I think the intangibles don't get enough ink. When the business world perceives that an administration is anti-business, they will go to coasting mode, so to speak. They will ride down the street with their foot tapping the brakes. They will only use the gas pedal when necessary to just make it up the hill so they can coast all the way down the hill.
I have talked to people in small business and they are just holding on till things get better. They will not hire or spend money on capital investments. They will repair their machinery instead of replacing it with something better and more efficient. Alot of this mentality is based on history.
Most companies have their own culture. It is created form the CEO on down. When companies starts cutting back and having wage freezes, it's employees will reduce their spending on their own home budgets. The fear of layoffs start trickling down.

People see the president of USA as a sort of CEO. This president doesn't seem to have the best interest of it's employees at heart. The layoffs are constant. Job creation is basically nonexistent.
Until the intangibles are changed, we will not put much gas in the car. We will "ride" the brakes and not put the medal to the pedal.