Americans are a resilient bunch — including entrepreneurs and their employees and investors. According to the latest numbers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, gross domestic product growth accelerated in the first quarter as the climb out of the deep economic hole dug during the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Yet, President Joe Biden serves […]
In the political world, it seems like everyone — no matter which side of the aisle they reside on — loves small business. And they truly seem to want small businesses to succeed. Just not too much, apparently. If a business grows, innovates, excels at serving consumers and rises to become a global leader, the […]
The Biden tax agenda amounts to a comprehensive attack on business, investment and wealth creation. It is, therefore, also an assault on entrepreneurship and American workers. President Joe Biden and his administration emphasize the notion that since they’re directly raising taxes on businesses and those earning more than $400,000 a year, that somehow there will […]
For those who anticipated increased regulatory activity under the Joe Biden administration, their expectations thus far have been met. Increasing regulatory burdens always take a toll on entrepreneurship; small business; American competitiveness; and economic, income and employment growth. But ratcheting up such costs in an already grim economy is grossly ill-conceived. Consider two examples of […]
If you want to become overwhelmed by an online search, type “business lessons from 2020.” The list of results is lengthy, to say the least. I combed through an assortment of entries and found four offering value: Trust. Writing in the St. Louis Business Journal, Scott Scully, chief executive officer of Abstrakt Marketing Group, cited […]
The Federal Reserve Beige Book serves up an assessment of the economy based on information gathered from assorted sources outside the Fed. It would have been nice to see some kind of upside surprise in the latest edition, released Sept. 2. Alas, that was not the case. However, there was some modest optimism when looking […]
Innovation is the act of bringing new and improved goods, services, technologies and methods — that is, new ideas — to the marketplace. Innovation is vital to economic growth and improved quality of life. That’s certainly the case for health care, from pharmaceuticals to medical devices to the variety of ways for delivering services. Unfortunately, […]
Economic recovery and expansion don’t depend on the Federal Reserve running monetary policy. This vision more closely resembles fantasy than sound economics. The Federal Open Market Committee statement released on June 10 featured an understandably sober assessment of the economy, along with a pledge to keep the federal funds rate near zero: “The ongoing public […]
The coronavirus and largely necessary responses to the outbreak have fostered fear and uncertainty. Health risks, worrying about loved ones, lost jobs, small businesses struggling to hang on and wondering how bills will be paid have become harsh realities for millions of Americans. But for those who can look beyond the crisis, being stuck at […]
Square/Gallup recently published the results of a poll of small business owners measuring their engagement in the 2020 presidential campaign. Square/Gallup reported that 60 percent of small business owners said they pay “a lot” of attention to the campaign, while another 30 percent said they pay “some” attention. It’s not surprising to see small business […]