Series Overview: Small Businesses, Big Problems

Every business starts small. But more than ever, it's harder to turn small businesses into bigger companies that employ more people. In a country that desperately needs more jobs, this is a big problem.

Small firms represent about 99 percent of all U.S. businesses, but a study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation shows that while businesses are being formed at roughly the same rate as in the past — the number of startups is even rising — these small businesses create fewer jobs than in the past.

The study found that in the 1980s, startups created an average of 3.5 percent of all U.S. jobs, but in the 2000s, they contributed only 2.6 percent of U.S. jobs.

Since the financial crisis, banks have all but stopped lending to small businesses. Tighter credit means it's also harder for entrepreneurs to borrow against their credit cards, or their homes, as they've done in the past. But many challenges facing small business owners started before the recession.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139027673/series-overview-small-businesses-big-problems?ft=1&f=1003

bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin al sharpton bill oreilly