Small businesses in America are feeling good about president-elect Donald Trump.
And the reasons aren’t so different from why investors are excited about big businesses in America, too: taxes and regulation.
On Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business’ small business optimism index showed a 3.5 point rise in November to 98.4, just above the reading’s 42-year average of 98. November’s reading was the highest since the index hit 100.3 in December 2014 and is the second-highest print since the financial crisis.
But the most important commentary inside the report addressed the optimism surrounding a less regulated, and less taxed, corporate environment under the Trump administration.
“The question as to whether or not uncertainty, and political uncertainty in particular, matters was clearly answered by the November survey – it does!” the NFIB’s Bill Dunkelberg wrote.
“Owners clearly expect a different, and better from their perspective, set of economic policies to help the economy shed the growing number of obstacles of the last eight years in tax and regulatory policies that have depressed growth.”
The NFIB, when counting Obamacare as a “tax” on small businesses, lists six of the top 10 small business owner concerns as dealing directly with taxes. And the potential rollback of some regulations, or at least the loosening of some, has optimism on the rise.
“This economy has grown in spite of, not because of, Obama’s economic policies,” Dunkelberg wrote. (Emphasis added.)
“Population growth explains most, if not all, of our progress. The prospective impact of expected policy changes was translated into very positive views of economic activity which will translate into more spending and hiring if maintained.”
This report adds to the growing evidence that Main Street is, if not explicitly excited about Trump’s election, certainly relieved that the political drama of the last almost two years is over.
Recent consumer confidence surveys have shown a rise in confidence following the election, and other business surveys — notably the Dallas Fed’s reading on Texas business conditions — also indicate an improvement following Trump’s win.
And of course, Trump’s win doesn’t mean all of his major economic campaign pledges will come through. “Many promises were made in the heat of the election, but delivering will, as always, be a challenge,” Dunkelberg wrote.
But after the last six years’ gridlock in Washington, D.C., even the possibility of something changing has business and consumers feeling good.
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Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland
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