We Have A Competitive Economy

“[T]he World Economic Forum has ranked the United States as the world’s most competitive economy for the last two years... Its statistics show that per-capita gross domestic product in the U.S. consistently has grown faster than in other developed economies since 1980. Looking deeper at the causes of American competitiveness shows that we score especially strongly not only in domestic market size (No. 1 in the world) but also in such areas as time required to start a business (No. 3), venture capital availability (No. 1), the cost of firing an employee (No. 1), ownership of personal computers (No. 2), university/industry research collaboration (No. 1) and quality of scientific research institutions (No. 2). The availability of venture capital might be affected temporarily by the market turmoil, and we should worry if Democrats gain control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in November because they might exacerbate what the survey found to be the two most ‘problematic’ issues for doing business in the U.S. —high tax rates and cumbersome tax regulations. But whatever happens in the next few months, most of the other advantages that have been powering the U.S. economy forward for decades will remain unchanged.” —Max Boot