A sizeable accounting firm that is especially active in the greater Philadelphia / Southern New Jersey area sent a detailed questionnaire to its clients.
Question: Does your business plan on hiring in the next 3 – 6 months – 16%; 6 – 12 months – 11%; currently hiring – 13%; No plans to hire – 5%; No answer – 3%.
Question: Both NJ and PA governors are ruthlessly cracking down on their respective state budgets to “do the right things, for the right reasons, even in the most challenging times.” Do you agree with their viewpoints? Yes, the state’s future is just as important – 85%
Question: Is your company: Getting better – 26%; Stable – 47%; Slipping – 27%
Question: What is today’s most important national issue? Jobs – 62%; The Deficit – 23%; Healthcare – 7%; Taxes – 4%; Impending Inflation – 4%.
How can business leaders discern little if any economic improvement, consider jobs to be overwhelmingly the most important issue, and yet be so adamant in favor of reducing the deficit which results in immediate greater unemployment and a greater likelihood of a ‘double dip’ recession?
I’m shaking mine as well. It is happening across the country and in the federal budget. Steering the ship of state into a bigger economic mess.