The sting of higher rates/'Higher for longer in the trash bucket'?/Other

I've expressed my view of the pernicious impact of a higher interest rate environment that lasts a while because it comes after 15 years of easy money, and in particular for small and medium sized businesses who mostly have floating rate debt and needs the banking system for loans. 'Pernicious' defined by Oxford as "having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way." In the weekend Barron's (story originally written a few weeks ago), there is an article that touches on the challenges that small business is having in this higher rate world. https://www.barrons.com/articles/small-businesses-feel-fed-rate-squeeze-32586649

In the piece, "New York City- based chef Russell Jackson says finding financing for his restaurants has always been a balancing act. But the current combination of high interest rates, high inflation and tight credit has made it more precarious than ever. Since his latest venture, a fine-dining restaurant called Reverence, opened in late 2019, Jackson has kept the operation running with a changing concoction of personal savings, Small Business Administration loans, Paycheck Protection Program funding, private grants, community donations and his first ever corporate credit card, which is already maxed out." Jackson said "We went from manageable to unmanageable very, very quickly, because the interest rates basically quadrupled."

The article went on to say, "Roughly one in five small businesses view rising interest rates as the top challenge, and half of all small firms are delaying plans to expand because of those rates, says Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy with the US Chamber of Commerce, citing survey data jointly collected by the chamber and MetLife."

And the impact of small business, "Small firms are responsible for roughly two-thirds of all net new jobs and in recent year have accounted for 44% of all economic activity."