Under Obama, Regulations Have Become a Major Problem for Small Businesses

The National Federation of Independent Business regularly asks small business owners what the most important problem they face is.  Since Obama took office, government regulations have become a top problem for many small businesses as this chart attests (hat tip: John Mauldin):

No wonder our small business job creation has collapsed under Obama.  As if business owners didn't have enough to worry about with a struggling economy, now government regulation has started weighing heavily on them and increasing their perceived costs of any expansion.  Regulations cost money and jobs, it's time we dial them back.  And it's pretty clear that it is only going to get worse under Obama, Romney might be the only hope for small business owners.  Based on this data, maybe Romney's ads should focus on the regulatory burden that business owners face.