The Entrepreneur State - Safety Nets for Startups

Full Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/…

"Here's a new framework for competitiveness: What if the law were biased, not toward the oil and gas industry or the cotton farmers, but to the creative, the self-employed, and the entrepreneurs?"

Interesting article posted on the Atlantic last week. The author posed the question of how can entrepreneurship be better supported by the government. Both parties seem to believe innovation and entrepreneurship is required to jump-start economic growth and recovery.

But as the article pointed out, starting a company is like playing career roulette. Most companies fail, and the odds of winning are quite low. The downside risk of failure, and opportunity cost of lost income at a corporate job creates a significant barrier to entrepreneurship.

The author's proposal is to create a safety net for entrepreneurs, and reduce the pain of failure and increase the odds of success. Two specific ideas outlined was create new tax deductions for startups or provide subsidized healthcare for entrepreneurs.

What else can be done to stack the deck in favor of entrepreneurs? What else can the government, venture capital, or others do to increase the odds?

"After all, startups shouldn't just be for rich kids who can afford to take a chance on a big idea."