Category: Entrepreneurs and Innovation
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Small Business Suffers More from Bad Policies
by Chris Saxman Small business costs and Virginia’s competitiveness in CNBC’s Top States for Business Small businesses are central to Virginia’s economic dynamism, job creation, and regional resilience. However, higher taxes, expanding labor mandates, regulatory complexity, and litigation exposure impose disproportionate costs on small firms compared to large employers. These pressures directly affect Virginia’s performance…
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The Chainsaw Cometh. Be Not Afraid, Virginia
by James A. Bacon Over at Cardinal News Dwayne Yancey makes a stab at calculating the economic impact on Virginia if President Trump and his chainsaw-wielding demiurge Elon Musk succeed in their goal of hacking down the size of the federal workforce by 60%. His concern is that two-fifths of Virginia’s personal income tax revenue…
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About Those 10,000 New Startups…
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin has made quite the audacious claim: his administration has created 10,000 new high-growth and high-wage startup companies in Virginia, a faster pace of startups than seen under any previous Virginia governor in the last 15 years. That would be an impressive accomplishment if it stands up to scrutiny.…
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UVA as Entrepreneurial Hub?
by James A. Bacon Does the University of Virginia have what it takes to become an engine of technological innovation and entrepreneurial wealth creation? Mike Lenox, professor of entrepreneurship at the Darden School of Business, thinks that it does. James Murray, a venture capitalist specializing in telecommunications and information technology, isn’t so sure. They engaged…
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Hey Virginia: Hands Off Those Cake Pops
by Kerry Dougherty There’s a reason Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s approval rating in the latest Mason-Dixon Poll perches at a lofty 58 percent in this once-blue state, despite Republicans losing control of the legislature in November’s election. Youngkin gets it. On X, he wrote: “We’re going to fix this, Virginia will always be the best place…
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The Virginia NAACP Has Proven Itself an Obstacle to Improving the Educations of Black Children in Virginia Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock I just read that the NAACP has issued a warning against traveling to Florida. Which must have come as a surprise to the 3.5 million Black citizens of that state. It did not surprise the NAACP board of directors chairman Leon W. Russell, who lives in the Tampa area. His defense:…
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An Utterly Inspiring Woman
By James C. Sherlock Cheri Shores died Saturday, May 13. She was simply one of the most gracious, generous, skilled and inspiring people I have ever met. Cheri and her husband Lance in 2006 opened their first Citrus restaurant in Virginia Beach a couple of blocks from where my late wife and I lived. Jo…
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Virginia’s Community Banks, Under Stress, are Crucial to the Economy, Small Business and Small Communities
by James C. Sherlock In general, I do not write enough about Virginia small businesses. Small business is both the heart and soul of the Virginia economy. I have no personal financial interest in Virginia’s community banks, but all of us need them to be healthy. Because community banks disproportionately fund small business. The Federal…
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Will McDonald’s Be Leaving Virginia? Not This year, But…
by Chris Saxman I wish the headline of today’s column was just click bait. It originates from a headline that was pushed across my phone that read “Will McDonald’s be leaving California?” That immediately made me think that McDonald’s corporate offices might be considering moving their headquarters from California to another state. Given the exodus…
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The Greens, Their Quiet Partners, and Trains
by James C. Sherlock I love trains. Always have. Took my first train ride at a very young age with my mother and brother from D.C. to Birmingham to visit mom’s family. After the Navy, my private sector work was based in McLean. I had regular business in New York I took Amtrak whenever feasible.…
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Sorry, Lefties, But Racists Don’t Invest In Black Enterprise
by James A. Bacon The broadsides against Bert Ellis are going national. Inside Higher Education, the higher-ed trade publication, has published an article highlighting the growing controversy over Ellis’ appointment to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. The article quotes Eva Surovell, editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily, whose articles sparked the furor, as saying…
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Regulations and the Costs of Doing Business in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock About the only category I found interesting in the “Top States for Business” rankings by CNBC, other than the progressive metrics that are featured in many of the categories, is “Cost of Doing Business.” Virginia’s worst score among the six categories of metrics is that one. The methodology used for costs…
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Irish-Americans in Northern Virginia Caught in COVID Fraud
by James C. Sherlock I am of Irish heritage. Grandparents and great grandparents on both sides immigrated to America in the 19th century. Imagine my shame when I read a recent news release from the Department of Justice. My people have taken entrepreneurialism a step too far.
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Masters of Hype and Puffery
This is the fifth in a series of articles about Terry McAuliffe and GreenTech. by James A. Bacon and Carol J. Bova On July 6, 2012, GreenTech Automotive launched the rollout of the “all-American” MyCar electric vehicle at a ceremony attended by former President Bill Clinton, the governor of Mississippi, the assistant secretary of Homeland…
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Shearing the Sheep
This is the fourth in a series of posts about Terry McAuliffe and GreenTech Automotive. by James A. Bacon and Carol J. Bova The Chinese citizens who lost $500,000 each from investing in GreenTech Automotive were not happy with their setback. While they had ponied up their money as part of a scheme to get…