Small business owners suggest Bidenomics is Grinch that stole Christmas bonuses

As Christmas approaches, the holiday tradition of bonuses seems to be diminishing this year for small businesses due to Bidenomics.

Job board and talent connector RedBalloon says while 199,000  new jobs were reported in November primarily through the government and health care, small businesses are struggling to pay their employees and grow. 

According to a poll conducted by RedBalloon and Public Square about 42% of U.S. small businesses are forgoing Christmas bonuses and 28% have diminished bonuses compared to 2022.

"While the administration talks about how amazing the economy is and how robust the economy is, these small businesses are going to their employees and saying, 'Look....we're grateful, you're here. We've always done our Christmas bonus. We simply can't afford it this year.' I think that is a clear sign of what people on Main Street are actually feeling about the economy right now." Andrew Crapuchettes told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Friday.

The federal government said 199,000 jobs were added in November, with a majority of the jobs coming from the federal government, healthcare and the ending of the UAW strike.

The unemployment rate in November was 3.7%, down from 3.9% the previous month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The data from the bureau shows that roughly 77,000 jobs were gained in healthcare, 49,000 jobs were added by the federal government and manufacturing employment rose by 28,000.

“While the broader job market displays signs of re-acceleration, small businesses appear to tread cautiously, adopting a more measured approach to hiring,” Crapuchettes said.

He stated that around Christmas time, usually retail is doing well due to holiday shopping. But right now, even that industry is struggling.

"The Christmas shopping season is not what it used to be," Crapuchettes said. "In fact, many of the businesses that we represent in this freedom economy index, they're saying this....... just kind of confirming what we're already hearing from businesses: that the government continues to expand and bloat. Retail is struggling."

He said in the poll conducted, they talked to thousands of small business owners who are concerned about the economy and say they are just trying to survive. 

"When they look at the cost of goods, over 40% of them were saying that the cost of goods is at a 20% increase over the last 12 months," Crapuchettes said. "So when the Biden administration gets up and says, 'hey, we have a 0% increase in inflation', these businesses are saying 'no, we're seeing a significant increase.'"

The survey was conducted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 and had 682 respondents out of 70,000. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.0% at the 95% confidence level.