An Entrepreneurial Approach to Your Health

One of the prime reasons I founded the Public Forum Institute was a strong belief in the role ordinary citizens can play in addressing chronic stalemates on vital national policy issues. After moderating hundreds of congressionally-chaired health policy forums over the years, I conclude it will be other developments outside of top-down reform that drive improvements in health care. It seems inevitable that with so many people’s income dependent on our health care industry, even the most well-meaning politicians face a never-ending path of discourse in their efforts to improve health care without disrupting such a large chunk of the American economy. The revolution in consumer data may be just one of those new game changers.

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Where Have All the New Firms Gone?
At a time when policymakers throughout the U.S.--and all over the world for that matter--are pointing to the job creating power of entrepreneurs and small business owners, a new study from the Kauffman Foundation points out a worrisome trend. The nation's business startup rate fell below 8 percent for the first time in 2010, marking the lowest point on record for new firm births. [More]

Is VC Model Really Broken? And Who Is to Blame?
As the venture capital industry continues to consolidate, a new report from the Kauffman Foundation examines the cause for its poor long-term returns. But unlike some recent shots, the report's authors don't point the finger of blame directly at VCs. Instead, they issue a challenge to state pension funds, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors in those funds to require deeper due diligence and more rigorous data analysis before investing. [More]

This Week in Entrepreneurship Policy
Members of Congress return from a short recess to a handful of committee hearings this week, including a look at how skyrocketing costs on gasoline are impacting small firms by the House Committee on Small Business. [More]

A Look Back at Innovation Daily
Each day, Innovation Daily checks the pulse of global innovation-- courtesy of Innovation America. Here, we take a look at a handful of relevant stories it compiled last week. [More]