Last Updated on Thursday, 13 September 2012 08:37 Written by dbhalling Thursday, 13 September 2012 08:37

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According the World Economic Forum (WEF), the USA has fallen to seventh in the world in economic competitiveness.  According to WEF the US was number one in 2008 and has fallen four straight years.  The Heritage Foundation explains that our debt levels and business uncertainty are to blame.  WEF dates the decline in US competitiveness to 2008, but I date it from the end of the Clinton Administration.  In the final days of Clinton’s term we passed the (November 29, 1999) Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999.  This weakened the rights of inventors by requiring the publication of most patent applications 18 months after they were filed.  Then Bush passed the Patriot Act, which essential meant Al Qaida won.  This was followed by Sarbanes Oxley in 2002, which killed off funding for startups and has decimated all the legitimate (non-political) venture capital firms.  These innovation killing laws resulted in the unbalanced economy that imploded in 2008.  Certainly, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Reserve and other non-free market institutions contributed.  Now we have added the America Invents Act, Frank Dodd Financial Reform Act, not to mention Obama Care and thousands of innovation killing regulations (Thanks EPA).

The solutions to our problems are simple conceptually, but difficult politically.  Hopefully reports like this one will spur American’s out of their complacency.

 

Hank Rangar to the Rescue