Is lending still tight? Many small business owners feel it is.

While larger businesses are on a path to recovery, many small businesses feel left behind. Small-business owners are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects, largely because of a greater regulatory burden, including the health care law.

Another concern is lending, which is still tight.

Many small businesses feel left behind in the economic recovery and Washington is not helping. In the recovery so far, many small businesses feel left behind. Initially, loans were hard to come by and consumers weren’t shopping. Now, small-business owners say, Washington is throwing up additional roadblocks.

In survey after survey, owners of small businesses report unbridled pessimism about the economy. The small-business optimism index from the National Federation of Independent Business — a major industry group for small businesses that surveys a sample of its members each month — is stuck at recessionary levels. In January’s report, released this week, expectations for business conditions six months from now were at their fourth-lowest reading in nearly 40 years.

Read the New York Times article here.