Contact us
CALL US NOW 1-888-GOLD-160
(1-888-465-3160)

Nearly Half of Small Business Owners Expect to Close Down Permanently

  by    0   5

The economy was booming. The stock market was setting records. Then coronavirus came along and governments shut things down to minimize the pandemic. That led to massive layoffs and a nasty recession. But once states open up, things will spring back to life and the economy will go back to being great again.

That’s the mainstream narrative. But it’s not based on reality.

In truth, the economy was a Fed-induced bubble before the pandemic. The central bank has managed to reinflate the stock market bubble despite the economic destruction, but it is nothing but a Fed-induced sugar high. And the economy won’t likely rebound quickly, even after things open up.

There are all kinds of reasons to doubt the quick economic recovery narrative. We’ve reported on the number of over-leveraged zombie companies, skyrocketing household debt, the battered labor market, and a potential cash-flow crisis even after the economy gets moving.

Now we have another sign of long-term economic trouble. A survey conducted by financial services company Azlo found that nearly half of small business owners think they will eventually have to close their businesses for good.

Forty-seven percent of the small business owners surveyed said they anticipate shutting down, and 41% said they are looking for full-time work elsewhere.

This is on top of the small businesses that have already shut down and will never reopen.

The survey also asked questions about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) instituted through the CARES Act. The results were less than stellar, as Newsweek reports.

Less than half of participants—38 percent—involved in Azlo’s recent survey applied for PPP loans. Of those who did apply, 37% said the program was slow to distribute funds and 20% described the process as ‘painful,’ the company reported.”

It’s absurd to think the economy is going to come roaring back when nearly half of small business owners expect to shut down. Small businesses employ 58.9 million Americans, making up 47.5% of the country’s total employee workforce.

The economy would struggle to recover from the shutdown even if it was healthy before the pandemic. And it wasn’t.

Download SchiffGold's Gold vs GLD EFT's Guide Today

Get Peter Schiff’s key gold headlines in your inbox every week – click here – for a free subscription to his exclusive weekly email updates.
Interested in learning how to buy gold and buy silver?
Call 1-888-GOLD-160 and speak with a Precious Metals Specialist today!
Photo by Tony Webster

Related Posts

Tanzania Establishing Gold Reserves

Yet another country wants gold. On Monday (Sept. 25), the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) announced it is buying gold from domestic sources to establish its own reserves.

READ MORE →

Americans Worried About a Credit Crunch; What Happens When Consumers Can’t Charge It?

Americans are worried about a looming credit crunch. That’s a big problem for an economy that runs on credit cards. One of the reasons for economic optimism you’ll hear bandied about out there in the mainstream is “the American consumer is strong” and consumer spending is “holding up” despite price inflation. But nobody seems to […]

READ MORE →

US Senator Allegedly Bribed With Gold

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Democrat Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez on bribery charges. According to the indictment, the senator and his wife took bribes, including 13 gold bars, from three New Jersey businessmen with Egyptian ties.

READ MORE →

Japanese Go on Gold-Buying Spree as Price Inflation Runs Rampant

With price inflation running rampant in Japan, Japanese households are rushing to buy gold. The sudden surge in demand, along with the devaluation of the yen, has driven the price of gold to record highs in yen terms.

READ MORE →

Banks Borrowed Another $2.2 Billion from Bank Bailout Program in August

The Federal Reserve continues to bail out US banks as the financial crisis that kicked off last March continues to smolder behind the walls. Banks borrowed an additional $2.2 billion from the Federal Reserve’s bank bailout program in August. This was on top of the $3.7 billion they borrowed in July.

READ MORE →

Comments are closed.

Call Now