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August 26, 2004
Which Candidate is Best for Entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneur magazine has come out with a comparison of Bush versus Kerry when it comes to the issues facing entrepreneurs.
The favorable comments about Kerry tend to be specific governmental programs that attack specific issues with more government and governmental programs. "Kerry, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, believes the president has largely ignored entrepreneurs, in favor of large companies, and that the economy remains weak. Kerry proposes a raft of specific, targeted initiatives focused on small business."
"Bush believes his broader macroeconomic policies have steered the economy into safe waters and will ultimately benefit entrepreneurial companies." Get the economy on track and get out of the way, is the Bush message.
Most research supports less governmental involvement in the details of our economy when it comes to helping small businesses grow. In fact, this has been studied in economies all over the world. The consistent conclusion is always to offer education to entrepreneurs and then get the government out of their way.
Relating to the two issues that according to recent surveys are most important to entrepreneurs, health care and taxes, there are very clear differences between to two candidates.
Health Care
"Bush has advocated allowing small employers to band together and buy insurance through trade organizations, an idea known as "association health plans," or AHPs. The White House has also supported the use of medical savings accounts (MSAs), in which employers contribute a set amount of money toward employees' health care, and then employees cover the rest, up to a certain amount."
"Kerry is touting a different health-care plan, a broader initiative that would make Washington responsible for insuring the uninsured and would subsidize many small companies, giving them refundable tax credits of up to 50 percent for health insurance they buy for their workers....Kerry's plan is broader than Bush's and would likely insure more workers; however, it also promises to be much more expensive."
Your choice? If you want to solve health care with a big, new, expensive government program vote for Kerry.
Taxes
"Bush plans to make permanent his 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, worth some $1.3 trillion, a move he says will keep the economy growing. Bush also wants to make permanent his cut on corporate dividends and the estate tax, which is scheduled to expire in less than a decade."
"Kerry, meanwhile, wants to repeal the tax cuts for families making more than $200,000 per year to pay off the deficit and spend more money on health care and other programs. At the same time, Kerry is planning a cut in corporate taxes of roughly 5 percent."
Your choice? If you believe that the key to growth is to raise taxes on successful entrepreneurs (who have created almost all of the new jobs in our economy) and cut taxes for big corporations (which have created no new jobs for decades) vote for Kerry.
Rarely is the choice so clearly delineated between to candidates.
Posted August 26, 2004 07:20 AM
at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He consults with a variety of businesses on start-up and growth related issues, and with larger corporations on re-establishing entrepreneurial cultures within their organizations. Dr. Cornwall's current research interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics. He has authored or co-authored four books.
