Comments on: Young go-getters will end recession, not government http://katiekieffer.com/2009/10/12/young-private-entrepreneurs-lift-u-s-from-recession/ Presenting young professionals with choices through engagement in public policy Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:23:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: IntrepidRotts http://katiekieffer.com/2009/10/12/young-private-entrepreneurs-lift-u-s-from-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-12 IntrepidRotts Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:56:24 +0000 http://katiekieffer.com/?p=205#comment-12 Excellent & thought-provoking post, Katie! Entrepreneurs by their very nature accept risk and are forced bt the market and their consumers to innovate. Government often has competing lobbying interests to address that don't necessarily develop what the market/public wants or needs. Right now government is causing as many problems as it is solving - huge deficit spending and appetite for more taxes. Even harder is when an entrepreneur's own profits (=tax dollars) are diverted by the government to fund competitive enterprises and downplay the entrepreneur's innovation potential. A balance is necessary. So is fiscal responsibility. I look forward to reading more of your future posts! Excellent & thought-provoking post, Katie! Entrepreneurs by their very nature accept risk and are forced bt the market and their consumers to innovate. Government often has competing lobbying interests to address that don’t necessarily develop what the market/public wants or needs. Right now government is causing as many problems as it is solving – huge deficit spending and appetite for more taxes. Even harder is when an entrepreneur’s own profits (=tax dollars) are diverted by the government to fund competitive enterprises and downplay the entrepreneur’s innovation potential. A balance is necessary. So is fiscal responsibility. I look forward to reading more of your future posts!

]]> By: aguy http://katiekieffer.com/2009/10/12/young-private-entrepreneurs-lift-u-s-from-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-11 aguy Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:07:46 +0000 http://katiekieffer.com/?p=205#comment-11 <i>Consider billionaire college dropouts like Bill Gates, Ralph Lauren, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Michael Dell. </i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#History" rel="nofollow">All beneficiaries of the work at the US Dept of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and our universal phone service.</a> These things don't just happen in a vacuum; it's not an either/or proposition between no-government and tons-of-government. While Ramo's proposal certainly doesn't create jobs, his impulse is right on. We need government intervention in terms of money for R&D research, to spur as-of-yet uncreated markets. When things aren't profitable, we don't get market solutions (fewer "cures" for diseases than treatments for chronic ones from Pharma, fewer electric cars without infrastructure to support the new types of cars, etc). The government <i>sometimes</i> needs to take the lead to create a critical mass of development if there is not one -- so the entrepreneurs can then take the lead (we keep hearing about this new green jobs, but the gov's done very little in helping make that possible or worthwhile for entrepreneurs). <i>What if they have a brilliant idea that would fall under a different industry, but they can’t justify pursuing it on their own dime while the government is giving out handouts?</i> Sometimes the "handouts" help create jobs, though. Right now, we got small business and entrepreneurs unable to afford health insurance, so when a catastrophic cost occurs --> they're out of business. Workers at employers with great insurance are unable to leave to pursue their "big idea" because of the fear of losing insurance. Here, government can help people be more productive allowing them to be more mobile in the labor market. <i>A successful stimulus package? </i> Yes, a successful stimulus package. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091010/ap_on_bi_ge/us_meltdown_by_the_numbers" rel="nofollow">The market's gone up over 50 percent since March.</a> Jobs lag, but they always do in recessions. This was a big crash, but it looks like Bush/Obama's stimulus-es worked. Consider billionaire college dropouts like Bill Gates, Ralph Lauren, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Michael Dell.

All beneficiaries of the work at the US Dept of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and our universal phone service. These things don’t just happen in a vacuum; it’s not an either/or proposition between no-government and tons-of-government.

While Ramo’s proposal certainly doesn’t create jobs, his impulse is right on. We need government intervention in terms of money for R&D research, to spur as-of-yet uncreated markets. When things aren’t profitable, we don’t get market solutions (fewer “cures” for diseases than treatments for chronic ones from Pharma, fewer electric cars without infrastructure to support the new types of cars, etc). The government sometimes needs to take the lead to create a critical mass of development if there is not one — so the entrepreneurs can then take the lead (we keep hearing about this new green jobs, but the gov’s done very little in helping make that possible or worthwhile for entrepreneurs).

What if they have a brilliant idea that would fall under a different industry, but they can’t justify pursuing it on their own dime while the government is giving out handouts?

Sometimes the “handouts” help create jobs, though. Right now, we got small business and entrepreneurs unable to afford health insurance, so when a catastrophic cost occurs –> they’re out of business. Workers at employers with great insurance are unable to leave to pursue their “big idea” because of the fear of losing insurance. Here, government can help people be more productive allowing them to be more mobile in the labor market.

A successful stimulus package?

Yes, a successful stimulus package. The market’s gone up over 50 percent since March. Jobs lag, but they always do in recessions. This was a big crash, but it looks like Bush/Obama’s stimulus-es worked.

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