1/1/11

A Make-Believe Nation of Entrepreneurs

Conservative laissez faire Socialism-is-evil politicos and pundits never tire of telling us that the United States America is a nation of entrepreneurs. If by this they mean that our great economic might if the product of private businesses, small, large and huge, competing freely with one another for profits and share of the market in their particular industries, they unquestionable have a point. But if they mean to suggest that the majority of American citizens are entrepreneurs at heart, I, for one, strongly disagree.

During the course of my life, and having resided in various parts of this country—Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois and Maryland—I have personally known several thousand fellow Americans, and of these, only a handful could be regarded as entrepreneurs, not even in the loosest sense of the word. Most, to be sure, are disciplined, assiduous, reliable workers. Few freeloaders or malingers among them. But though they may on occasion consider becoming their own boss, not many are likely take the risk, and those that do, for the adventure of it, or, more so, driven to it by the difficulty of finding suitable employment in today’s job market, they soon learn that becoming a successful entrepreneur is easier said than done. The failure rate among would be consultants and small business owners is not encouraging. It takes a special personality and talent to start and keep a business running. Most Americans I know admire and support our creators of jobs and material wealth, but they themselves in order to survive need to work for an already established business or organization. If they can’t manage that, and soon, they might be forced to turn to the Government for assistance, and, inadvertently, crossing the threshold into Socialism. Conservative politicos seeking re-election take note.

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