Time for entrepreneurialism to flourish again.

[AthenaAwakened]

The oped is here
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/23681-did-reagan-kill-entrepreneurialism

It's time to reverse this trend, and for entrepreneurship to thrive again in America.

That starts with undoing 33 years of failed Reaganomics. Giant transnational corporations shouldn't be able to play monopoly, and they shouldn't be getting tax breaks at the expense of small business.

Similarly, it's time stop giving massive subsidies to large corporations, and instead encourage the Small Business Administration to give more money to true mom and pop kinds of businesses.

We should also listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, and strip federal highway money from any state that tries to lure business away from another state.

Next, we need to bring back the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, so that corporations can no longer grow out-of-control and eat up Main Street USA.

We also need to continue working on making healthcare more affordable for Americans, so that healthcare costs aren't hindering small business growth and our economy.

Finally, we need to wipe out all outstanding student loan debt, and make a public college education free in America for every student who is eligible. Millions of Americans will can then realize their dreams of becoming a small business owner.

Entrepreneurship may be on the decline, but we have the power to reverse the trend.

It's time for mom and pop shops to return to Main Street USA.

 

[Trausti]

So Obama has been president for nearly six years now, but we'll absolve him of responsibility for the poor economy. Better blame the guy who left office in 1989 and died a decade ago. Yep.

 

[Elixir]

So Obama has been president for nearly six years now, but we'll absolve him of responsibility for the poor economy. Better blame the guy who left office in 1989 and died a decade ago. Yep.

To some extent the entire six years HAS been spent trying to undo the damage of bushery.

I am an entrepreneur. And I just gave a three year notice to my partners. I am tired. Mostly tired of dealing with overbearing governmental restrictions, and requirements that compliance efforts be duplicated, re-duplicated and re-re-duplicated. It feels like we're being punished for trying to help them out. (We make life-saving products mostly for law enforcement and spec ops guys). We're much more efficient and effective at what we do than are larger companies, but the playing field is leveled for the big companies because all the regulatory BS takes up a much smaller percentage of their human resources. The fact that we have been successful, "enjoying" a persistent 40-50% growth rate since the inception of our company speaks to the enduring viability of entrepreneurship in this country - despite the regulatory climate. But it takes years of hard work, and I think a lot of people hear "entrepreneur" and think of someone who had such a killer idea one day that the next week they were featured in Entrepreneur Magazine with pictures of their yacht(s). There are a few cases like that, but there are probably more cases of people winning 7-9 figure lotteries.

ETA: FWIW I agree that Obama has done squat or less to enable entrepreneurship. Doesn't seem to be a priority for him or any other recent pres.

 

[fromderinside]

So Obama has been president for nearly six years now, but we'll absolve him of responsibility for the poor economy. Better blame the guy who left office in 1989 and died a decade ago. Yep.

Thom Hartmann wrote

A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that the U.S. has one of the smallest small business sectors of the 22 industrialized nations it studied, and the study’s authors pointed to high healthcare costs as one of the main reasons why. Fortunately, Obamacare is addressing some of the healthcare cost concerns that have hampered entrepreneurship in America. - See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2014/05/did-reagan-kill-entrepreneurialism#sthash.GZMfDjXV.dpuf

​
Try this instead. From Center of Economic and Policy Research: "An International Comparison of Small business Employment:

Conclusion: Despite our national self-image as a nation of small businesses and entrepreneurs, the United States small-business sector is proportionately not as large an employer as the small-business sectors in the
rest of the world’s rich economies. One interpretation of these data is that self-employment and
small-business employment may be a less important indicator of entrepreneurship than we have long
thought. Another reading of the data, however, is that the United States has something to learn from
the experience of other advanced economies, which appear to have had much better luck promoting
and sustaining small-business employment.
One plausible explanation for the consistently higher shares of self-employment and small-business
employment in the rest of the world’s rich economies is that all have some form of universal access
to health care. The high cost to self-employed workers and small businesses of the private,
employer-based health-care system in place in the United States may act as a significant deterrent to
small start-up companies,12 an experience not shared by entrepreneurs in countries with universal
access to health care.

Apparently US is near the bottom of economically advanced countries in self employment rates. Either stuff comes from big business, not likely, government funded research passed on to industry, could be, or we're doing something wrong about the workplace.

The argument from Commentator Thom Hartmann comes from an analysis by the Brookings Institute "Declining Business
Dynamism in the United States: a Look at States and Metros" http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/re...eclining_business_dynamism_hathaway_litan.pdf which I provide as a reference with which to judge Hartmann's argument which follows:

Similarly, the job reallocation rate, another measure of entrepreneurship, also declined between 1978 and 2011. While the Brookings Institute report stops short at addressing why entrepreneurship has been on the decline, it’s pretty clear who and what the culprits are.First and foremost, Ronald Reagan is to blame. Before Reagan came to Washington, small mom and pop shops were the backbone of our economy. You could walk down any main street or strip mall in this country, and it would be rare to find a big box retailer or a large chain store. If you needed groceries, you went to the local grocer. If you needed a new hammer, you went to the local hardware store.
But then Reagan came along. He stopped enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1982, and handed out massive and unfair tax breaks to large corporations and their executives and stockholders, all at the expense of the small businesses that had built the American economy. As a result, mom and pop stores began to close, because they simply couldn't afford to compete with the big box stores that were growing out of control.
- See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2014/05/did-reagan-kill-entrepreneurialism#sthash.GZMfDjXV.dpuf

Just so doesn't always do it. If the facts correspond to the opinions perhaps one should not just go poo poo. We are not talking economy exactly we are talking about why America isn't leading the way so obviously in new stuff that isn't just a way to use programming code.

 

[NobleSavage]

This story is all over the web. Not everyone blames Reagan.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-slow-death-of-american-entrepreneurship/

http://www.theatlantic.com/business...-decline-of-american-entrepreneurship/262831/

 

[boneyard bill]

AthenaAwakened writes:

The oped is here
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/23681-did-reagan-kill-entrepreneurialism

It's time to reverse this trend, and for entrepreneurship to thrive again in America.

That starts with undoing 33 years of failed Reaganomics. Giant transnational corporations shouldn't be able to play monopoly, and they shouldn't be getting tax breaks at the expense of small business.

What nonsense! The US corporate tax rate is the highest in the world. What? You want even MORE corporations to invest overseas? And how do does a corporate tax reduction come "at the expense" of small businesses anyway? Small businesses don't have to pay the corporate income tax so they already have a leg up on corporations. This is mindless rhetoric, not serious reasoning.

Similarly, it's time stop giving massive subsidies to large corporations, and instead encourage the Small Business Administration to give more money to true mom and pop kinds of businesses.

How about leaving the government out of it altogether. If a small business needs subsidies why should it survive. Eight out of ten small businesses do not last more than two years. I agree that we shouldn't be subsidizing big business either, but Reagan certainly doesn't have anything to do with that since he's been dead for years. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have blocked what few attempts Republicans in Congress have made to cut back on corporate welfare. But what Congress dishes out is chump change compared to the Federal Reserve which has bought over one trillion dollars of worthless securities from the Wall Street banks and paid book-value for them. That's corporate welfare on steroids, and it has all happened during the Obama administration with the complete approval of the administration. Attempts even to audit these shenanigans, must less prohibit them, are regularly attacked by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

We should also listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, and strip federal highway money from any state that tries to lure business away from another state.

Great. How do you define "luring"? I suspect that Sanders defines it as lower taxes. So what are we going to do, make all low-tax states raise their taxes?

Next, we need to bring back the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, so that corporations can no longer grow out-of-control and eat up Main Street USA.

Let me check. Yes. I've counted them. We've had four presidents since Reagan left office. So Reagan's alleged failure to enforce the anti-trust acts (is there really any evidence for this claim?) can't be laid at Reagan's feet for the last 25 years. But how any of this would help small business has so far been left unexplained.

Indeed, as Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone noted a short time ago, the Bush administration was tougher on corporate criminals "by far" than the Obama administration has been. So why are we looking back 25 years to find what is right under our noses in the here and now?

We also need to continue working on making healthcare more affordable for Americans, so that healthcare costs aren't hindering small business growth and our economy.

But Obamacare is making health care more expensive. So I suppose the first order of business would be to repeal it.

Finally, we need to wipe out all outstanding student loan debt, and make a public college education free in America for every student who is eligible. Millions of Americans will can then realize their dreams of becoming a small business owner.

Where in God's half acre are you going to get the money for this? Oh, yes. It just grows on trees so we don't have to worry about those problems. But still, we have that current little problem that many college graduates, and most recent graduates, can't find jobs, which is certainly one of the reasons why they're having trouble paying their student loan debts. But if there aren't any jobs for college graduates, what's the point of sending more students to college?

Entrepreneurship may be on the decline, but we have the power to reverse the trend.

Perhaps, but nothing proposed here would do any good. Nor is there any argument put forward here that actually supports those claims. It's sort of like saying, "I want to go to Hawaii so everybody pony up the money to send me to Hawaii, and that will solve the small business problem."

It's time for mom and pop shops to return to Main Street USA.

Main Street? How out of date can you get?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

AthenaAwakened writes:

The oped is here
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/23681-did-reagan-kill-entrepreneurialism



What nonsense! The US corporate tax rate is the highest in the world.

How much do they actually pay?

What? You want even MORE corporations to invest overseas? And how do does a corporate tax reduction come "at the expense" of small businesses anyway? Small businesses don't have to pay the corporate income tax so they already have a leg up on corporations.

how much tax do they pay and what percentage of income do they get to keep?

This is mindless rhetoric, not serious reasoning.

you appear to be arguing that big business is carrying a great tax burden and mom and pop shops are enjoying an advantageous tax status that big business wishes they had and TH is using faultly reasoning?

Similarly, it's time stop giving massive subsidies to large corporations, and instead encourage the Small Business Administration to give more money to true mom and pop kinds of businesses.

How about leaving the government out of it altogether. If a small business needs subsidies why should it survive. Eight out of ten small businesses do not last more than two years. I agree that we shouldn't be subsidizing big business either, but Reagan certainly doesn't have anything to do with that since he's been dead for years. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have blocked what few attempts Republicans in Congress have made to cut back on corporate welfare.

just democrats? All democrats?

But what Congress dishes out is chump change compared to the Federal Reserve which has bought over one trillion dollars of worthless securities from the Wall Street banks and paid book-value for them. That's corporate welfare on steroids, and it has all happened during the Obama administration with the complete approval of the administration. Attempts even to audit these shenanigans, must less prohibit them, are regularly attacked by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

the executive doesn't pass legislation and the house is in Republican hands. Do Republicans not take campaign money from corporations and their PACS?

We should also listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, and strip federal highway money from any state that tries to lure business away from another state.

Great. How do you define "luring"? I suspect that Sanders defines it as lower taxes. So what are we going to do, make all low-tax states raise their taxes?

lets look at the proposed legislation first. Deal with reality, not theory.

Next, we need to bring back the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, so that corporations can no longer grow out-of-control and eat up Main Street USA.

Let me check. Yes. I've counted them. We've had four presidents since Reagan left office. So Reagan's alleged failure to enforce the anti-trust acts (is there really any evidence for this claim?) can't be laid at Reagan's feet for the last 25 years. But how any of this would help small business has so far been left unexplained.

Indeed, as Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone noted a short time ago, the Bush administration was tougher on corporate criminals "by far" than the Obama administration has been. So why are we looking back 25 years to find what is right under our noses in the here and now?

because subsequent events following the Reagan Adm are not ahistorical. personally, I would not have harped on Reagan as much as TH has, but I do get why he did it, even if I don't totally agree with it.

We also need to continue working on making healthcare more affordable for Americans, so that healthcare costs aren't hindering small business growth and our economy.

But Obamacare is making health care more expensive. So I suppose the first order of business would be to repeal it.

prove it. And remember I know how to find articles too.

Finally, we need to wipe out all outstanding student loan debt, and make a public college education free in America for every student who is eligible. Millions of Americans will can then realize their dreams of becoming a small business owner.

Where in God's half acre are you going to get the money for this? Oh, yes. It just grows on trees so we don't have to worry about those problems. But still, we have that current little problem that many college graduates, and most recent graduates, can't find jobs, which is certainly one of the reasons why they're having trouble paying their student loan debts. But if there aren't any jobs for college graduates, what's the point of sending more students to college?

gee, we could start with corporations actually paying that high tax rate, allowing govt to do the shit ton of work that needs doing all across this nation but that private business doesnt see as profitable enough, and why not shift job training away from universities and toward paid apprenticeships and two year colleges. Just for a start.

Entrepreneurship may be on the decline, but we have the power to reverse the trend.

Perhaps, but nothing proposed here would do any good. Nor is there any argument put forward here that actually supports those claims. It's sort of like saying, "I want to go to Hawaii so everybody pony up the money to send me to Hawaii, and that will solve the small business problem."

It's time for mom and pop shops to return to Main Street USA.

Main Street? How out of date can you get?

instead of hating Obama, try helping a college kid

Again, just for a start.

 

[laughing dog]

So Obama has been president for nearly six years now, but we'll absolve him of responsibility for the poor economy. Better blame the guy who left office in 1989 and died a decade ago. Yep.

The OP did not pin blame on anyone. So what prompted that whinging non-sequitur?