Freedom's Fire, Brightly Burning

NPR's Marketplace Morning Report this morning (6:50 EDT rendition) reported a recent study that found entrepreneurship is down significantly in the U.S. from 2003 - 2004. The study found the number of persons starting new businesses in America dropped by 4 million in 2004, to about 18 million from about 22 million in 2003.

The study, Entrepreneurship in the U.S.: 2004 Assessment, was conducted by Paul Reynolds of Florida International University and can be downloaded from the Entrepreneurship Research Institute website.

An excerpt from the Executive Overview of the report:

Section B of the report, "Changes over time", includes the following observations:

Key points:

• a doubling in business start-ups from 1993-1998/1999
• a further 80% increase in start-ups from 1999-2001
• a decline - possibly as much as 28% - in start-ups from 2001-2004

Who says the Bush administration is good for business? Didn't the Bush Administration try to blame the recession of 2001 on Clinton; then say that the recession was over rather quickly? If the recession ended so quickly, why such a dampening of entrepreneurship?

The graphs in the report also show that while the overall trend from 2001-2004 has been down, there was a small spike in activity in 2003, but that was followed by a dive from 2003 - 2004. I am not an economist, but I am not thrilled by the picture these numbers paint.

The "Changes Over Time" section of the report further noted, in analysis of surveying potential causes for the decline, that

Given the importance of small businesses and entrepreneurship to the U.S. economy, and the American values of opportunity, independence, and self-determination, one might think that the President would express deep concern and take serious action to address the decline in entrepreneurship shown by this study. However, during his administration, George W. Bush has shown himself to be anything but a friend to small business. For example, refer to the statement (pdf) by Senator John Kerry, ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee, on the Bush Administration's proposed 2006 budget for the Small Business Administration. Senator Kerry notes that

• The proposed 2006 budget of 593 million for the SBA is 12.5% less than the amount requested in the FY2005 budget; and 20% less than the actual FY2005 appropriations.
• "According to the President's FY2005 budget, over four years, the cumulative reduction in SBA's resources amounted to a 25-percent cut, the most of all 26 agencies. The next most cut were the Corps of Engineers at 15 percent and the Department of Transportation at 8.3 percent."
• The next paragraph explains that Senator Kerry had to dig for that comparison data, because in the FY2006 budget's comparison of impacts on major agencies, the SBA was merged into the category "Other Agencies" - as Sen. Kerry concludes, "essentially downgraded from the staus of a 'major Agency'."

In a press release regarding the removal in conference committee of an amendment to the FY2006 budget that would have restored much of the SBA funding, Sen. Kerry noted "Since 2001, the SBA’s budget has been cut by 36 percent, more than any other federal agency." Other recent Bush Administration assaults on small business include gutting the LowDoc program, a program that streamlines the loan process and is particularly helpful for rural loan-seekers.

It is clear from this record that the Bush Administration and the Republicans in Congress are not particularly interested in encouraging small business and entrepreneurship. In fact, if the study reported by NPR this morning and detailed above is correct that "those at the 'entrepreneurially predisposed' stages of their work career are very sensitive to slight shifts in the opportunity structures in their immediate personal environment", then cuts to the SBA which reduce opportunities will further reduce entrepreneurship in America. And as Paul Reynolds, the study's author, stated on the NPR program this morning, "if it declines that much in 2005 [as it did from 2003-3004], I think the country has a problem."

On the other hand - and I can't say it enough - John Kerry "gets it" that enabling small business and entrepreneurship is essential to core American values of independence and self-determination. John Kerry "gets it" that small businesses protect and care for their people and community better than large corporations. John Kerry "gets it" that entrepreneurship is the linchpin of our economy.

Permalink posted by MH : 10:08 PM