From: worthpoint.com
This late into the semester we have been talking about "entrepreneurs" and we throw that term around a lot, we use it frequently, but I have never stopped to understand its different forms, well, I didn't know there were different types. We have had talks about private entrepreneurs and even government involvement in the economy, Political entrepreneurs are what happens when the government tries to change the economy of the U.S. through entrepreneurs and companies. This is what Burt Fulsom talks about in his C-SPAN speech. Fulsom brings up the steamship example. He brought up how Mr. Collins asked for government funding for his start-up steamship business, and time after time, grant after grant, collins would run into a roadblock or hiccup and would ask for more. Vanderbilt came in and offered to start up his company with half of what the government was giving collins, but the government declined. It eventually got to the point where Vanderbilt was overwhelmingly more successful than collins even though Collins had government funding. That is Fulsom's main talking point, private entrepreneurs can have more independence and options when competing in the free market. Last week in the discussion I brought up an idea that ended with "the government can fix it" but I was quickly shown why that's not the case nor should we consider it. The industry is extremely volatile, and when large entities like the government come in and try to alter the economy's direction, it makes meaningless and potentially harmful effects. This is the same with Fulsom's other examples, it's all repeats of history. The power of private business owners trumps what the government can offer. In addition, the government can restrict what political entrepreneurs do if it does or doesn't interest the government or even the individual members of congress. The whole point of our governmental system is so that one aspect cannot have more power over the other, but when one controls the economy, then the power balance breaks, and now the political and governmental powers shift and break. Fulsom's ultimate goal was to show us examples of how governmental subsidizing and funding is not always beneficial and to educate us on how privatizing business and ventures can benefit the United States. This has truly taught me the importantance of private ventures, the vanderbilt story has encouraged me to start my own bussiness and create my own products.
