Bill Bryson says it was done in large part by utilizing innovations and technologies that were invented in Europe. These were then scaled and perfected in America and the products sold back to the Europeans. Does that remind anyone else of what Asia is doing  today? China is the leading producer of many environmental technologies that were invented in the USA. Korea has much faster and cheaper internet service (a technology invented with American tax dollars). And other places are developing stem cell advances faster than we are.

I think one thing that contributes to this phenomenon is that while business people are very innovative when it comes to products, they often focus too much on the traditional and the short term when it comes to politics.

I posted four years ago that typical pro-business political positions are often bad for business because they are short sighted. In my experience working with business owners, lack of strategic planning is something they are almost always “too busy” to do, so it doesn’t surprise me that this problem expends to their politics.

Today Seth Godin writes a post with a similar conclusion – though Seth adds some more profound insights as he usually does. One interesting line from Seth is “At some point, a healthy and fairly paid community is essential if you want to sell them something.”

A business transaction must be considered as something that benefits both parties. I get what I want by selling you something that you want. And the result is not a zero sum game, but a bigger pie for all. Political forces, must take that into account to provide for a stable business environment. If I vote for policies that benefit me now and never consider you or the future then my business may prosper in the immediate but that prosperity will be short lived.

Before you vote, ask the candidates what their policies will do to ensure a healthy, prosperous, and stable market for your company, not just what effect it will have on your tax rate.

Takeaway:

• For long term business success, political policies must focus on the customer (aka markets) not just immediate cost cutting.