Although both candidates talked about their intent to support small business last night at the debate here at Belmont, neither candidate is putting forward a platform that addresses what is really needed to rev up the entrepreneurial economy.
Sen. Obama's distrust of free markets was made very clear to all last evening. And Sen. McCain showed himself to be another big government Republican.
Entrepreneurs need lower taxes and a government that gets out of their way. We don't need the active help of government to find opportunity and build successful ventures.
There is a good chance that successful entrepreneurs will feel the pinch of higher federal taxes in the US over the coming years.
In the US, many entrepreneurs also have the added burden of high state and local taxes. But many businesses are not as tied to a specific place as they used to be.
"The modern market is characterized by mobile capital and labor. Therefore, companies will locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage," said Tax Foundation Staff Economist Josh Barro, the study's author. "States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth."
The Tax Foundation has issued their 2009 State Business Tax Climate Tax Index. The 10 best states (i.e., lowest tax burden) are:
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Wyoming
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South Dakota
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Nevada
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Alaska
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Florida
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Montana
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Texas
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New Hampshire
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Oregon
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Delaware
I've been scanning some of your previous posts on the other site, and in your new digs. I appreciate the reason and thoughtful consideration that I've discerned. My reading hasn't been in-depth, but I've observed certain trends quite clearly.
Clearly, you're an adherent of the anti-tax, anti-regulatory, anti-oversight school of staunch individualists who would prefer that government just got out the way and out of the till.
Another way of looking at it is that government provides a stable and secure environment for business and an orderly market in which to do business, and for that, businesses OWE the government and the society at large for the privilege. Unfortunately, the current government has been hacking away at oversight and regulation for some time. And the result is, we have what we have.
Being good corporate citizens should mean shouldering one's share of the burden. I think you'd admit that many of the benefits of this current business environment - medical coverage, paid sick leave, paid vacation, pension plans - that most citizens enjoy did not evolve out of corporate largesse. Perhaps you even enjoy or have enjoyed some of these benefits.
If one truly feels that government regulation and taxation are unbearable burdens, there are plenty of countries where you'd have much less of it, or at least you could buy your way out of it relatively cheaply with the right grease to the right places. Until the next revolution, yanqui. Then you might find yourself hanging from a lamp post with a rope around your neck, trying to choke out, "Help, police!" as your friends flee... for more civilized shores.
Cheerio.
P.S. Stop by the blog at www.TheManWhoBrokeTheWorld.com and see what the other half thinks.
Duncan,
Since you have only skimmed some of my writing please allow me to clarify a few things.
I am not anti-government. In fact, I think that the Constitution of the US created a brilliant model for government. Sadly, politicians, judges and bureaucrats have spent the last century eroding the liberties granted to us in the amazing document.
I am not anti-tax. I am in favor of taxes that are there to fund the basic aspects of limited government as defined in our Constitution. I am against taxes that have much more to do with shaping society and culture than simply raising the basic funding needed to operate our government.
I am not anti-oversight. But when oversight begins to erode liberty I do get concerned. I think we crossed that threshold decades ago. I do not think the current administration has "hacked" away at oversight. Maybe the current administration trimmed it up a bit in some places, but the power of government (which is really what creates oversight) has expanded in so many other aspects of our lives over the past eight years. Some real hacking would do us all some good by restoring some of our basic freedoms.
You said: "Another way of looking at it is that government provides a stable and secure environment for business and an orderly market in which to do business, and for that, businesses OWE the government and the society at large for the privilege."
It is this statement that gets at the heart of our differences. Property and commerce were a right granted to us in this country by our Constitution, not a privilege that can be given and taken away by government.
Thanks for visiting my site. I hope you continue to stop by.