Although they do not name him by name, and may not have personally voted for him, it appears the small business community is positively giddy over President Trump’s election, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, an association of 325,000 small businesses.
Small business optimism rose again in January to its highest level since December 2004, suggesting that the post-election surge has staying power, according to the monthly National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Index of Small Business Optimism, released today.
“The stunning climb in optimism after the election was significantly improved in December and confirmed in January,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan. “Small business owners like what they see so far from Washington.”
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“We’ve had very low growth for years, mainly because small businesses have been tied down by regulations, taxes, and spiraling health insurance costs,” she said. “Now they can see relief on the horizon, and they are much more optimistic about the future.”
“Fifty percent of respondents, the biggest share since March 2002, said they expect better business conditions in the next six months,” notes Bloomberg. “That was 38 percentage points higher than in November.”
“Although many economists claim that President Trump is inheriting a ‘strong economy,’ government statistics beg to differ,” stated NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg.
“GDP grew only 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and an average of 1.6 percent for the entire year,” Dunkelberg noted. “This is the result of eight years of poor economic policies and gridlock in Congress. Congress now has the opportunity to undo harmful, anti-growth policies.”
In a prior NFIB survey, nearly half of small business respondents stated that regulations are a “very serious” or “somewhat serious problem.”
It should go without saying that, were the election to have been decided differently and Hillary Clinton elected, the sentiment expressed by the small business community might not be as cheerful.
