More Authors Joining the Ranks

I was invited to join Between the Buyers ranks as a blogger earlier today. I thought I would begin by introducing myself.

I am a third year law student and I want to use my law degree to support small businesses in entrepreneurial pursuits. My background includes lobbying, sales, freelance journalism and archaeology. If I continue to have this much fun in life I won't end up working a day in my life.

My academic interests include tax policy, Roman history, and ancient law. My leisure interests include cooking, sailing and watching embarassingly bad TV.

My blogging interests will focus on whatever peaks my interest on any given day.

Taxes and Entrepreneurship

As the campaign season heats up and the two major candidates issue talking points that obfuscate what they will do with the Bush tax cuts, let us ponder a tax policy that makes sense for entrepreneurs.

We were told that if America cuts taxes for the wealthiest American's then they will invest their money to create jobs for us. Isn't that benovolent of them to want to get a return on their capital and in the process give us a few jobs? The problem with this stimulus is that capital is global and wealthy Americans' investments may not directly create American jobs unless the tax cuts are contingent upon investing in American companies that operate entirely within our borders.

Now I don't believe that Americans are entitled to having jobs created for them anymore than I believe that we have an obligation to create jobs for others unless our enterprise needs labor. However, I do believe that we can make policy decisions that reflect our national goals and values.

It makes sense to cut taxes for the middle class (35K-160K?) to allow the middle class to invest in their own ventures or the ventures of of their friends and family members. Not only will this allow for individuals to create their own jobs but it will result in spending on business start up needs. (office space, computers, transportation, supplies, hiring, etc.) This will stimulate the economy and drive job creation.

Furthermore, small businesses will create demand for professional services such as tax planning, legal advice and accounting. Rather than revisit the failed trickle down policies of the 1980's let us invest in gushing upwards innovation of the twentieth century. Let individuals prosper and the country prospers.

The Art of War: America

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President

Origins

In a 2002 meeting of Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair and George Bush it was reported that the American leader noted "the problem with the French was that they had no word for Entrepreneur."

He may have been right to support an ownership society (although the "workers owning the means of production" echos Marx) but he was wrong about the origin of the word. Entrepreneur is a borrowed word from the French. It comes from the preposition entre (between) and the verb prendre (to take). The noun preneur means buyer.

Translating entrepreneur literally provides us with "between the buyers." This is an interesting conception of the role of an entrepreneur even if it is a questionable approach to translation.