The US is NOT friendly to small businesses

As a small business owner, THIS is exactly what I'd like to see more of. It's an article on the portion of the US economy composed of small businesses and their employees. The graphic says it all. Not surprisingly, to me at least, the US ranks almost dead last among industrialized nations in employment by small businesses. Turns out we're not so friendly to small businesses after all.

Obviously, inaccessibility of health care is a huge obstacle. But more than that is the lack of social safety net in general that makes the consequences of failure so enormous. Critics of taxes and social programs like to point out that people won't take risks if they fear too much of the reward will be taxed away. They completely ignore the other side of the equation--that people won't take risks if they fear the consequences of failure are too great. And considering the oft-cited statistic that 90% of new businesses fail in the first year of operation, maybe our society needs to think more about minimizing the consequences of failure for budding entrepreneurs than maximizing the reward for the very few that have the talent, persistence, and luck to succeed wildly.

In the debates over health care reform, taxation, and social issues, progressives need to make the argument that providing a safety nets ENCOURAGES entrepreneurship and innovation...not stifles it.