First Things First

Special Edition: The State of American Business in 2020

We’re off and running in 2020.

Yesterday, U.S. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue delivered his annual State of American Business, where he outlined the business community’s top priorities for the year.

For the 32.6 million “businesses who help power our economy—the State of American Business is uncertain, but positive, growing, and hopeful,” Donohue said. “But many questions remain at the start of this new decade.”

• What kind of economy do we want to drive this nation forward?
• What challenges across the country beg for our attention?
• What is our place in the global economy—are we going to step up, stand still, or pull back?
• What kind of future do we want for our children, and theirs?
• What is the role of business—and government—in securing that future, and are we up to the task?
• And many are simply wondering this—what can actually get done in a year like 2020?

To answer the last question, Donohue noted Washington politics won’t get in the way of the business community pushing for better policies at all levels – local, state, national, and global, because these issues are too important to ignore.

Whether it’s fighting for improved infrastructure, immigration reform, addressing state attempts at imposing patchworks of stifling regulations across the country, or lowering barriers to trade, the U.S. Chamber will roll up its sleeves for American businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs.

Expect 2020 to be a year of meaningful action.

You can watch the State of American Business event, including a fireside chat with U.S. Chamber President Suzanne Clark, AOL founder Steve Case, and a panel of entrepreneurs here.

Diving In

One of the important debates in 2020 is the “future of our economy and the role of business in our society.” Tom Donohue delved into that in the State of American Business:

Free enterprise has proven to be the greatest driver of opportunity and prosperity ever devised. Now, we’ve never said it’s a perfect system. And the Chamber is working with partners in business and government to address shortcomings so that more Americans can partake in the benefits of a growing economy. Even so, it remains the best system anyone has ever tried.

I don’t expect to make headlines when I say that in the ongoing debate over the future of our economy, the Chamber stands proudly and firmly on the side of free enterprise.

But I will say something that might be considered provocative in our current times.

If we want to create more wealth and opportunity for all Americans, the answer is more business, not less. We need a wakeup call in this country that disincentivizing growth and demonizing corporations is no way to generate collective prosperity.

Those who like to beat up on big business seem to forget that we live in an integrated system. Many small businesses find their contracts with large companies. And many big businesses rely on smaller ones in their supply chains. Their fates are tied.

More businesses, of all types and sizes, are crucial to our economy.

So we should all be troubled that we have 20% fewer startups than we did three decades ago when we were a smaller country. We should all be worried that there are half as many public companies today as in 1996.

The more companies go public, the more investment opportunities become available to everyday Americans—and the better equipped we will be to address critical challenges like income inequality.

When public companies succeed, people’s pensions grow and their retirement accounts get bigger. By empowering workers to invest their hard-earned dollars in the stock market, they will be able to share in the growth of our economy and take charge of their financial futures.

Read Donohue’s entire speech here.

Have a business-related long read you want to share? Please email me.

Caught My Eye

To reinforce the need for “more business, not less,” Tom Donohue called on leaders in the private and public sectors to set goals of 500,000 business creations and 250 initial public offerings (IPOs) a year for U.S. companies. These charts show the declines in both business creation and IPOs in recent years.

The Big Picture

Suzanne Clark, President of the U.S. Chamber (left), conducted a “Faces of Business” fireside chat with AOL founder Steve Case and American entrepreneurs at the State of American Business.

Found a chart you want to share? Please email me.

Looking Ahead

January 15, 2020: The U.S. Chamber will host an event highlighting the role businesses play in raising awareness of human trafficking. It will feature top experts from government, the private sector, and social services who will discuss techniques to empower survivors and provide resources for healing. Participants will also discuss the use of technology to identify trafficking victims.  

March 5, 2020: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's annual Aviation Summit will bring together a lineup of well-respected leaders in aviation to discuss the many challenges and opportunities facing the aviation industry, including rich conversations on international flight, advancements in aviation technology, and opportunities and challenges facing the field.

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