Another troubling indicator for the economy – particularly for North Carolina, which suffers from a staggeringly high unemployment rate of 9.4%. NFIB’s survey of small business owners find optimism down, including lower expectations for hiring and sales.

“Virtually no owners think the current period is a good time to expand, because they simply don’t know what the future holds,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “So why invest?”

Overall, he added, “it appears that there will be little growth coming from the small business half of the economy; as the world economy slows, even big business may suffer.”

The handwriting is on the wall. This country must reverse course on economic policy, which currently penalizes producers and investors. With ObamaCare’s oppressive requirements coming in 2014, what should we expect a business owner to do? Hunker down and/or make alternative business plans.