FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Kabateck, California State Director, John.Kabateck@nfib.org
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, Anthony.Malandra@nfib.org

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 26, 2022—Yesterday’s release of a special survey on inflation conducted by the nation’s largest and leading small-business association highlights a huge ‘Made in California’ problem, according to the state director for the association that conducted the sampling.

“Inflation is devastating small businesses across the nation, and energy prices are an outsized culprit,” said John Kabateck, California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which took the survey of its small-business-owning membership.

“Although there are many national factors contributing to soaring inflation rates, states can either help alleviate the problem or exacerbate it, and California is exacerbating the problem in a huge way with the energy policies it has put in place,” said Kabateck.

Kabateck pointed to a recent NFIB California podcast interview with Catherine Reheis-Boyd for some of the reasons why. On the podcast, the president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association says:

• “We can actually produce crude oil in a low carbon intensity way. Why would we not want to do that?” One reason we don’t is California’s singular way of having policies that not only harm its economy but also hamper its own environmental goals.
  
  
  
• “We produce only 30% of the crude we need. Could we produce more? You bet we could produce more. If we don’t produce more, it just means more foreign imports, which increases greenhouse gases, loses jobs, loses tax revenue for the state. There is no logical reason why you would not want to produce more crude oil in California versus importing it.
  
  
  
• “Oil is not the enemy. Emissions are the enemy.”

Selected Highlights from Yesterday’s Inflation Survey

• More than half (62%) of small-business owners reported inflation having a substantial impact on their business; 31% said it was having a moderate impact.
  
  
  
• Nearly all (99%) of small-business owners reported the recent increase in gas and fuel prices is having some degree of negative impact on their business.
  
  
  
• More than three-quarters (77%) of small employers reported rising fuel costs (gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, etc.) was a substantial contributor to higher costs.
  
  
  
• Eighty-six percent of small employers are increasing the price of the goods or services.
  
  
  
• Thirty-one percent of small employers are taking on debt to finance higher costs.

From Holly Wade, Executive Director of NFIB’s Research Center

“Inflation is a new challenge for most small business owners. Inflation has reached levels not seen for the last 40 years and is dominating business decisions for small employers across the country. Small business owners have been adjusting business practices in order to compensate for inflation pressures resulting from supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, and rising gas prices.”

Keep up with the latest on California small-business news at www.nfib.com/california, where this release can also be read, or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CA or on Facebook @NFIB.CA.

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For 78 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 California
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www.nfib.com/CA
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Facebook: @NFIB.CA