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Over at Foreign Affairs, Robert Litan has a piece lamenting the decline in entrepreneurship in America. I’m not entirely persuaded that this is a major problem—a fair amount of it is just the result of big national retailers replacing local diners and small shops, which are hardly big engines of economic growth—but I’m still willing to accept that some of it is probably real and deserves attention. The problem is what to do about it. James Pethokoukis, addressing skeptics like me, summarizes Litan’s suggestions:
Of course one can quibble with these numbers and what they mean….But here is the thing: Pretty much all the policy steps you might take to respond to this startup wind-down — and the decline in innovation and good jobs it implies — are pretty smart ideas in their own right. Among Litan’s suggestions:
- Attract more immigrant entrepreneurs and keep more foreign students who earn graduate degrees in the STEM fields.
- Make it easier to attract investment capital through crowdfunding platforms.
- Constantly evaluate regulations to see if they raise entry barriers to new firms or give an edge to incumbents.
- Don’t let future changes to Obamacare create a disincentive for workers to leave their firms.
- Reform k-12 education to better teach technological literacy — but also don’t skip humanities and the arts.
Well….OK. But how far would this get us? #1 is something we already do better than anyone in the world. I suppose we could improve even further, and I’d be in favor of immigration legislation that does just that. Still, I guess I’m dubious that lack of smart immigrants is really a huge headwind in the US. Ditto for #2. Is lack of access to venture capital really a serious problem in this country? #3 is fine. I don’t know for sure just how hard it really is to start a business in America, but the World Bank ranks us 46th in the world, and I imagine we could do better. #4 is odd: Litan himself says the news here is “mostly good.” Obamacare makes it easier to change your job or start up a new business, and that’s inherent in its very nature. It will stay that way unless it’s completely repealed. Finally, #5 suggests that we do a better job teaching science, humanities, and the arts. Since that’s pretty much everything K-12 education does, this is just a way of saying we should keep trying to improve primary education. I don’t think anyone argues with that.
I don’t mean to come off too cynical here. There are two good ideas here that we could plausibly do something about: Being friendlier to highly-educated immigrants and making it easier to start a business. (A third idea—improving our schools—is also good, but it’s basically like endorsing motherhood and apple pie.) And a good idea is a good idea. But if entrepreneurship really is in decline in America—and if it’s truly a far-reaching problem—I’d be interested in hearing more about root causes and what we might be able to do about them. It seems like it will take a lot more than this list to seriously address it.
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If the Chinese government is to be believed, the U.S. could one day be connected with Moscow, Paris, Turkmenistan, and Beijing by bullet train. The proposed high-speed rail network might resemble one of those maps you absentmindedly stare at in the back of in-flight magazines.
Chinese media is reporting that construction of the 8,000-mile system could begin next month. If actually completed, it could ferry passengers over a substantial swath of the Northern Hemisphere at speeds greater than 200 miles per hour.
The China Daily reports that China plans to fund and build the railway itself. Here’s how the newspaper says the new line would link the continental U.S. with China — a long-ass trip that would reportedly take two days:
The proposed journey will start from China’s northeast region, cross Siberia to Bering Strait, and run across the Pacific Ocean by undersea tunnel to reach Alaska, from Alaska to Canada, then on to its final destination, the US. To cross Bering Strait will require approximately 200km [125-mile] undersea tunnel.
A project like this would obviously require extensive international cooperation, and reaching the U.S. would only be possible if Canada were on board with the idea. Ben Makuch of Vice’s Motherboard blog did some digging and found that China might just be putting the cart before the horse:
I asked the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade if the “discussions” one Chinese engineer claims are happening between the four nations on the proposed next-generation rail system have begun with China. DFAIT media relations spokesperson Claude Rochon was categorical.
“To answer your question, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada is not informed of this project,” said Rochon. …
Diplomatic obstacles with the Harper government aside, any proposed Chinese rail line through land in British Columbia or the Yukon is sure to face serious domestic opposition. Besides the prevalence of wildlife and native reserves to negotiate along the corridor, future land use is a contentious issue in BC.
We’ll hold off on popping any bottles of Chinese-made champagne until conversations about an intercontinental high-speed rail network actually begin bubbling through international bureaucracies.
Source
China mulls high-speed train to US: report, China Daily
China’s Plan for a Canadian Bullet Train Is News to Canada, VICE
John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.
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Could a bullet train take you from the U.S. to China to Europe?
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