study ohios economic health depends on

Study: Ohio's Economic Health Depends on Being Friendly to Entrepeneurs and

Business

[WMDNewLogo-vsm.bmp] Therefore, based on this, with a liberal Democrat

Hillary Clinton disciple like Ted Strickland in Office, and with

socialist hacks like Marc Dann at AG, expect Ohio's economy to go in

the crapper. From THE Ohio State University:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's economy could get a much-needed jump-start

if the state focused more on helping small businesses and

self-employed workers succeed, according to a new Ohio State

University policy brief. But policymakers need to avoid methods

that could limit economic gains, the authors say.

"The January 2008 report, "Growth and Change: Does Enhancing Ohio's

Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Provide the Key to Growth?" was

issued by Ohio State University's Swank Program in Rural-Urban

Policy and the Exurban Change Project, both housed within the

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The

brief examines the strengths and weaknesses of Ohio's self-employed

workforce and entrepreneurial climate over time. It's available

online on the programs' Web sites,

http://aede.osu.edu/programs/Swank/ and http://exurban.osu.edu/.

"The report comes just as more attention is turning to signs of an

economic downturn. In the face of anemic job growth, Ohio's

unemployment rate increased to 6 percent in December, up from 5.6

percent in November. Both statewide and nationally, concerns about

slow retail sales, the housing market, gas prices, inflation, and

the stock market have increased anxiety about a possible recession.

"Boosting the success of the state's self-employed could be a key

factor in a turnaround, said the report's lead author Mark

Partridge, the college's Swank Professor of Rural-Urban Policy.

"Self-employment has been a significant aspect in Ohio's job growth

for decades, Partridge said, even more so in recent years.

"'Since 2000, if it wasn't for the growth we've seen in

self-employment, the state would have actually lost jobs,'

Partridge said. 'Our job growth in the first part of this decade

would have been zero.'

"In fact, between 2001 and 2005, Ohio's total number of wage and

salary jobs fell by 2 percent, while self-employment increased more

than 15 percent. In rural areas, if trends continue, the number of

self-employed workers will soon exceed the number of manufacturing

workers, he said."

"However, self-employment doesn't mean what it used to. The report

reveals that earnings of self-employed Ohioans have drastically

declined over the years. Statewide, self-employed workers in 1969

earned slightly less than the average wage-and-salary worker, but

by 2005, those earnings fell to just 65 percent of the average wage

and salary worker. The statistics are even more stark in rural

areas: In 1969, rural non-farm self-employed workers earned 4

percent more than a typical wage-and-salary worker, but in 2005,

they earned only half of the typical wage-and-salary worker's

income."

"'We don't know how many of these self-employed workers are just

working part-time, or earning some money on the side,' Partridge

said. But the trends are clear on the growing importance of

self-employment in Ohio.

"Unfortunately, Partridge sees indicators that many of the state's

newly self-employed are motivated more by desperation -- from a

recent job loss, for example -- than an entrepreneurial spirit.

'It's a survival strategy,' said co-author Jill Clark, program

manager of the Exurban Change Project.

"In comparing indicators of innovation and creativity, Ohio lags

behind national averages. Despite having the seventh-largest

population among states, Ohio ranks 29 in the number of patents

issued; 32nd in the value of initial public stock offerings by

companies; 35th in venture capital activity; 24th in the number of

scientists and engineers in the workforce; and 19th in industry and

investment in research and development.

"'Ohio is just not performing very well,' Partridge said. 'If we

want more creative, innovative small businesses, we need to provide

an environment to support that.'

"Clark said the state needs to recognize its strengths: 'We have a

lot of assets,' she said, citing the state's universities as well

as institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic and Battelle. 'We just

need to build on them.' In addition, she said, research shows that

existing businesses create 60 to 90 percent of all new jobs.

Programs to help both the self-employed and the state's small

businesses could have added value, she said.

"In one of its policy recommendations, the researchers urge caution

about a common method communities use to try to boost economic

activity: providing tax incentives and grants to local businesses.

Unless those incentives have a broad-based community impact, they

tend to provide benefits only to the grantee, while the remaining

businesses and residents pick up the remaining tax burden.

"'It's hard for the government to pick what's going to be a winning

industry,' which is what it is doing when it provides tax breaks to

certain businesses, Partridge said. 'A better alternative would be

to keep all taxes as low as possible to still provide the services

that are needed, and treat all businesses equally.

Strickland has already hinted he wants to stick it to businesses and

citizens alike with higher taxes...after all, don't want to cut

entitlements and pet projects, do we Teddy? Ohio is near the bottom in

business climate, and with the Dems in the executive control, it will

only get worse. If things are not corrected, Ohio is the next

Michigan...

Some of the other recommendations:

Examine ways to support different types of business start-ups in

different areas of the state. For example, successful new

businesses in rural areas will likely differ from those in urban

areas; research could determine the most effective ways to support

them.

Streamline regulatory processes and reporting burdens of small

businesses as much as possible. State agencies, such as the

Department of Development and the Environmental Protection Agency,

as well as similar entities at the local level, should recognize

that small businesses have less capacity for reporting and offer

ways to meet regulations with less demanding methods.

Find ways to remove barriers of becoming self-employed and starting

a new business. For example, a big hurdle today is the cost of

health insurance. If the state could reduce that cost, more

businesses would thrive and the self-employed could be more

successful.

Consider a coordinated, statewide effort to offer standardized

coursework for Ohio's entrepreneurs. Offered through community

colleges and universities, such instruction could include how to

start a business and identify market opportunities, including

marketing, accounting and legal issues for new and existing

business owners. Such educational information is already offered by

several institutions, but a statewide system that provides uniform

information and a certification process could call more attention

to such opportunities and permit continual review and revision to

reflect changing best practices.

Expect Ted and the Socialist Executive officers in Ohio's government

to turn a blind eye to rational thought....

I really like what Brian over at One Oar in the Water has to say, and

Couldn't agree more:

While the authors do point to areas such as keeping taxes low and

eliminating duplication of governmental services they miss the mark

admittedly through their lack of a clear understanding of the rural

environment and entrepreneurship.

Developing broadband services and health insurance options will not

create the appropriate environment, nor will sinking money into

universities for new "innovation centers." The elimination of taxes

and regulations will open more doors for lower and middle class

residents and will provide the incentive for the entrepreneur to

take the risk associated with an enterprise.

I found it interesting upon inspection of their sources, not one

free market institution was referenced. Ironically, it's the free

market think tanks that are in fact true entrepreneurs where as the

universities are free to research at will as the university coffers

are steadily filled with tax dollars, and this report demonstrated

this fact.