Money reports there were fewer small business start-ups these days in America:

Bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs: Now might not be the best time to launch your own business.

Total entrepreneurial activity in the U.S.—measured by the number of people starting and operating new businesses—fell to 12% in 2015, from 14% in 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by Babson College. The drop reverses upward growth in small business activity during the previous four years.

The findings could indicate that employees are satisfied with their jobs and unwilling to strike out on their own. But the research could also show a lack of confidence in the small business environment in the wake of the recession, Babson professor Donna Kelley told CNBC. The Small Business Optimism Index, a metric from the National Federation of Independent Business, has remained below its 42-year average since the recession.

I find it interesting that commentators keep throwing around “since the last recession” and “the wake of the recession” so much. Are they talking about the 2008 financial crisis recession? You know, the one that will soon be a decade past. Or do they really mean the current or immediate future recession? We are historically overdue.

Ebay.

This story is a little personal for me as I launched (full-time) my small business this summer. I’ve had several in the past – all failures. This time will be different (as I’ve said before). A business idea, even if it’s the very best idea in the world, isn’t easy to get off the ground anymore. Big, existing, and stagnant business dinosaurs join with the government to make the start-up process as painful as possible.

Aside from the licenses, taxes, regulations, inspections, prohibitions, and general meddling, the corporatist/banking/state cabal has seen to it that your potential customers and investors are not in the best position to help you with your incredible idea launch – they too still recover from “the last recession”.

You’ve got the likes of Speaker Paul Ryan who promises to crack down on job-taking and nightclub-shooting immigrants just after he rubber-stamps another 300,000 of them coming in on visas.

It’s amazing that any small business starts today. I’m not so sure about that idea of employee satisfaction with existing work. CNBC reports on the woes of “regular” employment, the loss of jobs and pay, even on Wall Street. This story deals with Wall Street banks – those very entities that OWN America… If their employees are getting the short end of the stick, what does that suggest about the rest of the workforce?

Anyway, I’m plowing ahead with my new enterprise. Of late I have finally developed an email list of sorts. Someone important once said, “You’re an idiot if you don’t have a list.” I was an idiot up until last week… In my defense, I was still recovering “from the recession.”