Posted on 03/08/2009 3:22:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
I haven't spent this much time thinking about economics since college, when it was my second major. I have dedicated the last 15 years primarily to my first major, computer science, and my first love, entrepreneurship. But that has changed in the last six months, although my primary concern still remains entrepreneurship.
I was invited by Tim Kane and Bob Litan of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation dedicated exclusively to the cause of promoting and fostering entrepreneurship, to a small conference of economics bloggers held in Kansas City recently.
About 30 of us spent a stimulating day--and two dinners--discussing the current crisis, the path forward, policy issues and a variety of other topics. (Read "Reconnecting With Economics.")
A growing concern is the current lack of policy to support entrepreneurship from this administration, especially bootstrapped entrepreneurship. As the government tries to assess what might stimulate entrepreneurship, I don't see many "practitioners" of true entrepreneurship represented on President Obama's advisory council. Who represents the voice of the bootstrapped entrepreneur in the government? Who understands the extreme cash-strapped conditions under which entrepreneurs operate? Without understanding, how can they design an effective system?
Yet, we're constantly wrapped around the axle of venture capital as the primary driver for entrepreneurial growth. President Obama has a few venture capitalists around him, including John Doerr. But Doerr has never been a practicing entrepreneur, especially not a bootstrapped entrepreneur.
In fact, this week, there was some whining from the venture capital industry about a tax increase for carried interest per the Obama budget proposal. The administration proposes raising taxes on these firms' general partners by treating carried interest, the portion of profits they take from successful investments, as ordinary income instead of capital gains.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2136635/posts
“Are you looking for a job?”
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Obama and his fan club might be viewed as Neo-Luddites. They seem convinced that everything that can be invented HAS been invented already.
Oh sure they are feted for their use of the internet as a communications and fundraising tool but when it comes to scientific innovation the first suspicious questions - foolishly and tragically - come from the greenies and Camp Obama dances the environmental jig once again.
Liberals are unable to contemplate any endeavor of man without peering through a political prism and their tax/regulate/subsidize DNA will always assert itself.
Great idea but Obama bureaucrats would attach so many qualifiers and red tape it would be useless to anyone who wasn't a lesbian halfbreed in a wheelchair.
Good article. But these days we are 100% on our own!
10 Legitimate Businesses You Can Start for Under $20:
http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/businessideas/a/10startupideas.htm
Entrepreneurs tend to have little use for union labor - why would Obama care about them? He’s all about propping up the giant old dysfunctional entities that employ his base.
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