Nearly 3/4 of small business owners give Biden negative performance rating in new poll

A whopping seven out of 10 small business owners give President Joe Biden a negative review in his handling of small business concerns. 

The poll, from the Job Creators Network Foundation, found that "7 in 10 small business owners grade President Biden's job performance poorly," while 43% gave him a failing grade of F. 

The JCN's Small Business Intelligence Quotient poll also found a worsening outlook among U.S. small business owners over the past 18 months: Where 61% of owners in May of 2021 expected a "better" financial condition over the next three months from the polling date, by last month that number had fallen to just 45%, while the number of respondents predicting a "worse" financial situation had more than doubled over that time, from 5% to 17%. 

That worsening outlook is likely the product of what most analysts predict is a looming recession. Aggressive Federal Reserve efforts to raise interest rates in order to combat spiraling inflation have led to an economy that appears to be teetering on the brink of a sharp contraction. 

A majority of small business owners over the past several months have told the JCN's poll that they believe the U.S. economy is currently in a recession: 57% of them said as much in August of this year, while 60% said so in November. 

Negative reviews of the president's small business performance, meanwhile, were broadly distributed across revenue levels: 67% of owners with less than $100,000 in revenue gave him a negative response, while 72% of those making more than a million in revenue felt similarly. 

Such feelings, if they persist, could spell trouble for Biden's reelection prospects in 2024, particularly if any recession that does happen ends up being sharper and/or longer than more optimistic predictions are projecting.

Elaine Parker, the president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, said on the release of the November poll that the numbers "should be sending off alarm bells within the Biden administration."

"Entrepreneurs are feeling pessimistic because of high inflation, the threat of tax increases associated with government programs like the proposed $400 billion illegal student loan bailout, and more government red tape," she argued.

"The survey represents a clear rebuke of policies pursued by the White House thus far this year," she continued, "suggesting the administration should reverse course in 2023."