Are Businesses Getting Lazy?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/travel-economy-david-kong

I just browsed through a position paper from the travel industry on how the government could do more to promote travel across the continental US by fixing decrepit roads and bridges and shortening the process for visa applications. Like most industries the nuts and bolts of the engine driving growth are gummed up by the unattractive aspects of doing business. New money abroad looks for new opportunities everywhere and what makes the United States a good investment are the things that always have. The legal system respects property rights and rule of law while barriers to entry in most markets remain low. For example, an individual that self employs by retrofitting HVAC units or putting roofs on new and old homes could find work easily. Finding this type of work in a slow growth economy is increasingly important for extra income to many families. Large corporations are subject to different pressures and hassles than small startups. The complaints from most industries usually go something like this: the rules on compliance are a nightmare and change frequently, the pay and benefits for employees are cutting into any profit (hello $15 an hour wages),  and the cost of doing business keeps rising. That's why the solution from the travel exec (David Kong), to call for a Secretary of Travel, is a little odd and disheartening given the problems affecting the economy at large. He lays out a wonderful case for reducing barriers to entry and increasing the level of investment from overseas, and in the same breath asks for a federal solution.

When large industries ask for federal subsidies we roll our eyes like a dad who has heard all the excuses for why the last 'investment' was squandered. At some level we understand that massive industries don't move on major projects until the landscape (legal implications, environmental non-sense, up front investment) is understood. The downside of running afoul of some federal authority is years in legal fees, poor publicity and the very likely prospect of circling the drain Lehman Brothers style. Industries are now in the rent-seeking game and it's precisely due to a lack of guts. Here in Oklahoma T. Boone Pickens (oil baron) tried this technique with his Pickens Plan idea for electric cars and ethanol, in part to reduce reliance of foreign oil. This isn't as big a deal anymore since the price of oil has plunged quicker than the mercury on a January night. I am loathe to say anything negative about Pickens (he is a genuine philanthropist) but the plan wasn't sound because it required a large chunk of federal money before he would move on it. This is unfortunately the way many companies seek investments now; find a friendly in Washington and hope for a license to operate. The jump from bailouts like General Motors received in 2009, to 'rent-seeking' like some agricultural giants want is becoming too common. The solution to attracting more investment from abroad is mostly what the travel industry seems to want, less hassle with visa applications and better infrastructure. I would add to it some type of tax holiday on businesses that have left the country because of unpaid dues. Get them back and tell them to hire people.The United States doesn't need another czar, or secretary, or advocate or any person trying to slice off a corner of the shrinking budgetary pie. Simpler and freer please, or watch American business get lazier.