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Are we really trying to create jobs in America? Do entrepeneurs and innovation have a chance?

That's a question I keep asking myself. Recently, the Kauffman Foundation published a study on small business lending, the results are disturbing. (The numbers may not be exact, I'm going from memory, but they are indicative.) Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all small business loan applications were approved in 2009 with only 17% declined. In 2010 that number went to 60% approved and 23% declined. (The reason they don't add up to 100% is the difference are businesses that didn't apply because they didn't think they'd qualify.)

Now the number of angels have been reduced thanks to a redefinition of Accredited Investor, a definition that could change again at the whim of the SEC, not Congress. IPO's in the U.S. are almost non-existent, and has Sarbanes Oxley worked? Yes, it has killed the IPO market and has exacerbated shenanigans by unscrupulous CEOs. Crack downs by the FDA, constant bickering over funding the SBIR program (one of the few govt. programs I endorse), attempts to eliminate the Manufacturers Extension Partnership (another program I like), and of course the dismantlement of NASA are all causes of concern. The rest of the free world expects us to be the innovators so why are we trying to abrogate that leadership position?