" Jobs, jobs, jobs! Jobs that pay decent too. Many of the local companys that we once looked up to are forcing employees with decent salarys out. Replacing them with lower payed, less experienced workers. Frustrating for the consumer. "

" Over the last decade, small businesses created 70 percent of new jobs, and they are responsible for half of all jobs in the private sector.

This is an excellent point. It seems this is all too often ignored by the economists who track employment data.

It also makes the perfect segway back to health care. How many people with excellent ideas and talents don't start their own businesses due to the fact that insurance companies won't insure for preexisting conditions? It's my thought that too many people fail to do this because they can't afford to leave their current employer due to their need to continue their current coverage. Making affordable insurance for everyone would cause an explosion in entrepreneurial ventures. "

" HP says: "Making affordable insurance for everyone would cause an explosion in entrepreneurial ventures. "

HP are you an entrepreneur? Why not? Lack of affordable insurance? I don't think so. "

" I seem to remember hundreds of family owned small businesses in the area and then WalMart came to town. Poof...all gone now. Happens everywhere WalMart builds. "

" HP are you an entrepreneur? Why not?

You ask the question, and then assume the answer. As a matter of fact I am, and do quite well, thank you. I am semi-retired so I don't like to work a lot, but I certainly could if I so desired. By the way, that theory is not mine, but one I have read on more than one occasion. Unless there is real change in health care, the idea is moot.

Rather than make a sarcastic comment, how about telling me why you disagree? Or do you just disagree because it was me who made the comment? "

" Ok Harry here's why I disagree. This year I am going to take another 23% increase on my group health plan that I pay for for my employees. Rather than address the real problems ie. tort reform, and letting ins companies sell across state lines. The governments answer is to add 8% to my payroll taxes and let them take care of it. 8% is more than the premium--even with the 23% increase.

While I don't doubt your abilities Harry I would guess--I don't know-- that your business has no employees, is internet driven, and grosses less than 500K a year. No disrespect to your endeavor, but if my guess is correct you don't have to deal with nearly the headaches that most other small businesses do.

Just for fun...how much is your work comp premium? How much is your business liability ins.? How many company vehicles do you insure?

Work comp is enough to keep any sane person from starting a business in this state. Just yesterday I visited a gentleman in the same field as myself, with the same number of employees, his annual payroll was higher than mine (due to being in a metro area) and his work comp is less than half of mine! He's in Ohio, I'm in Illinois. The land of a state legislature that thinks like our President! "

" LC, thank you for a good question, I'll try to answer. My part time work is of an educational nature, which primarily involves curriculum development and program implementation. I have no employees so consequently I have none of the problems you experience. I work limited hours, by choice. Perhaps my observation was a bit of an overstatement. I was merely passing on an idea that I've heard mentioned by more than one source and thought it had merit. I was also thinking of the people over the years that told me they felt restricted from stating a business because of the insurance issues. I have always had admiration for those who run their own business and imagine, as you pointed out so well, there are a lot of things that the non business owner never thought about. Thanks for sharing and I wish you well in your endeavor.

PS, I hope my wife doesn't see that 500K comment. She might get ideas. "

" HP: Sorry if I was to hard on you assuming that you were not an entrepreneur.

Those liberal views which you espouse are not congruent with my perception of the entrepreneurs that I know.

Also my definition of entrepreneur is likely different from yours. Creative, innovative, problem solver and risk taker come to mind.

Franchise operator or even a small business person is not necessarily an entrepreneur in my opinion. Wikipedia and Merriam Webster may disagree.

To address the insurance question as it pertains to being an entrepreneur, my answer is damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Insurance is just a detail, an excuse that wouldn't be an issue with a passion driven entrepreneur. It is merely a cost of doing business. An entrepreneur would function just fine without insurance at all for awhile. The franchise operator or small business person would seize up without it.

Entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses are probably the same thing to most people. It is the entrepreneur that is different. "

" Raptor, thank you for your response. It's always refreshing to actually get an answer to a question that's not full of vindictiveness and gotchas. No, I'm certainly not an entrepreneur nor do I consider myself a business person. Unlike the entrepreneur, I risk nothing other than my reputation. I merely do small assignments based on a contractual basis. I'm not doing it out of financial necessity, although though it's nice to get paid for doing something I get a lot of personal satisfaction from.

As far as your take on the insurance issue being a factor for entrepreneurial ventures, I think we will have to agree to disagree.

Again, thank you for your well thought out and articulate response. As I said, it was refreshing and made for a good start for my day. "