Seeker Blog

The Kauffman Foundation asks the essential questions on economic policy — do you know how each candidate would answer?

…The central economic challenge for all policymakers is thus to answer this critical question: “What plans do they have, if any, to get the economy’s long-run growth rate back up to the 4 percent range?” (The difference between 4 percent and 3 percent growth, for example, can mean a difference in average living standards in 30 years time of roughly 40 percent.)

…The following questions are offered to help the public educate itself about how the candidates might propose to address this challenge.

1. How will the candidates ensure a skilled workforce to sustain strong long-term economic growth?

2. What are the candidates’ proposals, if any, regarding how immigration policies should treat highly skilled legal immigrants in light of their impact on our economy?

3. What will the candidates do to curb growing health care costs, which are especially burdensome to small and growing firms and deter would-be entrepreneurs from starting new businesses?

4. What are the candidates’ views about financial reporting and corporate governance requirements (incorporated in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) that may be dampening entrepreneurship?

5. What is each candidate’s position on the global economy/market, which has fostered growth for America’s most successful entrepreneurial firms?

6. How do the candidates propose to deal with the long-run fiscal challenges posed by retiring baby boomers and the continued escalation of health care costs (which are driving up the costs of Medicare)? In particular, how can the nation craft a solution to this challenge without discouraging future entrepreneurship and innovation?

See the bulletin for more background on each question. And please let me know if you discover that a candidate has addressed any of the above.