RSC Republican Study Committee

Washington, Nov 19 - The Wall Street Journal published an article today with a troubling headline: “Few Businesses Sprout, With Even Fewer Jobs.” It’s a fairly damning indictment of the Democrats’ policies and economic record. Below are some key excerpts.

• Job Creation Relies on People Taking Risks & Starting New Companies – “Research shows that new businesses are the most important source of jobs and a key driver of the innovation and productivity gains that raise long-term living standards.”

• Fewer New Companies (& Jobs) Are Being Created – “In the early months of the economic recovery, start-ups of job-creating companies have failed to keep pace with closings, and even those concerns that do get launched are hiring less than in the past.”

• It’s the Second Worst Performance in 18 Years – “The number of companies with at least one employee fell by 100,000, or 2%, in the year that ended March 31, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was the second worst performance in 18 years, the worst being the 3.4% drop in the previous year.”

• One Problem? Investors Can’t Sell What They Already Own – “Venture-capital firms that typically invest in young companies, as well as angel investors that focus on early-stage start-ups, are pulling back as they struggle to sell the companies they already own.”

• Another Problem? Washington Created Uncertainty – “Some entrepreneurs say it's not all about financing, though. They express concern about taxes, health-care costs and the impact that wrangling in Washington over the federal budget deficit will have on them.”

• And ObamaCare Masks the Cost of Hiring – “‘I can't determine what the cost of providing health care for employees would be,’ says Kevin Berman, 47, who is starting a local-produce company in Orion Township, Mich., called Harvest Michigan. Starting a company ‘is harder than it was at any time I can remember.’”