Business And Regulation
Our business community provides us with more than goods and services. It provides us with jobs that support our families and give us fulfillment. It creates the innovations that improve both the length and the quality of our lives. And it serves as an example of the benefits of free enterprise to nations around the world.
But in some cases, public policies threaten to slow the forward progress being made by our business and entrepreneurial community. The National Small Business Association reported in 2017 that the average small business spends $12,000 a year complying with regulations, and more than $83,000 during their first year. And for many professions, the cost of occupational licenses can price them out of business, since they’re often required to pay thousands of dollars and undergo hundreds of hours of training to become certified to pursue their chosen field.
Finding Common Ground believes we need to curb regulations that stymie growth and development, and discourage the businesses from expanding and adding more jobs to the economy.
Additionally, because laws governing technology and innovation generally lag behind the actual technology and innovation, we’re always in a state of playing “catch-up.” Consider the regulatory issues we’ve yet to answer:
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Should the government treat Google like a monopoly (like AT&T’s forced divestiture in 1982), and force it to break up into smaller companies?
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Should Uber, Lyft and other drive-sharing services be regulated by municipalities like cab services?
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And how do we begin to regulate the advances taking place in the area of genetics and DNA research?
Finding Common Ground believes we need to look for ways to encourage the speed of innovation, not slow it. That means enacting policies, regulations and laws that encourage people to find solutions to our greatest challenges; develop medicines and treatments that lengthen our lives; and create technologies that improve the quality of our lives. We cannot afford to slow the momentum that our medical professionals, entrepreneurs and inventors are making.
We also support:
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Revisions to the tax code that require all businesses to pay their fair share.
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Programs that train workers for jobs of the future, which will require not only high-tech skills, but the ability to grow and adapt with those technological changes.
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Public policies that make workplaces safer for employees.
Finding Common Ground
We must make it easier for companies to create jobs, develop new technologies and expand their visions of what tomorrow can bring. That means less government interference and more support for business and innovation.
