policy Archives - Startup Economist

Government Doesn’t Create Wealth, It Decides Whether Entrepreneurs Can

Monday, 26 January 2026 by Paul O'Brien

From the freezing tundra of Austin, Texas, this weekend I was asked, “Is it true that the U.S. became a leading industrial power through entrepreneurship, innovation, and mass production, creating immense wealth?” and it struck me that this city being quiet on a Monday when the northern part of the United States is at work,

Published in Economic Development

13 Comments

Only 10% of State and National Governments Distinguish Startups from New Businesses

Tuesday, 20 January 2026 by Paul O'Brien

A practical startup economic policy framework for governments that want venture-scale companies Governments around the world love the word entrepreneurship. They put it in press releases, name departments after it, fund “innovation hubs,” and cut ribbons in front of coworking spaces that end up being networking clubs for service providers seeking customers. What almost none

economic development entrepreneurship government policy public policy startups

Published in Startup Ecosystems

15 Comments

What Sinks Startups AND Democracies: The One Thing Founders and Voters Are Starting to See Might Save Us

Monday, 19 January 2026 by Paul O'Brien

We trained a generation to build tools, not understand consequences. Technology keeps revealing just how dangerous that gap has become. American courts have been undergoing an experiment by way of a study that might (should) heavily influence everyone in appreciating how important it is that decision makers are well informed. Finally seeing more light with

entrepreneurship government policy public policy

Published in Economic Development, Insights / Research

17 Comments

The California Tech Tax Is a Kill Switch. Texas Keeps Innovation Compounding.

Wednesday, 14 January 2026 by Paul O'Brien

California is flirting with a policy idea so aggressively stupid it reads like parody, except it isn’t. It’s drafted law; it’s real. And even if it never passes, the damage is already done. The proposed “Billionaire Wealth Tax” ballot measure is not merely a tax and it’s far more than California’s tech tax; it is

california policy tax tech texas

Published in Economic Development

6 Comments

The IP Trap: How Licensing Knowledge Became a Tax on Progress

Thursday, 08 January 2026 by Paul O'Brien

A couple of weeks ago I published Universities Aren’t Commercializing Innovation, They’re Taxing It with a challenge I knew would find support from most but anger from a few. Founders forwarded it privately. Economic developers chimed in with encouragement. Researchers beyond the 25 universities that benefit from commercialization sent me flowers. Intellectual property stifles innovation.

commercialization innovation intellectual property ip policy regulation tech transfer

Published in Insights / Research

14 Comments

When Markets Learn Faster Than Governments

Tuesday, 04 November 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The debate over “market failure” has raged for decades, rooted in a false premise that the economy should behave like an equation rather than an ecosystem. This isn’t just academic. The idea of ‘market failure’ keeps resurfacing in policy debates over AI, climate, and housing, as if the lessons of the last 25 years never

data government innovation policy regulation

Published in Economic Development

26 Comments

Washington’s Blueprint for Public-Private Innovation for Washington Startups

Thursday, 09 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

A coalition reimagines the role of cities, universities, and entrepreneurs in shaping the future of downtown Washington D.C. and Washington startups. Just north of the White House, where K Street bends toward Dupont Circle and the stately facades of Farragut meet the hum of D.C.’s intellectual life, something quietly revolutionary is taking shape. The Penn

accelerators dc entrepreneurship founder institute incubators innovation policy politics washington

Published in Regional Development

11 Comments