Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine has it exactly right in his blog, What Grows an Economy. Economic growth in the US is a result of entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurs create all the jobs. In the past 50 years ours has become an entrepreneurial economy. The US must start thinking more about encouraging entrepreneurs and less about stimulus packages to bail out big businesses.
What can the US do to motivate entrepreneurs? Seems rather simple…make it easier to start and grow companies. Here are just a few examples:
• Lower taxes on those who provide the capital to start and grow businesses. How about eliminating capital gains for entrepreneurs and those who invest in startups?
• Fewer regulations on stock options for management teams that grow startups. Make it easy to motivate the key employees of new ventures with equity compensation.
• Free licenses of technology developed with public-sector funded R&D. The public provided the funding. Let the public be the beneficiary through a growing economy!
• And, there are many more. The US became an entrepreneurial economy without the knowledge or encouragement of the Federal government. The Feds have not helped…so just stay out of the way!
We don’t need stimulus and other give-away programs to grow our economy. We need less engagement by the governments at all levels.