Column: Business owners besieged

• Recent survey of small business people, manufacturers found deep pessimism.
• Ranked federal policies above foreign competitors as threats to their firms
• Our leaders must promote government as friend, not foe, of enterprise.

If business owners had to start their businesses over again today, most wouldn't.

That's one startling finding of a recent survey of small businesses and manufacturers. In the poll, commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of Independent Business, 55% of those surveyed said they wouldn't start a business today. For manufacturers, 59% would put their business plans on hold.

The results are a stark indication that our country is on the wrong course. America has always been the land of opportunity. Whether it's someone who wants to operate a successful sandwich shop to provide for his or her family or the person who strives to invent the next iPhone, Americans have prospered because we reward success.

Our products are better because our workers are higly trained, highly efficient and the best paid in the world. We are the global leader in innovation because we are free to create — to conceive the next big idea — secure in the knowledge that we will reap the fruits of our own labor. These core principles have defined a nation that rose from an agrarian society to become the most dominant economic force in the world.

But over the past few years, some disturbing trends have emerged. Small businesses and manufacturers have grown increasingly frustrated with our government and the direction our country is headed. Job creators have witnessed political agendas displace efforts to improve America's competitive climate.

Indeed, two-thirds of the business owners and manufacturers we surveyed said there is too much economic uncertainty to expand or hire new workers. Much of this uncertainty stems from Washington's policies such as costly new regulations. Our government's growing regulatory agenda imposes rising compliance costs on small businesses and manufacturers, stifling their ability to compete in the global marketplace. In fact, the business owners we surveyed said federal policies are more harmful than foreign competition.

Business owners make incredible sacrifices to pursue their dreams, and those sacrifices are amplified when times are tough. Manufacturers and other business owners are facing significant obstacles, but instead of policymakers helping to eliminate these roadblocks and improve the economic climate for all businesses, they are adding new regulations and contemplating tax increases. If we expect more people to take the enormous risks involved in starting a new business or inventing a new product, it's critical that lawmakers put aside the partisan politics and address our economic uncertainty by focusing on policies that promote growth.

That's why this election is so important. We can't regain prosperity without leaders who understand that business, not government, is the engine that drives our economy. The risk-takers and innovators who will drive growth in the 21st century must know that our government will be their biggest champion, not their greatest obstacle.

American free enterprise has been the incubator of ideas that have changed the world and in the process made us the greatest and most prosperous nation in history. Our government has shied away from those principles in recent years, with predictable results. It's time for our elected leaders to admit their mistakes, reverse course and get us moving forward again. We need leaders who understand how to repair the broken relationship between our government and the businesses that are responsible for ensuring America's growth.

Dan Danner is president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business. Jay Timmons is the president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.

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