(people's reactions aren't always rational, but we'd be well-served to consider there's some important problematic issue here)

Precisely the reason I posted it and I suspect it's also the reason the NYTimes published this.Not to mention it syncs with my personal experience. I think it's a major problem for the Dem party for a a long time, one that has nothing to do with the whole southern state strategy thing, but does have to do with the Reagan Democrat phenom. And I think it is not all imaginary though it shouldn't be laid at Obama's feet, it definitely can be laid at the feet of some Dem party ideology. I see the difference for friends and associates in small business between Bloomberg and DeBlasio administrations and also going back to Koch/Dinkins vs. Guliani. What happens nationally is the business-friendly moderates like Obama and Hillary get tarred as regulating liberal socialists of the party at large. Somehow Bill Clinton managed to avoid much of this tarring as to small business people, probably because he was such an huge talent at economic wonk talk. He just never seemed like the type to be waxing passionate about regulating this or that, what he waxed passionately about is harnessing people power

Edit to add: "incentivizing" ad nauseum is one of the problems. Building so many incentives into the tax system for this or that or another thing just makes more paperwork for the smallest and one-person businesses that they simply have no time for! So they are at a disadvantage to the bigger guys. It's nearly impossible for a sole proprietor to follow all the rules in NYC. You have huge overhead from the getgo because you've always got to be hiring people to help you follow the rules. Even simple free lancers have a tough time doing that. Many are known to avoid incorporating and hiring because it turns them into a manager no longer doing the work they went into business to do.

I know more than a few former Dems that have turned GOP once gone into business for themselves. So for whatever reason, they believe that Dem government stymies them more.