An Election about the Economy Will Really Be About Entrepreneurs

By Carl Schramm

For the first time in our history entrepreneurs are becoming part of the political furniture. Speakers at both the Republican and Democratic conventions mentioned small businesses, firms with fewer than 500 employees, endlessly - actually 106 times.

Small business is an expected mainstay of convention rhetoric. But, the debut of entrepreneurs as the people who form our new firms is critical because they were, accurately, described as the people who take risks and create, according to the Kauffman Foundation, over sixty percent of all new jobs in our economy.

Starting more new firms is not only the best path to resolving the recession; they are the principal source of wealth for America's future. In fact, Republican speakers described the role they play in the economy 13 times while Democrats did 9 times. Joseph Schumpeter would be smiling that the little guys, the entrepreneurs, the people who challenge the incumbent firms with their upstart startups, the causers of all the "creative destruction" that drive government regulators crazy, the new companies that seem to relish what he called the "gales" of competition that big companies fear, are somehow beginning to be seen as the champions they are. Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration, said "America's entrepreneurs are our greatest asset" during her speech to the Democratic convention. [more...]

The Economic Ignorance Gap between Liberals and Conservatives

By Wayne Allyn Root

There are two Americas. The first America is represented by those who work in the government sector (those who almost always support Obama and vote for Democrats), and who think the private sector is doing just fine. The second America is represented by private sector entrepreneurs, small business owners, and job creators (who almost always support conservative candidates and causes) who know the terrible truth - the economy is in horrible shape. The difference between these two Americas is due to economic ignorance.

To save America, we must ignore those in the government sector and start listening to those in the private sector who are living at "ground zero." They are the experts. They have the "boots on the ground." They understand first-hand what Obama’s policies have wrought: complete economic collapse. The dirty little secret rarely discussed or explained by the media and pollsters is the economic ignorance gap between what conservatives think of the economy versus what liberals think. [more...]

Tax Cuts, the Buffett Rule and the Election

By Richard Bernstein

I believe business owners tend to pay their “fair share” - the top 10% of income earners pay 71% of all federal income taxes paid. The United States, as of April 2012, has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. That means that together with personal and corporate taxes, our government is generating the highest tax base in the world. The Buffett Rule isn’t about money and rewards at all but about creating controversy and stirring up resentment between different levels of income earners. The numbers aren’t overwhelming; according to projections, the Buffett Rule would only raise $4.6 billion, which could easily be found by cutting wasteful spending. Additionally, since the Buffett rule doesn’t distinguish between classes of income, it could have a negative effect on investment. Capital gains taxes, for example, currently at 15%, would go up to 30% for high income earners who, for the most part, are capitalizing many of America’s new businesses that create new American jobs. [more...]

OPEC Meeting Could Throw Off Global Energy Markets

By Will McAndrew

This Thursday the leaders of OPEC will meet in Vienna to try to stabilize global oil prices. Over the last two months we’ve seen about a 20 percent drop in oil prices. While that may be good news for Americans at the pump, there are many other factors at work here. First, OPEC wants to see consistency in oil prices. The last thing they want to see is the situation they had three years ago when the price of oil went down to about $30 per barrel. OPEC wants to see oil at $100 per barrel, which is a good number for all of them. If that doesn’t happen, things could get pretty contentious. [more...] Note: Will McAndrew appeared on FOXBusiness.com and WSJ’s Marketwatch.com on this topic. 

Global Oil Price Drop Creates American Opportunity

By Will McAndrew

After watching France elect their first “Socialist” leader in 17 years, global oil markets are falling. It’s no big surprise; Capitalism doesn’t think too fondly of its socialist counterpart. That’s why oil prices fell as much as 3.2 percent after France elected Francois Hollande as its new president. As the European debt crisis escalates, more countries are starting to reject necessary austerity programs geared toward reducing spending and running a fiscally sound operation. The masses are actually calling for more government spending and more money printing. What the masses do not understand is that falling oil prices, and for that matter falling commodity prices, present a major opportunity for the United States. [more...]

America, We Have a Problem

By Christopher Markowski

The high priests of the Social Security and Medicare "trust funds" (whatever happened to the lockbox?) issued new warnings about the solvency of the "trust funds" they oversee. The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund will be gone, depleted, kaput in 2016, which is two years earlier than expected. Thank you, masters of the obvious! Matt Rutledge, a research economist at Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, stated in Investor's Business Daily: "We see a lot of people applying for disability once their unemployment insurance expires." Next shoe to drop: The Social Security trust fund, which goes to retirees, will be exhausted in 2036, two years earlier than projected last year. This, once again, should not be a surprise to anyone who pays any sort of attention to our fiscal situation, because like clockwork, every year, the death date for the lockbox gets moved closer. [more...]

Could Spain’s Reign over Dire Economy Subject World to Greater Downfall?

By Wayne Allyn Root

Write this down - soon you will tune in to the news and it will be “all Spain, all the time.” By this summer (and maybe sooner) Spain will be on everyone’s lips. You will wish you'd never heard of Spain. Spain could take us all down. This month marked the anniversary of the sinking of the supposedly unsinkable Titanic. Spain is the new Titanic. It’s already hit the iceberg and is sinking fast. 1,500 died when the Titanic sank. Spain's sinking could kill entire economies, destroy millions of jobs, affect billions of lives, and drown us all in debt. Spain is about to become a gigantic problem for the entire world. Unlike Greece, Spain is too big to fail, but also too big to bailout. The economic news out of Spain is very, very bad for all of us. The reason Spain is so important is because size matters. [more...]