Kevin Price
What the government could learn from a man who makes US-China connections
By Kevin Price
On a recent Price of Business show I interviewed an interesting guest who provided some profound insights on the massive loss of jobs we are experiencing in this country. The US has had the longest period of near double digit unemployment since the Great Depression. With more than 14 million Americans unemployed, people read horrific news stories about more jobs being exported to other parts of the world.
Gary Young, President of a company called Avela (http://Avela.com), works with medium to large sized companies interested in doing business with the Chinese. Instead of a sense of guilt, like many in government and the media would expect him to feel, he believes he is helping fellow citizens pursue the American Dream. Unfortunately, they are finding it in the largest Communist country in the world. A country that, in spite of its totalitarian roots, has enough sense to know that you have to respect the means of making money if your are going to be prosperous.
Young says there are three reasons why businesses in the US feel like they have no choice but to leave this country. "Regulations, taxation, and litigation are chasing companies away." The United States has the second highest tax rate of any industrialized country in the world. Countries that were unacceptable for relocation a couple of decades have become hot spots compared to the tax environment of the United States. Meanwhile, the US has one of the most friendly environments towards hostile legal actions of any country in the world. While many countries have a "losers pay" approach that puts a check on frivolous lawsuits; in this country anyone can sue and they often do, putting a drain on business activity and creating a reluctance towards entrepreneurs for starting a company in the first place. Finally, the US literally adds thousands of pages to the Federal Register of Regulations each year. These regulations put an enormous burden on companies and on those who want to start businesses. Ironically, these regulations chase companies off of our shores and then our government give these businesses exemptions because our citizens still want their products.
Young's observations about the US economy are sound, important, and should be taken seriously by policy makers in Washington, DC. Businesses are not leaving this country because of a lack of patriotism, but because of a responsibility to their stockholders in getting the highest return and to their customers in providing the best value. In a way, they are being very patriotic. Those lacking patriotism are the policy makers who create a hostile environment that make businesses feel compelled to leave this country in the first place. If we want to keep jobs in America, the US is going to have to be competitive in creating an environment that encourage companies to stay here.
© Kevin Price
July 29, 2011
On a recent Price of Business show I interviewed an interesting guest who provided some profound insights on the massive loss of jobs we are experiencing in this country. The US has had the longest period of near double digit unemployment since the Great Depression. With more than 14 million Americans unemployed, people read horrific news stories about more jobs being exported to other parts of the world.
Gary Young, President of a company called Avela (http://Avela.com), works with medium to large sized companies interested in doing business with the Chinese. Instead of a sense of guilt, like many in government and the media would expect him to feel, he believes he is helping fellow citizens pursue the American Dream. Unfortunately, they are finding it in the largest Communist country in the world. A country that, in spite of its totalitarian roots, has enough sense to know that you have to respect the means of making money if your are going to be prosperous.
Young says there are three reasons why businesses in the US feel like they have no choice but to leave this country. "Regulations, taxation, and litigation are chasing companies away." The United States has the second highest tax rate of any industrialized country in the world. Countries that were unacceptable for relocation a couple of decades have become hot spots compared to the tax environment of the United States. Meanwhile, the US has one of the most friendly environments towards hostile legal actions of any country in the world. While many countries have a "losers pay" approach that puts a check on frivolous lawsuits; in this country anyone can sue and they often do, putting a drain on business activity and creating a reluctance towards entrepreneurs for starting a company in the first place. Finally, the US literally adds thousands of pages to the Federal Register of Regulations each year. These regulations put an enormous burden on companies and on those who want to start businesses. Ironically, these regulations chase companies off of our shores and then our government give these businesses exemptions because our citizens still want their products.
Young's observations about the US economy are sound, important, and should be taken seriously by policy makers in Washington, DC. Businesses are not leaving this country because of a lack of patriotism, but because of a responsibility to their stockholders in getting the highest return and to their customers in providing the best value. In a way, they are being very patriotic. Those lacking patriotism are the policy makers who create a hostile environment that make businesses feel compelled to leave this country in the first place. If we want to keep jobs in America, the US is going to have to be competitive in creating an environment that encourage companies to stay here.
© Kevin Price
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