Businesses Reluctant to Hire Because of Government

CNBC.com reported today that business owners are reluctant to hire due to the impending expiration of the tax cuts that were instituted by George W. Bush and the upcoming health care reform bill.  In spite the good retail numbers and signs that the economy might be on track for a recovery, these two factors have kept businesses from hiring.

Small businesses provide two-thirds of the jobs in the US which makes this private sector one of the most important factors for job creation and economic recovery.  CNBC reported that the small business confident index put out by the National Federation of Independent Business today showed another decline.  While retail sales are up, business confidence is still low, keeping jobs from being created.  They sited that the number 2 reason businesses aren't hiring is that they are waiting to see how government policy plays out in 2010.

In spite the reassurances by the White House about the health care reform's affects on small business, owners are waiting for it to pass and see how it will actually affect their business, and to see if it will lead to their employment costs to go up.  The article sited new regulations and fees by federal and state governments as one of the reasons businesses are not hiring.

The economy and consumer spending seems to be on the rise, but jobs are following and it is being held up by the government.  If the White House could reassure the small business community that they won't raise taxes in this tights economy and hold off on health care reform until the economy is out of recession, the businesses would be automatically hiring right now.  You can read the article on CNBC.com.