Colorado’s policy of picking winners and losers leading to long-term economic damage
DENVER, Aug. 11, 2020—The latest results from the nation’s bellwether measurement of its Main Street economy did not have much good news to announce this morning, and Colorado’s policies are not doing much to help.
NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report (Optimism Index) fell 1.8 points to 98.8 in July, near the survey’s historical average. Overall, 4 of the 10 Index components improved, 5 declined, and 1 was unchanged. The NFIB Uncertainty Index increased 7 points to 88. Reports of expected better business conditions in the next six months declined 14 points to a net 25 percent.
“Our latest report indicates a lack of optimism on Main Street,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for NFIB. “It is too bad our state continues to pick winners and losers with policies coming out of the governor’s office and some local government health departments. Until small and independent businesses are allowed some flexibility in how they operate, long-term economic damage is a certainty.”
NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends Data with Quarterly surveys since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. The sample is drawn from the membership files of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small business, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions. Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available.
“This summer has been challenging for many small business owners who are working hard to keep their doors open and remain in business,” said NFIB’s Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business represents nearly half of the GDP and this month we saw a dip in optimism. There is still plenty of work to be done to get businesses back to pre-crisis numbers.”
Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected],
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
###
For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Colorado
1700 Lincoln Street, 17th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
303-860-1778
www.nfib.com/colorado
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
Facebook: NFIB.CO
