It’s hard to find common ground between the two parties in Washington these days, but getting America out of this protracted entrepreneurial slump should be an urgent national priority. Here’s one idea that ought to appeal to both sides: Enable the nation’s credit unions to invest more in new and small businesses.
One of the most important measures of U.S. economic dynamism is the rate of new business creation. Unfortunately, the number of start-ups has been declining for three decades. In fact, more businesses are dying than being born.
According to the Kauffman Foundation, new businesses (those less than five years old) are responsible for nearly all net job creation in America. And businesses less than one year old have created an average of 1.5 million jobs per year for the last three decades.
And it’s not just jobs; start-ups also drive innovation. New enterprises “commercialized most of the seminal technologies of the past several centuries, including the car, the airplane, the telegraph, the telephone, the computer and the Internet search engine,” notes Brookings Institution economist Robert Litan.
Continue reading at The Hill.
