“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary is warning that the US economy is on the verge of crisis. He said the cost of capital has “gone through the roof,” and small businesses will find it increasingly difficult to raise funds. His remarks contradict the latest report from the National Federation of Independent Business in June which states that small business confidence is up by 1.6 points. O’Leary said that figure does not reflect the reality on the ground.
“I’m in the real world talking to CEOs of small companies that are family owned in America in almost every state, every day. They’re not happy either. So I’m not listening to that data. I’m dealing with reality,” he said.
The President has adopted the term “Bidenomics” and said his policies are working and are popular with the American public. Small businesses, however, tend to disagree. Brian Maloof, who owns a tavern in Georgia, said he doesn’t know where the President is looking to find this approval. While he acknowledged small improvements in the cost of food, he added that other outgoings are still increasing and customer spending is falling due to the rise in household costs, particularly energy prices.
Inflation was named as a primary concern of small businesses in May, with owners also expressing trepidation about the economy overall. The number of firms that said inflation had hit them hard rose by 2% between April and May. Under the Biden administration, the cost of living has exploded by 18.3%, but the President said he will not take the blame and insisted he inherited a troubled economy from Donald Trump.
The White House says its top economic priority is to reduce inflation and it will do so by “asking the large corporations and the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.” The government’s plans furthermore include helping American farmers to boost food production and lowering the cost of energy by releasing millions of barrels from the Strategic Oil Reserve.
