Fact: small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.  The SBA defines a small business as an independent business having fewer than 500  employees.  Firms with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 64 percent (or 14.5 million) of the 22.5 million net new jobs (gains minus losses) between 1993 and the third quarter of 2008.  Continuing firms accounted for 68 percent of net new jobs, and the other 32 percent reflect net new jobs from firm births minus those lost in firm closures (1993 to 2007).  Additionally, of 119.9 million nonfarm private sector workers in 2006, small firms with fewer than 500 workers employed 60.2 million and large firms employed 59.7 million. Firms with fewer than 20 employees employed 21.6 million.  So it leads me to the question of why does the government make it so difficult to own and operate a small business.  The very small firms with fewer than 20 employees annually spend 45 percent more per employee than larger firms to comply with federal regulations. These very small firms spend four and a half times as much per employee to comply with environmental regulations and 67 percent more per employee on tax compliance than their larger counterparts (See Chart).  Now add to that the recent Health Care reform bill that was signed into law this week, and the small business owner doesn’t know which way is up or down.  Below is a brief explanation of the timing and the scope of the impact.  So, I ask the question, does what happened this week make it easier or more difficult to start and grow a small business?