These are at some level businesses that do well because they avoid regulatory regimes. That risk is built-in from day one and basically their raison d'etre. I happen to think that's fine and good, but it's still the case.
In other words, the guys who actually believe in a normal level of compliance are hamstrung, defection is rewarded, classic failure mode of this kind of thing.
IOW, America also has a stagnant, risk-averse business culture, except that superimposed on this culture there's a thin, fragile, layer of risk taking, one geography- and sector-constrained, but in which ~all US value creation and economic differentiation happens.
It's like how the growth of a tree trunk happens in a thin layer beneath the bark and the rest is inert wood.
You’re right IMHO, but now look at what it’s like to build a business in places like France or England or China or India and you’ll learn we are in a place with an order of magnitude less trouble building a business. Frightening.
> we are in a place with an order of magnitude less trouble building a business.
What is this claim based on?
Is there 10x as much stress among French business owners? Are entrepreneurs working 10x as hard in China? Are there 10x fewer businesses in England?
And, stepping back a bit: To the extent that running a business is easier in America, how much of that is because the US exploits and bullies the rest of the world?
How much is because it's a huge country with vast resources (that were stolen from its murdered inhabitants)?
How much is because the lack of regulations allows for rampant externalization of costs?
How much is because businesses are more 'free' to exploit their own workers?
How much is because most of the mechanisms for basic accountability are broken?
These aren't "gotcha" questions. They're fundamentally important to our future, because none of that is sustainable.
>> we are in a place with an order of magnitude less trouble building a business.
> What is this claim based on?
Blog posts I've read from I've read, largely in HN. Personal interviews in those countries.
> Is there 10x as much stress among French business owners? Are entrepreneurs working 10x as hard in China? Are there 10x fewer businesses in England?
No clue. I've run many businesses and it's all stressful.
> And, stepping back a bit: To the extent that running a business is easier in America, how much of that is because the US exploits and bullies the rest of the world?
The US definitely exploits and bullies the rest of the world. Very often it's shameful and I hate it. All countries exploit other countries in their best interest. You may also be forgetting that for centuries the US has policed the world's waterways mostly in its own interest but, from about 1945-2020, for the rest of the world too, all at its own expense. We've been the leaders in anti-pirate forces since Jefferson.
> How much is because it's a huge country with vast resources
A lot. We are the luckiest country on Earth by a country mile. But also because of somewhat free markets, rule of law, somewhat free press, property rights, and constitutional belief in the individual. Japan doesn't have a huge country with vast resources but still does well. Canada and many countries in Africa have vast resources they could exploit responsibly but don't.
> (that were stolen from its murdered inhabitants)?
All countries are stolen from murdered inhabitants. All of them. Look at the Comanche, the Huns, the Houthis, the Japanese in WWII, the Goths, the Chinese, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and Luxembourg.
OK I'm kidding about Luxembourg.
> How much is because the lack of regulations allows for rampant externalization of costs?
Super complex question and a good one. Impossible to deal with in a comment.
> How much is because businesses are more 'free' to exploit their own workers?
Zero. No one forces you to work here, unless you're one of the hundred of thousands of trafficked workers here. Those traffickers should be hunted down and shot.
> How much is because most of the mechanisms for basic accountability are broken?
Don't know. We have huge corrupt corporations and a huge corrupt government working hand in hand against the citizens, but we also have tons of regulations and a justice system that can still help the little guy sometimes. You are absolutely on the right track, but we might have different definitions for accountability.
However since we're comparing the USA to others Mexico and China are shot through with corruption, China more perhaps than any other country on earth. Though we give them a run for their money.
> These aren't "gotcha" questions. They're fundamentally important to our future, because none of that is sustainable.
I sort of think you played your hand. The term "none of that is sustainable" suggests to me you've already decided on answers to all these non-gotcha questions. But I tried to answer them in the best light.
>>> we are in a place with an order of magnitude less trouble building a business.
>> What is this claim based on?
> Blog posts I've read from I've read, largely in HN. Personal interviews in those countries.
Ok, well, as someone who has real experience of setting up a business in another country (which was "stolen from murdered inhabitants" and then reclaimed - Ireland) let me tell you: Business supports in Europe are quite strong, and accessible. The simple fact that ~60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck would suggest that setting up a business in America is not, in fact, "an order of magnitude easier" for the average person.
> We are the luckiest country on Earth by a country mile.
Sure, some of it was luck, but the secret ingredient was genocide.
And nowadays America is not the envy of the rest of the world the way it once was. The shine is very much gone.
Nearly all countries outside the US hold a net unfavorable opinion of Americans, minus a handful of exceptions, like Israel (!). There's not much jealousy or envy of the US any more. It's mostly an understanding pity, or an understandable condescension.
> many countries in Africa have vast resources they could exploit responsibly but don't.
Try doing a deep dive into what happens to African leaders who buck the trend of letting the West take all their resources. Patrice Lumumba, Sylvanus Olympio, Kwame Nkrumah, Eduardo Mondlane, Amílcar Cabral, Thomas Sankara, etc, etc, etc.
Have you ever seen the photo of a father holding his child's severed hands, cut off for not picking rubber fast enough for the Belgians? Blaming the victim here is pretty unacceptable to people who have learned anything beyond the sick narrative of 'well they choose weak leaders'.
And can you seriously call America's "resource exploitation" responsible?? Not if you know how they get all those resources (see above native genocide, and murdered African leaders; and don't forget South America!).
> Zero. No one forces you to work here
Perhaps in the narrowest sense, where no one points a gun to your head (unless you're in America's massive and grotesque prison system, in which case you are in every sense a slave, with a gun to your head forced to work for a pittance).
However America forces people into work in a myriad of 'soft' ways; from awful social supports, to wage collusion, to healthcare tied to employment, predatory student loan debt, at-will employment, immigration status, and so on, and on.
> The term "none of that is sustainable" suggests to me you've already decided on answers to all these non-gotcha questions.
Well, they're not.
Sure, I thought about my own questions. I wanted you to think about them, because they directly connect to your proud claim that Americans have it 10x easier to start a business. I hope you can see how, if you think about it.
Airbnb has created a lot of value for its shareholders. I think it’s an open question whether it’s been a net negative or positive for the world at large when you consider all the externalities.
In other words, the guys who actually believe in a normal level of compliance are hamstrung, defection is rewarded, classic failure mode of this kind of thing.