On the Sad State of America's Small Businesses

NEW YORK (Real Money) -- You want depressing? You want to know the real problem with the American economy? Go listen to the conference call hosted by Paychex (PAYX), the excellent payroll-processing company, which reported earnings Thursday.

This one was a real gut-puncher -- and not because of Paychex itself, which is a first-rate company and a known best-of-breed payroll processor. It was tough to listen to because an undercurrent weaved through the call that said, basically, "We didn't deliver what you wanted because the country didn't deliver what we expected."