Up and Running Blog

What Can City Hall Do For Your Business

by Tim Berry on March 7, 2012

This video from CBS contradicts much of my thinking on this subject: how federal, state, and local governments can boost small business and entrepreneurship.  Watch it and see what you think:

What I like about it is the quick rotation through real people, real business owners, making specific and concrete suggestions. It’s also nice that it has some snippets about what local governments are already doing right. It’s a nice touch to include some positive to offset the negative.

My thinking is that talk of taxes and red tape is mostly politically motivated. Throughout my lifetime, whichever party isn’t in power is complaining about red tape in small business, as if it were the fault of the party in power, instead of the litigious society we’ve all built for ourselves. And every small business spokesperson, when asked, says taxes are too high. I’ve always thought that real small business focuses on business problems, like giving value to customers, and leaves the politics for big business and big politics.

What do you think?

Tagged as: CBS news, crowd funding bill

About the author: Tim Berry is founder of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on twitter @timberry. More »

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  • Dave

    I think your statement only applies largely in software, which is one of the few industries not regulated to death. Once you have had government come in and shut you down for violating something in a maze of rules designed to give government the authority to pick and choose leaving you and your life’s capital stranded, maybe you would think differently. Then again, maybe not. Bottom line is that government doesn’t usually help people solve a particular societal problem. It generally erects barriers to those trying to do just that.

  • http:/seedsclub.averagepersongardening.com Mike the Gardener

    I agree with Dave. I have worked as a volunteer for a youth organization and the local City government was the biggest obstacle we faced in order to make the organization operate smoothly. They had rules in place that were what we called “control” rules, in other words they, the rules, did not benefit those involved in the organization, but rather the government officials so they can have control over the organization.

    Of course this may not be true of all local governments, but it was for this instance.

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