If it makes anyone feel better,

Economic confidence among America's small business owners plummeted in November, as more owners cited serious concerns about cash flow and saw economic conditions for their own businesses getting worse. The Discover Small Business Watch index fell 12 points in November to 76.5 from 88.5 in October.

November Highlights:

* The mood of small business owners generally has soured in November for three straight years, as economic confidence dropped from October to November in 2007 and 2008. The November 2008 index of 67.5 is the low point for the Watch since it started in August 2006.

* 52 percent of owners say they have experienced cash flow issues in the past 90 days, up from 44 percent in October. Forty-one percent of owners say they have not experienced cash flow issues, which is the lowest response in this category since the Watch began. The remaining 6 percent said they weren't sure.

* 53 percent of small business owners see conditions getting worse in the next six months, up from 43 percent in October; while 19 percent report that conditions are improving, a sharp decline from 29 percent in October; 23 percent see conditions as the same, and 5 percent weren't sure.

* 62 percent of small business owners rate the economy as poor, an increase from 55 percent in October; 30 percent rate it as fair, and 8 percent say it is good or excellent.

* Only 23 percent of merchants believe that the worst of the recession is behind us, yet only 5.7 percent expect their businesses to fail.

* 47.3 percent of merchants disagree or strongly disagree with the statement "The worst effects of the recession are behind us." 23.2 percent of merchants believe that the worst of the recession's effects are behind us and 29.6 percent neither agree nor disagree.

* 42.1 percent of merchants said they would not start their business again in today's economic climate. When responses from retailers are isolated, the figure increased by 9.2 percent, with 51.3 percent of retailers saying they would not start t

Holiday Outlook

General outlook is grim for the 2009 holiday season, with six in ten merchants saying they do not expect an uptick in sales revenues over the next 90 days (November through January) over the past 90 days (August through October). Nearly seven in ten merchants expect 2009 to rival 2008 in terms of poor sales.

* 60.1 percent of small business owners expect sales revenues to decline or remain relatively the same over the next three months versus the last three months.

* 68.3 percent of respondents expect holiday sales to decline or remain relatively the same in 2009 versus 2008 - one of the grimmest holiday shopping seasons ever.