{"id":672,"date":"2014-01-06T15:02:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T15:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2014\/01\/entrepreneurship-and-obamacare.html"},"modified":"2014-01-06T15:02:00","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T15:02:00","slug":"entrepreneurship-and-obamacare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2014\/01\/entrepreneurship-and-obamacare.html","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneurship and Obamacare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Ah, the lazy way to write a blog post:\u00a0 see two posts\/articles, connect them together, and add commentary.<\/p>\n

Post\/article #1:\u00a0 Megan McArdle\u2019s speculation on whether the existence of Obamacare (that is, both the subsidies and the no-preexisting-condition-exclusion requirements) will enable people to be more entrepreneurial, \u201cWill Obamacare Inspire Small-Business Ownership<\/a>?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her answer is basically that the jury\u2019s still out (or, in other words, it\u2019s a \u201ctalk among yourselves\u201d kind of post).<\/p>\n

Post\/article #2:\u00a0 Via marginalrevoluation.com, an article at the New Republic<\/a> on the current situation in Zimbabwe, in which dollarization has ended the hyperinflation but it\u2019s still a very, very troubled country.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Will a greater safety net inspire more people to strike out for themselves?\u00a0 Not really.\u00a0 My expectation is that the reverse is true, that societies in which the citizens expect their government to provide a generous safety net (medical, food, housing, general living expenses), expect safety in their working life as well.\u00a0 Consider that in European countries in general (or maybe just \u201ccountries in general\u201d), instead of \u201cemployment at will,\u201d it can be, depending on the country, rather hard to fire someone.\u00a0 At work, our research group produces summaries of employment-related legislation, and some countries define what is (and hence, what isn\u2019t) a fireable offense in great detail \u2014 exactly how many times an employee can be absent, for instance.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Of course, on the other hand, in countries like Zimbabwe, where there isn\u2019t a safety net, everyone is an entrepreneur.\u00a0 The author describes his \u201cbicycle tour\u201d of the city, given by a young man who, sensing there was money to be made, instantly reinvented himself as a tour guide.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something to think about:\u00a0 who do you know who\u2019s self-employed?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my list:<\/p>\n