. We live in Vancouver so there's no state income tax. She pays 45% tax to the feds. You really think a small businessman should pay that much for so little income?

 

With 25% unemployment/underemployment and commodity prices rising I'd say it's been (and still is) a depression. The only difference between this depression and the Great Depression is that we have credit cards and numerous government programs to buoy us along. But the numbers are staggering. And, on top of that, the left wants massive tax increases.

 

Frankly my radical ideas are that we implement a single payer healthcare system, don't tax small businesses up to $x millions of dollars in revenue & then heavily tax those above it. Additionally we subsidize a "living wage", so that anyone who is working has enough to afford basics like housing & healthy food, while at the same time making it easier for small businesses to afford workers. The idea is to promote small business & de-incentivize large hulking corporate empires that take over the country.

I think my main point was, if your wife gets a tax break is she going to run out and immediately hire another person? No, she'd keep the money. Not saying the amount paid in taxes via the self-employed is fair, but the idea that tax cuts = instant jobs is wrong.

 

Generally I agree with this premise. However, I also think there are a lot of small businessmen who would like to expand but won't under the current administration. To be sure, one reason is certainly taxes.How much hiring they might do and how much they might pay are another thing. The small business ABM works for has cut way back and he lost his salary and now works straight commission.

I don't know, but this economy is strangling small businessmen.

 

She is doing something wrong if she is paying that much, seriously. Do you guys have an accountant?

 

I would have to agree, back of napkin math is giving me around 18 - 19% federal tax rate even with self employment taxes on $20,000.

 

Well there you go, the economy sucks & everyone is holding their cards waiting for everyone else to jump out there & put some money down. Tax rates were the same during the 2000s & the economy was booming, but that was due to a bubble, not really tax cuts. I'd be for adding incentives to employment such as offering tax credits to those who can prove they hired new workers. Cutting taxes across the board so businesses can horde more money doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

Steve McCroskey: Mook, what can you make out of this?

Mook: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...