Do Small Businesses Really Drive the Economy? Listen Download Embed Share Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window) Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window) Share this via Email President Obama and North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue listen to Ervin Portman, owner of WestStar Precision, during a tour of the facility on September 14, 2011 in Apex, North Carolina. ( MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images / Getty ) Produced by PRI and WNYC