The president has been out speaking on the economy. He has been encouraging businesses to start hiring more people and start paying workers higher wages. A recent survey indicates that will be happening.

But Dr. Merrill Matthews of the Institute for Policy Innovation explains that these changes in the business mindset are not due to the president’s speeches. They are due to his decision to postpone the business mandate.

First, let’s look at the survey of small businesses done two weeks ago. The pollsters discovered that 24.4 percent of small business owners surveyed plan to invest in equipment and facilities over the next year. They also found the 16 percent will hire new employees, and 15 percent plan to increase wages or other benefits.

If the survey stopped there, I think the president, economic advisors in the administration, and members of Congress might be convinced their economic policies are the major reason for this dramatic shift in attitudes among small business. But the survey found that it was business mandate reprieve that was the reason. Businesses found they would have additional money they would have had to spend and were willing to invest, hire, and increase wages.

Dr. Matthews asks an obvious question. If this is what businesses are doing “with a one-year reprieve from the Obamacare mandate, what might they be willing to do if the employer mandate were repealed?” I think it is reasonable to assume that the U.S. economy would take off. The economy would grow. Businesses would be creating more jobs. And wages would rise.

Dr. Matthews reminds us that this president “has imposed more taxes, mandates and regulations on businesses than any other president in history—with the possible exception of FDR.” We shouldn’t be surprised the economy is sluggish. We also shouldn’t be surprised what a little incentive (like postponing the business mandate) can have on creating jobs and increasing wages.