Poll: small business owners are increasingly pessimistic about the future of the economy



Small business owners are growing increasingly concerned about the fate of the U.S. as the economy continues to grapple with high inflation, supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rising interest rates.

Fox Business reported that a recently conducted poll by the business-coaching and peer-advising firm Vistage Worldwide Inc. shows that 57% of small business owners predict that the U.S. economy will only worsen in the next year. This metric matches the April 2020 mark for the lowest level of confidence.

Last month, 42% of small business owners had the same pessimistic feelings about the economy.

The Vistage Worldwide poll is part of a more extensive confidence index that revealed the largest year-over-year drop of confidence in the economy since COVID-19 lockdowns commenced in the spring of 2020.

As prices continue to rise, the number of small businesses that are expecting their revenues to increase in the coming year dropped to 61%, marking a steep decline from May 2020’s level of 79%.

The poll also provides data indicating that these small business owners’ pessimistic views of the economy largely rely on the industries their businesses are in. For instance, business owners in manufacturing and consumer products and services are especially pessimistic.

Even large corporations are feeling the impact of supply-chain disruptions, runaway inflation, and worker shortages. Walmart, for instance, reported an increase in sales in the most recent quarter but also noted that higher costs for products, employees, and freight cut into the company’s profits.

Similarly, Target’s profits were lower in its quarterly earnings, as indicated by filings from earlier this month. Target indicated that increased costs caused by supply-chain disruption and ongoing inflation hurt the company.

However, unlike mega-retailers like Target and Walmart, small businesses do not have as much financial flexibility to weather the storm, so they often feel the impact of these economic woes far more directly.

Many small business owners have said that their companies have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and by a number of economic challenges, and the government aid programs that helped alleviate some of the financial burden caused by the pandemic have largely run out of funds.

That being said, not every small business owner is pessimistic about the future of the economy. Factors like low unemployment, strong consumer spending, and record demand for workers are invigorating to some small business owners.

12% of businesses expect the economy to improve within the next year and 28% said they believed conditions would likely remain the same.

Backlogged shipping containers getting dumped in port neighborhoods due to lack of space — and one crushes car after falling off truck



As backlogged cargo ships work their way through Los Angeles area ports operating around the clock to ease supply chain disruptions, KCBS-TV reported that shipping containers are being dumped in port neighborhoods once they're emptied because there's no space to store them anymore.

Image source: KCBS-TV video screenshot

What are the details?

UCTI Trucking Company's lot can store only 65 containers, the station said, so the excess containers due to the port logjam are being placed on residential streets — some right in front of homes.

Sonia Cervantes lives along Anaheim Street, as does UCTI, and she told KCBS a container was blocking her driveway, preventing her from leaving for work in the morning.

"With no driver in the trailer, so we would honk and honk, and it was just crazy," Cervantes told the station, adding that "they're sitting in the street for like 15, 20 minutes. Sometimes they just unload the [container] in the street with no front part of it, and they just leave it there."

UCTI Trucking owner Frank Arrieran acknowledged that his neighbors "are very upset because it's a non-stop situation" but that "right now with the ports and everything that's going on over there, we're stuck with the containers, having to bring them all to the yard, and we only have so much space," KCBS reported.

Arrerian told the station that "we've been messed with tickets and being harassed," and he's asking "the community to help us because we're only in the middle."

Container crushes car

The lack of space problem seemed to intensify Tuesday when a shipping container on a UCTI truck coming from the Port of Los Angeles fell off the truck and crushed a parked car, KCBS noted in a separate story.

There were no injuries in the accident on the corner of McFarland Avenue and Anaheim Street in Wilmington, the station said.

Authorities told KCBS that when the truck driver turned onto the street, the improperly attached container shifted, fell over, and crushed a black 2008 Honda Accord parked on the curb. The station said no one was in the car at the time.

More from KCBS:

Residents in the area have grown concerned about the influx of trucks and shipping containers in the neighborhood. Trucks over 6,000 pounds are prohibited in the area. A semi-truck carrying an empty container weighs around 8,000 pounds, however, the congestion at the ports has given shipping companies very few options. They are often forced to store containers waiting to be loaded onto ships on the street.

Anything else?

Arrieran said he hopes city officials can work out a way to get him more space in a bigger yard, the station said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the Port of Los Angeles has reported that cargo on the dock for more than 13 days has been cut in half since moving to 24/7 operations last week, KCBS reported.

Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka added Tuesday that about 200,000 shipping containers remain on vessels anchored off the coast, the station said.

'What the hell were you thinking?': Fox News host confronts Obama official who called economic woes 'high class problems'



Fox News host Bill Hemmer confronted a former top Obama economics official Friday for claiming that skyrocketing inflation and supply chain disruptions are "high class problems."

What is the background?

Harvard economics professor Jason Furman, who served as chairman of former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, downplayed current economic woes last week as problems only for American elite.

"Most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem," Furman tweeted.

Most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't ha… https://t.co/N5QNseCFhm

— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) 1634170666.0

Notably, White House chief of staff Ronald Klain was clobbered on social media after endorsing Furman's claim. By supporting Furman's claim, Klain was seemingly attempting to deflect responsibility from President Joe Biden for current economic struggles.

What did Hemmer say?

"Jason, you started a prairie fire yesterday," Hemmer said. "To paraphrase Jay Leno, what the hell were you thinking?"

Furman, however, defended his claim. He alleged rising inflation is a "good thing" because it means Americans are spending more money.

You need to keep two things in your head at once. One is, inflation is real. Inflation is creating a problem for families, and we should do something about it. Number two, the reason we have this inflation is actually a good reason: that the unemployment rate has come down, that families got money, and people are buying more things than ever before.

The problem isn't that our ports stopped working, it's that people are buying so much stuff, that so much is trying to come through our ports right now. We have record volumes, you know, that both has a good side, a bad side, you need to keep both those in your head.

Furman went on to admit the U.S. economy "has an inflation problem, and we need to deal with that," but softened the blow by claiming inflation is up because demand for goods is through the roof.

Hemmer, though, pushed back, grilling Furman over how significantly increased gas prices, for example, is a "high class problem."

"Middle-class America is paying for that," Hemmer said.

"Americans are traveling more than they were a year ago. That's a good thing. Americans are spending more; they're spending more in restaurants; they're spending more on sporting goods; they're spending more on nights out; they're spending more on travel," Furman responded. "That's all a really good thing. That's what's most important."

When asked whether he stands by his "high class problems" remark, Furman did not waiver.

"There's a good side to what's going on — people are spending more than they've ever spent before — and there's a bad side to what's going on," he said. "When everyone spends more than they've ever spent before, that drives prices up."

Former Obama economist grilled on controversial inflation tweet www.youtube.com

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg has been 'MIA' during supply chain crisis — because he has been on paternity leave for two months



The United States has been facing a supply chain crisis for months, and things are reaching a head as companies are warning Americans that Christmas could be tough this year.

The issue is part of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's portfolio, yet, as Politico reported Thursday, the secretary "has been MIA" as the crisis has grown.

Turns out, Buttigieg has been out of the office on paternity leave since mid-August.

What's that now?

Supply shortages and rising prices are threatening the U.S. economy, and analysts are warning that the Christmas season could be significantly hampered.

President Joe Biden this week announced a deal with officials and union leaders and workers in Los Angeles to try to ease supply chain disruptions by addressing the bottleneck of container ships off the coast of California that is plaguing operations. The deal will keep L.A. ports open 24/7, but experts told Reuters this week that the deal is too little, too late to fix the issue by Christmas.

The person who is supposed to be dealing with the situation — Secretary Buttigieg — has been missing in action. And Politico took note:

While U.S. ports faced anchor-to-anchor traffic and Congress nearly melted down over the president's infrastructure bill in recent weeks, the usually omnipresent Transportation secretary was lying low.

One of the White House's go-to communicators didn't appear on TV. He was absent on Capitol Hill during the negotiations over the bill he had been previously helping sell to different members of Congress. Conservative critics tried (unsuccessfully) to get #WheresPete to trend and Fox News ran a story on October 4 with the headline: “Buttigieg quiet on growing port congestion as shipping concerns build ahead of holidays."

Where has he been? Turns out that he has been on paid paternity leave since the middle of August "to spend time with his husband, Chasten, and their two newborn babies," Politico reported, and the White House didn't previously announce it.

"For the first four weeks, he was mostly offline except for major agency decisions and matters that could not be delegated," a Transportation Department spokesman told the outlet. “He has been ramping up activities since then."

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey pointed out that this was a strange move for someone in a Cabinet post.

"Since when have Cabinet secretaries taken months off at a time for parental leave?" Morrissey asked. "Since now, apparently, even when crises brew within their portfolio. After all, Cabinet officials do not formally fall under the federal family leave system, and for good reason. Those positions are considered too critical for the operation of government to mandate such lengthy absences."

Politico noted that historically Cabinet secretaries have worked to come back sooner. For example, the outlet noted, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro was off for about a week after his child was born.

The reason Buttigieg's leave stands out as unusual is because, as Morrissey noted, Cabinet secretaries are not eligible for federal paid family leave benefits.

According to the Office of Personnel Management, “Individuals in the executive branch who are appointed by the President to positions in the Executive Schedule are not covered by the leave system. They do not earn leave and serve at the pleasure of the President," Politico said. But, OPM told the outlet, "the President can choose to allow him to take time off."

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton has been on Buttigieg's case during the crisis and ripped the secretary on Twitter this week, writing, "Pete Buttigieg was completely unqualified to serve as Secretary of Transportation. But Biden still picked him. Now, Pete is absent during a transportation crisis that is hurting working-class Americans."

Pete Buttigieg was completely unqualified to serve as Secretary of Transportation. But Biden still picked him.Now… https://t.co/wjwyScuiFy

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) 1633969320.0

Cotton went on Fox News on Thursday night to continue his attack on Buttigieg and the administration's handling of the crisis.

"Who's going to save Christmas for Americans? Pete Buttigieg?" the senator asked. "I mean, please. Pete Buttigieg couldn't organize a one-car funeral. He's not going to organize our nation's ports and roads and highways and airports."

Tom Cotton: Pete Buttigieg couldn't organize a one car funeral www.youtube.com

Tesla co-founder warns that automakers going all-electric 'haven't really done the math' on supply chain, crippling shortages could be on the way



Tesla co-founder and former chief technology officer J.B. Straubel recently issued a dire warning to automakers planning on going all-electric in the coming years: The math doesn't easily add up as it pertains to the supply chain.

In recent months, a lengthy list of major automakers — including Honda, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz — have made lofty promises to phase out gas and diesel vehicles over the next couple of decades. The Biden administration, as well, has supported a rapid transition into electric vehicle transportation.

But during an episode of the "This Week in Startups" podcast, Straubel warned that everyone transitioning to electric vehicles at once could be dangerous and lead to serious supply chain shortages, Electrek reported.

The businessman compared it to the entire industry jumping onboard a flight that has been grossly overbooked.

"So many different OEMs (automakers), countries, factories, and customers are leaping into EVs and making huge announcements, saying they'll be fully electric in their fleet this decade or next, but they haven't really done the math fully on what that entails in the supply chain and tracing it all the way back, literally all the way back to the mines," he said. "You need to do that, or else, you know, you haven't really solved it. It has the feeling to me of kind of like a giant overbooked flight."

What JB Straubel has to say about so many OEMs announcing their plans to go fully into EV"They haven't, I think,… https://t.co/p0iILxEvEW

— First Principle Investor, Not CFA (@1stPrincipleInv) 1633935877.0

"So everybody's saying that we all wanna go there at the same time," he said, adding, "We're trying to do this fast as a society."

"I do think we are going to have a really painful time at it," he noted. "It's not going to be just a battery shortage, it is going to ripple through different parts of the supply chain. It may at one point be nickel shortages, maybe it'll be a cathode shortage, maybe another day it will be a separator shortage."

Despite his warnings, Straubel is not an opponent of the push for an all-electric auto industry.

"We can't go fast enough in decarbonizing the world," he said. "It's terrifying to realize how screwed up we are and how far we still have to go."

That view is shared by the current president and his administration. In August, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for 50% of all cars sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.

Biden administration reaches agreement with local & union leaders to keep LA ports open 24/7, ease supply chain disruption



The White House announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden has reached an agreement with leaders in Los Angeles and union workers to ease supply chain disruptions by keeping the ports of Los Angeles open 24/7. The president will give a speech Wednesday afternoon discussing ongoing supply chain issues and highlighting how his administration is addressing these challenges.

The agreement should help clear up the massive trade bottleneck of stranded container ships sitting off the coast of California, which for weeks have been unable to unload their cargo due to COVID-19 outbreaks and worker shortages. The inability of these ships to offload the goods they are carrying has caused shortages and driven up retail prices for American consumers, contributing to the highest levels of inflation in 13 years.

Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, are points of entry for 40% of all shipping containers that reach the U.S., senior administration officials said. Increased demand for goods during the coronavirus pandemic has increased the number of import and export containers trafficked by the port of Los Angeles by a record 30% in the first six months of this year. The port in Long Beach has seen an increase of 23%.

But the ports have not had enough manpower to keep up with the increased volume of trade, preventing U.S. factories from receiving needed materials and American consumers from finding the goods they want to buy in stock.

In June, Biden created the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to study the issue and develop solutions. After working with officials from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and representatives of the International Longshore Warehouse Union, the White House announced a series of commitments to keep the port of Los Angeles open 24/7, which administration officials estimate will nearly double the hours that cargo will be able to move out of its docks, onto highways, and to its destinations in the U.S. The Long Beach port began operating 24/7 roughly three weeks ago.

The labor union and large companies each agreed to expand hours and pay overtime so that goods will be moved out of the port during nights and on weekends. Walmart, for example, committed to use more night shifts and estimated that the volume of goods moved by the company could increase by as much as 50% over the next few weeks.

Before Biden delivers his speech, he will hold a virtual teleconference with the heads of Walmart, FedEx Logistics, UPS, Target, Samsung Electronics North America, and The Home Depot, each of which has made similar commitments.

The White House said these six companies together will move over 3,500 additional containers overnight per week, delivering toys, appliances, furniture, and other goods Americans have purchased online as well as pieces and parts sent to U.S. factories for assembly into other products.

Though this agreement should provide some needed relief for the economy, the White House warned American consumers on Tuesday that they should expect to see higher prices and continuing shortages this holiday season as global supply chain disruptions remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, Republicans say that rising consumer prices are driven by reckless government spending. They've put the blame for inflation squarely on Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, arguing that additional spending Democrats want in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package will only worsen the economic hardship facing Americans.

"The Democrats' inflation is so bad that even though the average American worker has gotten a multiple-percentage-point pay raise over the last year, their actual purchasing power has been cut," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor last week. "Even dollar stores are having to raise their prices. Just ask any American family about their last few trips to the supermarket, the gas station or the toy store. Heaven forbid if they've had to participate in the housing market or the auto market any time lately."

White House officials argue inflation is "transitory" and that as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19, people will fully return to work, trade disruptions will be eased, and prices will come back down sometime in 2022.

U.S. consumer prices rose 5.4% in September, according to a report from the Labor Department, growing at the fastest pace seen in 13 years. Energy prices increased 1.3% last month and have now risen 24.8% over the past year. Additionally, food prices are up 4.6% from last year, with prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs climbing 10.5% and beef prices rising 17.6%.