The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp

I’ve been a political junkie for a long time now. So when I come across a story like “More Regulation, Fewer Entrepreneurs”, from the U.S. News and World Report business blog Risky Business, I instinctively start considering the political implications, particularly where upcoming elections are involved.

The article highlights a recent study by Silvia Ardagna of Harvard University and Annamaria Lusardi of Dartmouth College, and the results basically say that the larger the amount of government regulation, the smaller the amount of entrepreneurial activity.

Not surprising.

The depth and breadth of the study, however, give these results some clout. They also give us a chance to reflect on the upcoming presidential election.

Before I continue, here’s my little disclaimer. I like to consider myself an independent. Not a member of the Independent Party, but independent in the fact that I don’t align myself with any particular party, at least not until I know the candidates, the issues and their stances on them. So my intent here is not to sway you in any particular direction, because quite frankly I don’t care.

Having said that, if you look at the election from a purely entrepreneurial perspective, than the Republican Party and its stance on restrained government regulation is on your side. As part of his “pro-innovation” tax cuts, John McCain plans to ban Internet and new cell phone taxes. He also plans to promote low barriers to free trade.

The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has historically been the party of increased government regulation. But that doesn’t mean that Barack Obama follows that mold to a tee. In fact, he plans to exempt small businesses and startups from paying capital gains, which is critical to small businesses because they often struggle early in their existence.

These initiatives by both candidates, however, are only one aspect of two very large campaigns. They are also only contingent upon the candidate’s ability to follow through with them. So don’t be too hasty in your decision making. Like I said, I don’t care who you vote for, but I do think you should carefully consider what’s really important to you come November.