Washington, uncertainty is the big factor for businesses. Its very difficult for entrepreneurs or large or Small Businesses to make decisions about the future of their company, hiring, growing their business, investing in new real estate, without knowing you know, when the economy can recover and what washington, when washington will come to a solution. John, courtney talks about the uncertainty. Americans are just so frustrated. I know ceos are frustrated. They were meeting with the president at the white house this week. What are you hearing and whats the reaction in the Business Community . Well, as courtney says, its tough to run a business even in the best of circumstances. Its a very, very tough economy. The recovery continues to be very, very fragile and here we are four and a half years into the recovery. Its one of the weakest recoveries since world war ii, so this doesnt help. Its a lot of additional uncertainty. I heard what the president said yesterday. He wants to get to a solution. Ive heard republicans say the same thing. I think what ceos, other Business Leaders around the country, they want the same thing. Following up on that point, president obama said the financial industry should be concerned. He said this time feels different. Were facing the potential default on our nations debt. Is this time different . I hope not. You might recall that the last time that policymakers engaged in this sort of brinksmanship was in august of 2011. The economy just seemed to be getting traction and creating jobs, then the result of that business activity, the economy plunged. Nobody wabnts to go there again. The summer western conducting these round tables around the country, we got an earful from entrepreneurs about washington. I want to talk about that earful. You hit the road, talked to entrepreneurs, job creators. What struck you most . I think both of us feel like the thing that struck us the most was the dynamism and passion these people have for what they do and succeeded no matter what obstacle is in their way. Its important we address them and try to do what we can as policymakers or private sector to address those and give them better circumstances so they can succeed. What are entrepreneurs, Small Business owners saying they need from washington that they arent getting . As you know, we conducted round tables in 12 cities around the United States. We wanted to hit the geographic expanse of the country, the industrial diverse thety f the country. Certain cities and regions tend to identify with different industries. We expected we would hear Different Things from entrepreneurs because the regional economy, the startup scene in cambridge, massachusetts, is really different than columbus, ohio or austin, texas or orlando, florida. Everywhere we went, we heard the same six major themes in terms of the problems, the obstacles in their way. Not enough people with the skills we need. And this is the skills gap that youve heard a lot about. Thats whats coming out of the education establishment, folks are not graduating with day one skills businesses need. Thats further exacerbated by high school policies. We dont attract and obtain the worlds best talent. Tax and Regulatory Burden and theres too much uncertainty out there and its washingtons fault. So, those are the problems. Once you know the problems and there can be no doubt now what the problems are because we heard it everywhere we went. What can washington actually do about that, john, then courtney, i want you the weigh in. We make a number of suggestions, we address the uncertainty coming out of washington. I think the thing all Business People are looking for is meaningful progress on the debt and deficit front. One thing that became clear is that Business People, entrepreneurs, viewed debt and deficits as a proxy for future taxation because somebody has to pay the debt. Meaningful, credible process on debt and deficits. Tax reform. Tax simplification. Immigration reform is an enormously important issue in terms of skill and talent, so theres a whole range. Courtney, i want you to weigh in on the point that washington tends to overlook new businesses and startups. Why is this happening . I think its very typical of washington that they get stuck on an area of the economy and just continue to use the same talking points and i think theyre the focus. Were grateful that some members of congress are entrepreneurs who are helped us on this book. Senator warner, moran, corker, others, but theres, you know, i think the problem is when you talk about Small Business, which is very important to the economy, you talk about more mom and pop organizations and they may add a job here or there, but they dont have the high Growth Potential these new businesses do. What we did find that was very interesting that set us on this course was that all new job creation has come from new businesses in the first five years of their existence, so they need special circumstances in order to succeed. What are those and how can they have bett representation in washington . Thats a good question and were thinking about that, actually. Its true. And observation that courtney made early in our summer journey was number one, washington policymakers dont understand what were learning as much they should. And there are lots of reasons for that, but one is that the entrepreneurial economy does not have this kind of representation here in washington to educate policymaker, advocate on behalf of their needs and priorities and what we learned is that those needs and priorities are unique. Different from even existing Small Businesses, so were thinking about some ideas in that regard. But the core policy proposal we make in the book, there are 30. But the, at the center is new businesses are different. Theyre important, but exception alley fragile. We recommend in the critical first five years, that window, they be afforded a preferential tax and regulatory policy framework to really help them get off the ground. Sort of a on ramp. And we will take a quick break and be back with more from john and courtney after this. Stay with us. And when you get up can i play . No you dont even get football. [ male announcer ] when youve got 100 fiber optic fios, you get it. Americas fastest, most reliable internet. Its the ultimate for downloading, streaming, and chatting. That guy all over the football field. Thanks, joe. If the running backs dont start picking up the blitz, the quarterback is going to have a long night. Is that your sister . Look, are you trying to take my job . Maybe. Technology that lets you play with the big boys. Call the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities thats powerful. At 8009746006 tty v. And were back with more now from john and courtney, authors of the new book where the jobs are and you talk about the fact that the startups are really sort of the engine of new job growth. Why arent more established Companies Creating more jobs . Whats the roadblock there . We get this question a lot when we talk about new job creation and the bulk of it coming from or all of it or the bulk of it coming from the entrepreneurs in these new businesses. I think its not that big businesses are not creating jobs, they are, but they are finding new ways to be efficient, so theyre shedding jobs so it ends up being a break even point. And you talk about sort of startups, but lets talk about Small Businesses as well. Is that an important engine of job growth and what are some of the challenges that Small Businesses are face iing . Small business is an amazingly important part of our economy. They account for over 99 of the businesses in our country. They employ over half of the workforce, the american workforce, but as courtney indicated the amazing thing we learned and this is based on Research Done originally at the census bureau, then the Kaufman Foundation in kansas city, missouri, that existing businesses of any size, any kind, any age, when you look at them in aggregate each year, theyre always creating jobs, but theyre always shedding jobs as they become more efficient, better at what they do, incorporate capital. So, the research showed that in aggregate, they shed about a million jobs a year, where as new businesses add on average about 3 million jobs each year. Another way of saying that is were not for new businesses, there would be in most years, no new net job creation without these important firms. And john, you brought up the issue of immigration, which is obviously such a big topic of discussion and debate right now. Mark zuckerberg, other entrepreneurs, are lobbying congress to boost the number of visas for skilled workers. How badly does this nation need Immigration Reform . If youre interested in job creation, we need this kind of reform badly. More hib visas, more green cards for graduates of stem firm, stem degrees that are earned here in the United States by foreign born students. We have the largest foreign born student population in the world here in the United States. Last year, it was about 760,000. Our policies right now essentially, we educate them, then deport them. We need to do a much, much better job of inviting them to stay and build their businesses here, so we have a number of recommendations. Raise the cap or eliminate it. Thats what we propose. Have a startup are visa. Some of these are captured in legislature by senators moran and warner, then we have other recommendations with regard to regulatory relief, tax simplification and certainty. Certainty is really something all businesses are looking for, particularly new, because theyre so fragile. They need certainty to really thrive. Thats why we start off talking about the uncertainty with this week and the shutdown is so debilitating. One thing you talk about is the importance of tax reform. How should washington be prioritizing these . Again, thats another real downside of the episode were living through now is of course the government is shut down and people arent talking about that. Also not talking about tax reform and Immigration Reform, so these incredibly important policy issues arent getting dealt with. Its hard to prioritize immigration over tax. Obviously, they both ought to get done soon. Courtney, quickly, are there any bright spots for business in washington . I think that there will be p a conclusion that will be helpful for the country. All of these policymakers are here for all the right reasons and standing up for what they believe and trying to accomplish things that are good for the country, so im hopeful. Thank you both so much for your time this morning. Thank you. And that is all for our conversation today, but you can follow it all week long. Well be back next week. Now, stay tuned for president obamas weekly address right after this short break. Have a great sunday, everyone