Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Donald Trump

Tweets directed specifically to entrepreneurs

All tweets here are taken from (Forbes) and begin with the address "Entrepreneurs: "

• "There's nothing wrong with bringing your talents to the surface. Having an ego and acknowledging it is a healthy choice."
• "Learn to trust yourself. Being an entrepreneur is not a group effort."
• "Look at the solution, not the problem. Learn to focus on what will give results."
• "Identify your goals, know precisely what you want to achieve. Then study the best people in your field and learn from them."
• "Keep the big picture in mind. There are always opportunities and possibilities & thinking too small can negate a lot of them."

Protecting American Innovation from China (Intellectual Property)

This quote is taken from Donald Trump's 4-tiered "Trump Plan" on U.S.-China Trade Reform:

"Protect American ingenuity and investment by forcing China to uphold intellectual property laws and stop their unfair and unlawful practice of forcing U.S. companies to share proprietary technology with Chinese competitors as a condition of entry to China’s market." (DTW - E&I)

Spurring Small Businesses through Lower Tax Rates

"Too many companies – from great American brands to innovative startups – are leaving America, either directly or through corporate inversions. The Democrats want to outlaw inversions, but that will never work. Companies leaving is not the disease, it is the symptom. Politicians in Washington have let America fall from the best corporate tax rate in the industrialized world in the 1980’s (thanks to Ronald Reagan) to the worst rate in the industrialized world. That is unacceptable. Under the Trump plan, America will compete with the world and win by cutting the corporate tax rate to 15%, taking our rate from one of the worst to one of the best.

This lower tax rate cannot be for big business alone; it needs to help the small businesses that are the true engine of our economy. Right now, freelancers, sole proprietors, unincorporated small businesses and pass-through entities are taxed at the high personal income tax rates. This treatment stifles small businesses. It also stifles tax reform because efforts to reduce loopholes and deductions available to the very rich and special interests end up hitting small businesses and job creators as well. The Trump plan addresses this challenge head on with a new business income tax rate within the personal income tax code that matches the 15% corporate tax rate to help these businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers grow and prosper." (DTW - TR)

Ted Cruz

Cruz's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Small Business

• "Instead of small businesses going out of business in record numbers, imagine small businesses growing and prospering."

This turns out to be false. The business failure rate in 2012 reverted back to the 2005 levels. [1]

Internet Regulation and Entrepreneurial Freedom

• "The Internet is the great equalizer when it comes to jobs and opportunity." (WPOPED)
• "We must promote growth in the technological sector, a consistent bright spot for the U.S. economy. But we won’t realize more of that dynamic growth unless we keep the Internet free from the kind of unnecessary regulation that is strangling our health-care, energy and banking industries... one of the biggest regulatory threats to the Internet is “net neutrality.” In short, net neutrality is Obamacare for the Internet." (WPOPED)
• Opposes net neutrality on the basis it stifles innovation (WPOPED)
• "Internet freedom has produced robust free speech for millions and is an incubator for entrepreneurs to expand jobs and opportunities." (TCW - J&B)

Tax Reform Spurs Growth, Growth Comes from Entrepreneurs

"Growth doesn’t come from government. It comes from individuals and enterprise. It comes from entrepreneurs risking capital to meet a need. Government is very effective at obstructing that creative process. If you look historically, every time we pursue out-of-control spending and taxes and regulations, the results have been stagnation and misery and malaise. And every time we pursue tax reform and regulatory reform, the result has been incredible economic growth." (TCW - TR)

Quotes Pertaining to Entrepreneurship/Innovation

• “One of biggest lies in politics is the lie that Republicans are the party of big business. Big business does great with big government. Big business is very happy to climb in bed with big government. Republicans are and should be the party of small business and of entrepreneurs.” (TH)

GOP Debate Quotes

• "The the truth of the matter is, big government benefits the wealthy, it benefits the lobbyists, it benefits the giant corporations. And the people who are getting hammered are small businesses, it's single moms, it's Hispanics. That is who I'm fighting for. The people that Washington leaves behind." (RD3)
• "On the business side, I've got a business flat tax of 16 percent -- again, that applies across the board. Right now, with our corporate income tax, giant corporations with armies of accountants regularly are paying little to no taxes while small businesses are getting hammered." (RD4)

Votes Pertaining to Entrepreneurship

(SBE Council Website)

• SBE Council KEY VOTES: In the 113th Congress, Senator Cruz voted for amendments to repeal $1 trillion in Obama tax increases and provide for pro-growth, revenue neutral tax reform; and permanently repeal the death tax. He also voted against an amendment to impose a surtax on successful entrepreneurs that would pay for student loan refinancing.

From Cruz's Jobs & Opportunity Page

(TCW - J&O)

• "The American Dream — the idea that anyone, through hard work and determination, can achieve anything — is under assault like never before. Obamacare, an overreaching federal government, and out of control spending threaten the ability of small businesses and entrepreneurs to create jobs and innovate. This has to stop and Ted Cruz has led the way to bring back jobs, growth, and opportunity to America."
• "Led the fight against regulating the Internet as a public utility because it threatens the Internet as a haven for entrepreneurial freedom and unlimited opportunity."

Bernie Sanders

From FeelTheBern

Supporting Small Businesses: The backbone of a healthy economy is made up of small businesses on the “Main Streets” of America, not giant corporations on Wall Street. Bernie wants to make sure that small businesses have access to low-interest loans and other forms of support, so that they can thrive. He has a record of supporting legislation to help small businesses succeed. [2]

Entrepreneurship & Innovation: The United States has long been a world leader in entrepreneurship and innovation, which in turn are the engines that drive our economy. To continue this tradition of leadership and growth, Bernie has supported increasing access to education and training, and opposing intellectual property regimes [3]

Bernie also has some fascinating material on patents here: http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-small-business-and-entrepreneurship/#entrepreneurship-and-innovation

Supporting Small Businesses

• Opposes tax breaks for corporations (BSWII)
• Supports low-interest loans and other forms of support for small businesses (BSWII)
• Supports net neutrality (YT)

Patent System Reform

• The way the patent system is currently structured has the effect of stifling innovation (BSWEI)
  • For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, much of research spending by private companies goes toward attempting to make drugs similar to those already patented rather than discovering new medicines and treatments
• Introduced the Medical Innovation Act in 2005 and 2007 to allow generic versions of new medications to be manufactured immediately in order to affordably satisfy demand, while introducing a prize fund to reward pharmaceutical innovations (Congress)

Quotes from the Democratic Debates

• "I think everybody is in agreement that we are a great entrepreneurial nation. We have got to encourage that. Of course, we have to support small and medium-sized businesses. But you can have all of the growth that you want and it doesn’t mean anything if all of the new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent." (DD1)
• “You would all be amazed… about the amount of information private companies and the government has in terms of the Web sites that you access, the products that you buy, where you are this very moment. And it is very clear to me that public policy has not caught up with the explosion of technology. So yes, we have to work with Silicon Valley to make sure that we do not allow ISIS to transmit information...” (DD4)

Rand Paul

Paul's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Rand Paul is a member on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Thinks the Government Should Stay Out of Investment

“Government is inherently bad at picking winners and losers" “In the marketplace, most small businesses fail. If government is to send money to certain people to create businesses, they will more often than not pick the wrong people and no jobs will be created.” (WP)

Paul Opens Up Tech Startups in Austin and San Fransisco

A day after courting young voters at the SXSW festival, the Kentucky senator opened an office at the Capital Factory — an incubator for tech startups in downtown Austin. Paul’s vision is for his Austin office to be a place for digital engagement and product innovation.

“I was glad to be in Austin and open my first tech office today,” Paul said. “Austin is filled with the brightest minds in the tech community and should I decide to run, it will be a very valuable part of any campaign. This past weekend in Austin allowed me to meet some of the top tech entrepreneurs from across the nation, and many seemed very receptive to a liberty minded message. Paul has made no secret of trying to win the hearts — and votes — of millennials, an increasingly sought-after group in politics. He’s been courting tech entrepreneurs such as Peter Thiel of PayPal and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and he plans to open an office in the San Francisco Bay Area." (OP)

Paul Plans to Run Innovate Digital Campaign

"Proud to open our San Francisco work space this afternoon. I plan on running the most innovative digital and tech effort of any candidate in 2016 and welcome any ideas. We need to defend privacy rights and support entrepreneurship." (Written on Paul's Facebook) “Some people might be thinking what the hell is a Republican doing in San Francisco,” Paul told the capacity crowd at the shared incubator workspace StartupHouse at 934 Howard St, where he has opened a “tech hub.” “I think young people are looking for something genuine,” Paul said. “You need to go where young kids are.” The Presidential candidate also facebooked a photo of the event, with the following status: "Wonderful time with entrepreneurs and liberty lovers at the StartupHouse in San Francisco. We are the only campaign on either side of the aisle that has tech space in America’s start up hubs of Silicon Valley and Austin, a Chief Technology Officer, a robust digital team, a tech advisory board, and a strong belief in privacy rights." (GSB)

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

(All Info found from Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council)

• In the 113th Congress, Paul voted for amendments to repeal $1 trillion in Obama tax increases and provide for pro-growth, revenue neutral tax reform; and permanently repeal the death tax. He also voted against an amendment to impose a surtax on successful entrepreneurs that would pay for student loan refinancing. Paul voted with SBE Council and small business on these key issues
• Paul introduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, S.226 (see SBE Council’s support letter here) and the National Right-to-Work Act, S.391. He also cosponsored the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015, S.378 (to end “sue-and-settle” abuse). Paul also sponsored a resolution this year disapproving of the FCC’s rule to regulate the broadband Internet as a public utility. He is a leading voice for auditing the Federal Reserve. SBE Council has endorsed each of these legislative measures.
• Access to capital: Paul voted in favor of the Jumpstart Our Businesses Startup Act (JOBS Act) in the 112th Congress, a bill that fixed outdated regulatory barriers to capital access, including a provision that made equity and debt-based crowdfunding legal.
• SBE Council KEY VOTES: In the 113th Congress, Paul voted in favor of an amendment requiring financial regulators to conduct rigorous cost-benefit analyses on all proposed rules.

Chris Christie

Christie's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Quotes

• "In these past five years, we have delivered needed tax relief to small businesses. The $2.3 billion small business tax relief package that we continue to phase in is improving New Jersey's business climate and making our state more competitive. That approach is explicit in the sweeping, bipartisan changes we've made to New Jersey's economic incentive programs."(OTICC)

Hillary Clinton

Clinton's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Hillary's four ways to jump start small business: http://www.inc.com/hillary-clinton/four-ways-to-jump-start-small-business.html

1. Cut the red tape
2. Expand access to capital
3. Tax relief
4. Expand access to new markets

"I want to be a small-business president, a president who does make it easier to start and run a small business in this country, so it seems less like a gamble and more like an opportunity. We have to level the playing field for our small businesses," Clinton said. [CNBC]

Support of Small Business

• Cut red tape in process to start businesses (HCW - SB)
• Provide tax relief and simplify tax filing (HCW - SB)
• Encourage tapping of new markets (HCW - SB)
  • Use innovative new platforms so companies can sell anywhere in America and the world (e.g. Amazon and Ebay)
• Improve access to capital by easing burdens on community banks (HCW - SB)
  • Easing burdens on community banks that provide credit to small-business owners and families looking to invest in their futures—without compromising protections for consumers or introducing new risks into the financial system

Technology

• "One of the best ways to drive jobs and improve our nation’s competitiveness is to invest in infrastructure and scientific research." (HCW-AI)
• "I understood that new technologies would reshape how we practiced diplomacy and development. We discussed how these tools were value-neutral. We had to act responsibly to maximize technology's benefits while minimizing the risks. Technology was opening up new avenues to solve problems and promote America's interests and values. We would focus on helping civil society across the world harness mobile technology and social media to hold governments accountable, document abuses, and empower marginalized groups, including women and young people." (OTI-HCT)

Quotes

• “We have to do the best possible job of sharing intelligence and information. That now includes the internet, because we have seen that ISIS is a very effective recruiter, propagandist and inciter and celebrator of violence. That means we have to work more closely with our great tech companies. They can't see the government as an adversary, we can't see them as obstructionists. We've got to figure out how we can do more to understand who is saying what and what they're planning.” (DD3)
• “I would hope that, given the extraordinary capacities that the tech community has and the legitimate needs and questions from law enforcement, that there could be a Manhattan-like project, something that would bring the government and the tech communities together to see they're not adversaries, they've got to be partners.” (DD3)

Rick Santorum

Santorum's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Ben Carson

Carson’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Quotes from the GOP Debates

• "America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity, innovation, and that’s what will get us on the right track now, as well." (RD1)
• This country was -- declared its independence in 1776. In less than 100 years, it was the number-one economic power in the world. And the reason was because we had an atmosphere that encouraged entrepreneurial risk- taking and capital investment. Those are the fuels that drive it. (RD4)
• Carson says he backs immigrant entrepreneurs — but the government needs to watch out for terrorists. (RD7)

"Small Businesses Provide the Entrepreneurial Spirit that Can Make our Economy Thrive."

• Believes the current regulatory climate has harmed the ability of small businesses to grow and create jobs. (BCWSB)

Proposes Repealing the Affordable Care Act to the Reduce Burden on Small Businesses

• "Small businesses cannot expand beyond 50 employees without facing significant economic consequences from Obamacare. [Carson believes] removing such burdensome regulations would boost small businesses and help jumpstart the economy." (BCWSB)

Increase Entrepreneurship and Job Growth through Flat Tax Rate

• "Diagnosis: A Tax System That Is Too Complex, Discourages Innovation and Stifles Economic Growth" (BCWTR)
• "Prognosis: Without Change, Our Economy Will Continue to Suffer

Our current system reduces incentives for entrepreneurial ventures and investment, and at the same time inhibits the growth of a vibrant economy. Unless drastic reforms are made, the American people will continue to suffer the consequences." (BCWTR)

• [In response to question on Carson's preference of a flat to a progressive tax rate] "What we have to think about is, 'How do we fix the economy so that it encourages entrepreneurial risk taking and capital investment? How do we create a ladder that allows those people in the lower income brackets to move up that ladder?' That's what we need to be concentrating on. Not how do we make them comfortable in that situation. That's not what America was all about. And we can do that." (BCEWJ)
• "In recent years, our economy has stagnated. I believe restoring free market policies, implementing a simpler, flat tax system, reducing the regulatory burden on businesses and reducing government debt will rapidly increase economic growth and jobs, allowing more people to achieve the American dream." (BCEWJ)

Carly Fiorina

Fiorina's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Interview on Entrepreneurship

• "Small businesses employ half the people in this country and create 65 percent of the new jobs and they innovate at seven times the rate of big companies. So small business is the economic growth and innovation engine of the nation. And while many small businesses turn into huge businesses, such as Google or Microsoft, a whole bunch don't." (INC)

• "Unlocking capital is very important, and of course since the financial crisis, the surviving big banks have gotten bigger, but the community banking system is really struggling, and that means small businesses are struggling. It is community banks that provide most of the capital to small business, and [we need to] start unlocking small business loans again."(INC)

GOP Debate

• I know more about innovation and entrepreneurship than anyone on this panel because I have led innovative businesses in the most highly competitive industry in the world for decades. The truth is the secret sauce of America is innovation, and entrepreneurship, it is why we must cut our government down to size, and hold it accountable. It's why we have to take our government back, because innovation and entrepreneurship is crushed by the crushing load of a 73,000 page tax code. (RD4)

• The point is Obamacare is crushing small businesses, it is not helping the families it was intended to help. So, let us allow states to manage high risk pools. Let us try the one thing in health insurance we've never tried, the free market. (RD4)

• "Small businesses are getting crushed. Community- based businesses and farms are getting crushed. Community banks are going out of business. Big government favors the big, the powerful, the wealthy and the well-connected, and crushes the small and the powerless." (RD3)

• As an outsider, I tackled H.P.'s entrenched problems head-on. I cut the bureaucracy down to size, re-introduced accountability, focused on service, on innovation, on leading in every market, in every product segment. And yes, it was a very difficult time. However, we saved 80,000 jobs and we went on to grow to 160,000 jobs, and scores of technology companies literally went out of business -- like Gateway -- taking all their jobs with them. (RD3)

• "The truth is the secret sauce of America is innovation, and entrepreneurship, it is why we must cut our government down to size, and hold it accountable. It's why we have to take our government back, because innovation and entrepreneurship is crushed by the crushing load of a 73,000 page tax code. It is crushed by regulatory thicket that is so vast we don't even know what's in it anymore. It is crushed as well by government bureaucrats who don't do their jobs very well, and who are not held accountable, which is why I've said we got to take our government back, and to do that, we have to know where every dollar being spent, and be able to move any dollar. We have to hack through this regulatory thicket, repeal so much, but, also, know what's in that regulatory thicket — we don't even know what regulations have been passed." (RD4)

Martin O'Malley

O'Malley's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

During Martin O'Malley's time as governor of Maryland, Maryland ranked #1 for innovation and entrepreneurship for three years in a row, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (MOW)

In 2015, O'Malley hosted a series of pitch contests for civic tech entrepreneurs. O'Malley used a more data-driven approach to governing, pioneering programs like CitiStat and StateStat, which tried to make performance measurement part of governance, and opening up more government data. (HP)

Small Businesses

• "I have spent most of my life in the private sector, running a small business in a state that, at times, seemed openly hostile to people like me. There is much more for us to do, but as a first step, I'm proposing cutting personal property taxes for small businesses. This burdensome tax and bureaucratic paperwork discourages the creation of new business, and drives small businesses and jobs elsewhere. This legislation would create a tax exemption on the first $10,000 in personal property, entirely eliminating this tax for more than 70,000 small business owners -- or one-half of all Maryland's businesses." (OTIC)

Innovation: The Key to Progress in Health

• Build on Affordable Care Act's success by "driving innovation in health across new technologies, new therapies, new sources of data, and new community health initiatives." (MOWHC)
• Innovation in paying for health care
  • Encourage states to adopt comprehensive payment reform
  • Improve value of medicare
• Reduce waste and empower patients through data and technology
  • Invest in health information exchanges
  • Give patients more freedom to use their own healthcare data
  • Prioritize data security in the transition to electronic medical records
• Invest in the next generation of breakthroughs
  • Invest in NIH and FDA research
  • Support promising therapies at every step of development

Quotes

• “Not only were we (Maryland) the first state in the nation to pass a living wage. We were the first to pass a minimum wage. And the U.S. chamber of commerce, which hardly ever says nice things about Democratic governors anywhere, named our state number one for innovation and entrepreneurship. “ (DD2)
• In regards to how tech companies are responsible for the encryption technology to protect personal data, but the government wants a back door into that information:
  • “So we're a collaborative people. We need collaborative leadership here with Silicon Valley and other bright people in my own state of Maryland and around the NSA that can actually figure this out.But there are certain immutable principles that will not become antique things in our country so long as we defend our country and its values and its freedoms. And one of those things is our right to be secure in our homes, and our right to expect that our federal government should have to get a warrant.” (DD4)

Jeb Bush

Bush's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

GOP Debate Quotes

• "Simplifying the code and lowering rates, both for corporations and -- and personal rates, is exactly what we need to do. You think about the regulatory cost and the tax cost -- that's why small businesses are closing, rather than being formed in our country right now." (RD3)
• "And make sure you enhance savings in the private market. The idea of 401(k)s. I have a small business that I set up. It took -- it took an arm and a leg to be able to set up a 401(k). Because of all the federal mandates and federal laws, it was too expensive." (RD3)
• "And if we're serious about being serious about high growth, then we have to recognize that small businesses right now, more of them are closing than -- than are -- than are being set up." (RD4)

Promote Innovation in Health Care

"Health care costs grow faster than any other sector of the economy and innovation lags. Why? Washington over-regulation in health care creates high barriers to entry, adds excessive costs, fosters excessive complexity and impedes innovation. Governor Bush will:

Modernize the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory morass and increase funding and accountability at the National Institutes of Health Promote private sector leadership of health information technology adoption and enable better access to patient de-identified Medicare and Medicaid claims data Establish a comprehensive review of regulatory barriers to health innovation" (JBWHP)

Entitlement Reform

Implement bipartisan Medicare premium support. Under current law, seniors in Medicare can choose the traditional option (called fee-for-service) or private health plan options (called Medicare Advantage). However, politicians, bureaucrats and lobbyists – not doctors, patients and innovators – decide how much government pays for those benefits. Under this proposal, private health care plans (like Humana and Kaiser), other innovators and traditional Medicare will compete on the best price to offer Medicare benefits to seniors. Seniors’ premium support will be based on the average of those prices – and be 6 percent lower on average. Competition will make spending more efficient, and seniors could pay less and have more options. (JBWER)

Innovation in Energy Sector

Reduce Overregulation

"Perhaps worse, such regulation saps America’s dynamism. We have, thus far, benefited from the Energy Revolution simply because Washington did not have time to quash it, but we will never know how many other innovations have been lost due to overregulation."(JBWE)

Sustaining Growth

"Once achieved, the nation must maintain higher growth with energy policies that continue to increase jobs and lower costs over the long-term. In the coming months, I will release additional proposals that will complement our status as an energy superpower by revitalizing our position as the superpower of energy innovation." (JBWE)

"For instance, we can further accelerate the discovery of game-changing technologies by boosting funding for high-priority basic research and increasing the effectiveness of our national labs. The private sector often underfunds energy research that could greatly benefit society. Government can correct that. My record and experience in Florida shows how world-class research contributes to jobs and technological advances that can improve everyone’s quality of life. "(JBWE)

Remove Barriers to Innovation in the Tech Industry

"As part of this national effort to improve cybersecurity, the government must not be an obstacle to innovation in the tech industry. The government’s power to incentivize and empower must take precedence over its predilection to regulate and constrain. Because cyberthreats are always evolving, effective cybersecurity requires continuous innovation, which a flourishing tech industry provides." (JBWCS)

"We need to transform immigration into an economically-driven system that retains and brings in highly-skilled immigrants. Such a system would help create startups and increase innovation. We must lower business taxes to encourage investment and hiring in the United States." (JBWCS)

"The Internet and innovation from the tech industry have enormous potential to help address public policy challenges. For example, digital connections between power plants, transformers, substations, and transmission lines allow for better management of the electric grid. With such networks, utilities are better able to anticipate, avoid, or respond to power outages." (JBWCS)

"The Internet is one of the greatest innovations in history and has led to unrivaled opportunity and a great leveling of the playing field for all. I will be a President who works to actually bring people together from both sides of the aisle, as well as the public and private domains, to better address the very real threats confronting this critical global resource." (JBWCS)

Education Reform

"Give states the flexibility & resources to create great public schools and allow states to expand choice for disadvantaged students and students with disabilities. And rather than tell states and schools what to do, Governor Bush will reward low-income and high needs schools who improve student outcomes with additional dollars. The federal government cannot run or fix schools from Washington, but it can make it easier for families, educators, entrepreneurs, districts and states to do so." (JBWER)

John Kasich

Kasich's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Mike Huckabee

Huckabee's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Small Businesses

• “The federal government needs to ease the regulation burden on businesses, and eliminate many of the fees, procedures, rules and forms that make small business so difficult.” (SBE)
• "Small businesses are the backbone of American life." (FBMH)

Technology

• (Note: this quote is from 2008) "A vendor experienced in political Web site design wanted $250,000 for a 3-month contract, plus 6% of contributions. We turned to some old friends [instead], for $11,000 and no cut of the contributions. Looking back, this was one of the most important moves we made in those early months. The Web became one of the most powerful, most successful tools we had for getting our message out and bringing contributions in. If we hadn't had such a fantastic online presence at such a bargain price, we would have never achieved the results we did." (OTIMHT)

Marco Rubio Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)