According to a study from the Brookings Institution, America has become less entrepreneurial over the last 30 years. Worse still, the study shows that for the first time ever, businesses are closing more doors than opening.

The last three years of the study -- 2009—2011 -- show the steepest decline in entrepreneurs opening new businesses. At the same time in 2008, entrepreneurs closing businesses sharply increased.

The study not only looks at the U.S. as a whole but breaks down metropolitan areas amongst the states as well. The study finds the same pattern across the U.S. within each state. It says the two have become "increasingly similar over time."

The study does not name a specific reason for the decline. However, simply remembering 2009 as the beginning of the Obama administration could help shed some light on the phenomenon. The president has not made it easy to be an entrepreneur in the United States. Tougher regulations and higher taxes make it almost impossible for an upstart company to exist in today's marketplace, much less keep an established business afloat. By forcing businesses to pay higher wages through Obama's "Raise the Wage" campaign, the unintended consequences will be even more businesses closing their doors.

Crony capitalism is working, though. As Scott Lincicome points out to Hot Air, the study states, "older and larger businesses are doing better relative to younger and smaller ones."

The study concludes with this dire warning if the decline continues:

[I]f it persists, it implies a continuation of slow growth for the indefinite future, unless for equally unknown reasons or by virtue of entrepreneurship enhancing policies (such as liberalized entry of high-skilled immigrants), these trends are reversed.

Here is a look at the chart: