Right to Start Issues A “Field Guide For Policymakers”
The Field Guide Recommends Policies at the Federal, State, and Local Levels to Expand Entrepreneurship, which is Essential to Economic Recovery Nationwide
Right to Start, a national movement advancing entrepreneurship as a community priority throughout the United States, issued today the “Right to Start Field Guide for Policymakers.”
Read the full text of the “Right to Start Field Guide for Policymakers”
Entrepreneurship is essential to America’s economic recovery and should be prioritized by every community in the nation. The Field Guide recommends policies needed at the federal, state, and local levels to expand entrepreneurial opportunity. It is designed to inform elected and appointed officials, candidates for office, civic leaders, and the public to elevate discussion in this electoral season of ways to enhance entrepreneurship nationwide.
The stakes are huge. Twenty-two percent of all US businesses – at least 3.3 million – have shut down from the pandemic. Our most vulnerable communities have been hit hardest. Thirty-two percent of Hispanic-owned and forty-one percent of Black-owned businesses have shut down. More than 16 million people are unemployed. Inequality is increasing. Wages for many have been stagnant for decades. New business creation is at the lowest rate in over 40 years.
Expanding entrepreneurial opportunity leads to more jobs, greater productivity, wealthier communities, and broadly shared prosperity. New businesses create virtually all job growth, including replacing jobs lost. New businesses are leading indicators of GDP growth. People who start businesses earn higher lifetime incomes. More businesses correlate to higher average incomes in communities. More new businesses starting correlates with lower income inequality.
The Field Guide recommends nine policies for federal policymakers, nine for state officials, and five for local ones. They address reducing barriers, increasing access, and spurring innovation, among other priorities. Each policy is concise and easily conveyed. Each is accompanied by extensive links to additional materials. The Field Guide is designed to be easily downloaded and widely shared to heighten conversation around this crucial topic.
“At Right to Start, we are often asked by policymakers what steps we recommend to expand entrepreneurial opportunity,” said Victor Hwang, Founder and CEO of Right to Start. “The Field Guide for Policymakers provides specific steps at all levels of government along a pathway to entrepreneurship. It offers guidance for government officials and candidates for office, and it informs public discussion in this election season.”
