In case you haven't noticed, the U.S. economy is a bit of a mess at the moment. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told ABC News Sunday that this is the worst economy he's ever seen (ironic, as he had a big hand in putting where it is, but that's a topic for another day and another blog). In this context, the upcoming presidential election is a crucial one that will have historical impact on America's standing in the global economy and its ability to compete.
This Friday, September 19 from 4:45 - 5:45 pm ET, the Kauffman Foundation will host a live webcast from the Inc. 500/5000 Conference featuring the senior economic advisers to the two candidates:
Jason Furman, director of economic policy for the Obama campaign, and Doug Holtz-Eakin, director of economic policy for the McCain campaign, will provide insights into the candidates' thoughts and plans regarding taxes, job creation, credit, innovation, immigration policy, education, the SBA, and other issues that are critical to the growth and success of small and medium-size businesses over the next four years and beyond.
No registration is necessary. Simply direct your browser to www.kauffman.org/economicpolicy at 4:45pm ET on Friday.
Yes, I hope the things get better post presidential election.
I’m chalking my comment up to ignorance… but don’t we, the entrepreneurs of America, have the majority of influence and responsibility of growing our economy. I mean, I fully appreciate how much our gov’t screws up the economy… and they are really good at it… but at the end of the day aren’t we as individuals responsible for turning things around? At least in part?
- Mike Michalowicz
Interesting point, Mike. In an ideal world, it would be nice to think that the federal government’s policies have very little impact on the micro-business owner who’s bootstrapping their business. If they’re not taking a government loan or becoming a government contractor, how much impact does it really have?
Case in point from my own experience:
March 19, 2003, I had three new clients getting ready to sign $10K+ contracts. March 20 — the U.S. invades Iraq. ALL THREE back out of the deal because of the economic uncertainty (they were all car dealers). No question — the Iraq war personally cost me $40,000.
The examples are numerous. The cost of gas is dramatically affecting small businesses — not only those that have company vehicles themselves, but also those that use courier or delivery services, whose costs are skyrocketing.
We keep being told that small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Yet AIG gets an $80 billion bailout from the government while thousands of microbusinesses fail every year? There are over 500,000 business closures every year. $80B/500K = $160,000. What would have been the net economic impact of providing all those businesses $160K in funding? I believe it would have been far greater then the impact of saving one poorly-managed financial institution.
I’m not saying we should have doled out $160K to 500,000 small businesses, but just making the point that our government isn’t really supporting small business on anything like the level it should, considering the potential impact on the economy.