The problem is that the US doesn't have a good word for "entrepreneur"

[tocqueville]

By every available measure, the U.S. is way behind when it comes to the relative importance of entrepreneurship and small business.

Let's start with the most basic measure, self-employment. We all know that everyone in America wants to run their own business. 7.2 percent of the workers in this country actually do. That puts us ahead of Luxembourg's self-employment rate of 6.1 percent, but behind everyone else. France has a self-employment rate of 9.0 percent, Germany 12.0 percent, and Italy 26.4 percent. If we exclude agriculture, our 7.5 percent self-employment rate for non-agricultural workers puts us ahead of Norway, but still far behind everyone else.

Okay, maybe self-employment doesn't tell us much about the role of small business. After all, there are many small family-run retail shops in Europe. That may not be most people's idea of entrepreneurship.

How about the share of small firms (fewer than 20 employees) in manufacturing employment? Well, our 11.1 percent share again beats out Luxembourg, and also Ireland, but it trails all the other countries for which the OECD has data.

Maybe 20 employees is not the right cutoff for a definition of small businesses in manufacturing. How about 500? By that measure, the U.S. comes in dead last. France's 63.7 percent share beats our 51.2 percent share by more than a dozen percentage points.

Perhaps we should just ignore manufacturing, that's old economy stuff. Surely the U.S. stands out for its vibrant computer upstarts. The 32.0 percent small firm employment share in computer related services beats Spain's 27.0 percent, but is well behind everyone else. Belgium, the capital of Old Europe, more than doubles our small business share, with 63.0 percent of its workers in this sector employed by establishments with less than 100 employees.

The U.S. does a hair better if we shift the focus to the research and development (including biomedical research). In the U.S., 25.3 percent of the workers in this sector are employed at establishments with fewer than 100 workers. That beats the 20.3 percent share in the Netherlands and the 22.5 percent share in the United Kingdom. However, the small business employment share in the U.S. is far behind the 33.1 percent share in France and the 35.0 percent share in Germany.

In short, the American dream of being a small business owner and the story of the United States as a nation of dynamic small businesses is largely a dream. It does not conform to the economic reality.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/will-obamacare-make-the-u_b_250768.html

[Captain Hilts]

1. Because individual entrepreneurs cannot get or afford health insurance. A strong disincentive. nt

[tocqueville]

3. why is then France ahead ?

on every paid salary in France, every entrepreneur must pay 50% of this salary to the State to cover the employees healthcare, unemployment and pension. Fees on employers stand for 50% of Social Security's (including healthcare) financement. In France if you hire somebody for 1000€, this person will cost you 1500. Then you have to pay your OWN taxes.
Still 80% of the enterprises in France are small to middle businesses (0 - 500 employees) with a total overweight for 10 employees, if I recall well...

So it can't be the major reason

[Captain Hilts]

4. Because small biz in the US pay more than larger ones for health insurance. nt

[tocqueville]

6. divide by four

"The $12,106 average cost of family coverage this year is roughly equivalent to a year's salary for a full-time worker earning the minimum wage, which is $12,168." (source WAPO)

it's still lower than what a French employer would pay.

[DireStrike]

8. Is it not the absolute amount, but the comparative amount?

Meaning, while French companies have to pay more... they all pay the same, whereas in the US smaller companies have to pay more than their larger counterparts?

[tocqueville]

10. so because it's unfair

they don't start ? That's a weird reason. European small companies are disadvantaged both internally and externally (export) due to costs of production which make products or services more expensive. But they are still more numerous than the US ones.... must be a question of attitude and probably the fact that a big part of our market isn't (yet) outsourced to the Chinese.

[DireStrike]

17. I'm sure American small companies carry the same disadvantages

The economies of scale factor, the ability to leverage larger profits into lower prices until small shops are forced to go under, and many more.

The healthcare costs are in addition to that. I don't know if they fail to start or are simply driven out of business more easily.

All glory to the victors, in America. Once a company is large, the only thing that can kill it is a larger company, unless it is mismanaged beyond all imagination. And until then, it WILL eat every small company within reach that it can digest.

[Recursion]

9. Because French society is more hostile to large businesses?

I wouldn't claim that's all of it, but I think that's part; much like why New England has more small businesses than the south.

[tocqueville]

14. I don't think so

most of our largest enterprises have started as small family businesses. I think that the primary reason is that the French entrepreneur can be satisfied (even if he whines a lot) with less income than the US counterpart. The equivalent of "Joe the Plumber" isn't primarily interested in "making millions" but to find a viable solution of "putting (decent) food on his family" and secure its future. Besides a lot of French like their independence and don't want to take orders. So much for socialism...

[elehhhhna]

16. bingo.

[DailyGrind51]

20. If they are over the age of 50, are taking prescription medications, have a pre-existing condition,

are ineligible for individual health insurance coverage. Not every entrepreneur starts out with employees, and those who do, "employ" family and friends who believe in what they are doing. I knew the sole proprietor of a graphic design firm who had a small business health insurance plan, covering himself, his wife, daughter, and an adult cousin, at least, until his daughter was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and his insurer canceled the policy.

[Odin2005]

2. Multinational Corporations hate actual free markets and entrepreneurs.

[Coyote_Bandit]

5. We don't really want people

to be independnet and work for themselves. They might think for themselves. They might challenge our corporate overlords. They might challenge their fellow citizens to develop some intestional fortitude and put forth some effort to seize the opportunities around them.

Far easier to let somebody else tell us what to think and how to act and what career decisions to make. Far easier to punch a clock, work regular hours, get a steady paycheck and not assume either the risk or responsibility of doing otherwise.

To make it difficult for those who either want or are forced to try to make it on their own we put substantial obstacles in their way. We seem to have this idea that those who venture out on their own are either risk seekers or completely unable to function and succeed in the "real" world of work. Access to start up capital is a problem. So is insuring against health care risk. Small businesses carry higher tax burdenws than their larger counterparts. Small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage because they never are able to realize the volume pricing discounts of their big box store competitors. And many of the fucking stupid customers would much prefer to shop at that big box store rather than support local business and the local economy.

[NashVegas]

19. ^^^ Everyone, Read That

The most complete answer in the thread is right there.

In addition I think this part of the OP is outrageously off, for large parts of the country:

"everyone in America wants to run their own business."

My experience is this is everyone dreams, but few have the drive and necessary support for risk-taking.

[DireStrike]

21. And further, I think there would be a lot more drive with more necessary support. -nt-

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. We do not live in a democracy, where the will of the people is the organizing

force for the society. We live in a corporatocracy, where the purpose of government is to ease the path to profits for the corporations. Corporations HATE competition, i.e., entrepreneurs. Therefore, the system is designed to disincentivize entrepreneurship and to favor corporations.

What the people want, and what the people believe in, is immaterial.

[meow2u3]

11. On the contrary, we do have a good English word for "entrepreneur"

"Entrepreneur" is the French word for "enterpriser."

[SOS]

12. Wall Street rules, small business dies

Try opening a hardware store, a book store, a clothing store or pharmacy in this country.

Soon after you open, Home Depot, Barnes and Noble, Wal-Mart and CVS will open near you and destroy you.

Unless you can raise billions in capital on Wall Street, don't bother. You'll lose everything when the monopolists show up.

[Echo In Light]

13. Exactly. The "competition" myth.

[tocqueville]

15. which means that social mobility

(the overall ability to start from scratch and become "rich") must be lower than in Europe. Talk about mythbusting...

[DireStrike]

18. Man, is that myth still around?

Some things sure die hard.

[slackmaster]

22. Entrepreneur is every bit as American as pizza and tacos

:hi: