The opportunity for hardworking men and women to take a risk, start their own business, and climb the economic ladder is an essential part of the American Dream. Unfortunately, that dream is slipping out of reach for many Americans. With
small business creation at a 22 year low and economic growth
hovering around an anemic 1 percent, our country desperately needs policies that empower entrepreneurs to innovate and succeed.
As former Senator Phil Gramm and Michael Solon wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
[W]hen government overspends, overtaxes and over-regulates, economic freedom is suppressed and economic growth vanishes. When growth fades, it takes the American dream with it. Give America back its economic system of freedom and opportunity, and the ensuing growth will bring back the American dream.
House Republicans know there’s a better way. In recognition of National Startup Day, here are three steps that will help more entrepreneurs turn their big ideas into a reality:
- Ensure federal overtime rules are updated responsibly. Finding the resources to start a business and hire workers is hard enough as it is in today’s economy. The last thing that’s needed is another bureaucratic hurdle that imposes higher costs before a startup even gets off the ground. But that’s exactly what many are up against under the Department of Labor's extreme and partisan overtime rule. We need a balanced, responsible approach to updating overtime rules and there are a number of ways we can do just that.
- Restore fairness to federal labor policies. Entrepreneurs need certainty when starting a business. Unfortunately, Washington bureaucrats are constantly changing the rules in the middle of the game. The Obama administration has overturned a host of long-standing labor policies in order to strip workers and employers of their rights in union elections, empower labor leaders to gerrymander workplaces, and upend a franchise model that has helped countless men and women start their own business. To provide entrepreneurs more clarity, we need to restore fair labor policies that have served small businesses and workers well for decades.
- Help more Americans gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in today’s workforce. Entrepreneurs ready to hire often face an unexpected hurdle: finding workers with the right skills. Why? Because many men and women lack the education and training they need to succeed in the workforce. Congress has taken an important step by reforming K-12 education, and now it’s time to build on that success by advancing bipartisan solutions to strengthen career and technical education and improve access to higher education.
Startups and small businesses are doing their part to foster innovation, create jobs, and expand opportunity. They need leaders in Washington to do their jobs as well.
