特朗普如何抑制了企业家精神

近日，特朗普总统宣布将暂缓执行甚至取消前总统巴拉克·奥巴马提出的国际创业者条例。该条例允许移民企业家在美国创立公司。此举相当于对美国初创公司的生态环境狠狠动了一刀，无论从短期还是长期来看，都会损害到美国的经济。他的政策也会让人们对美国全球创新领导者的形象产生质疑。

国际创业者条例为想来美国的企业家设立了严格的标准。例如，他们必须拥有公司至少10%的股份，公司必须有迅速发展的潜力，从而创造收入和工作岗位。实际上，美国风险投资协会支持这种做法，因为他们认识到了移民给美国做出的贡献。美国国土安全部估计，每年通过该条例得以进入美国的企业家移民约为2,940人。特朗普延缓甚至取消这一条例，相当于忽视美国面临的严重挑战——我们需要填满并跨越这一创新缺口。按照美国在线创始人史蒂夫·凯斯的话说，特朗普的决定是“巨大的错误”。

美国已经陷入了创业减速的泥潭中。2014年新创立的公司刚过45万家，比起20世纪80年代到21世纪头十年中期的50万至60万有着明显下降。年龄30岁以下的企业家数量也接近了24年来的最低点。千禧一代创立公司的速度还不够快。

诚然，2008年的金融危机不仅搞砸了房地产和股票市场，也抑制了许多美国人的冒险欲望。在信贷市场受迫的情况下，想要成为企业家的人很难在开公司和追逐梦想时获得资本保证。尽管商业行情确实看涨，考夫曼创业活动指数也在上升，但美国仍然没有恢复曾经初创公司茁壮成长的景象，全球创新先锋的地位也不再稳固。

我们可以而且应该允许移民来填补我们的创业缺口。移民是敢于冒险的。离开故土会让你无所畏惧，乐于改变，面对挫败也能迅速恢复。引人注目的一点在于，2010年的《财富》500强榜单中，由移民和第一代美国人创立的公司占到了惊人的40%。这些公司包括麦当劳、苹果和通用电气。

历史上看，移民占美国人口的10.5%，所以他们在创立长久存续的公司，帮助美国创造未来的工作岗位上发挥了超出自己比例的作用。这些由移民创立的《财富》500强公司在美国拥有360万员工，在全球拥有1,000万员工。他们创造的收入总和达到了惊人的4.2万亿美元。

这些公司的企业家的名字，你可能有所耳闻，例如谷歌的谢尔盖·布林和特斯拉的伊隆·马斯克。移民企业家对我们的初创公司的生态环境至关重要。我们需要联合起来，抵制和拒绝总统不合理的政策。（财富中文网）

本文作者迪帕克·乔普拉是The Chopra Foundation的创始人和The Chopra Center for Wellbeing的共同创始人。卡比尔·塞加尔是一名作家，格莱美奖获得者，也是美国海军老兵。他们联合撰写了《家庭：每个人都会收到欢迎》，这是一部由美国移民启发所著的诗集和音乐专辑。杰夫·奥斯特是一名投资顾问，也是制作音乐专辑《家庭》的音乐人。

译者：严匡正

Trump has taken a hazardous scalpel to America’s startup ecosystem by announcing that his administration would delay and may even remove the International Entrepreneur Rule implemented by former President Barack Obama, which enables immigrant entrepreneurs to found companies in the U.S. These measures are harmful to our economy in the short and long run. His policies call into question our image as the worldwide leader in innovation.

The International Entrepreneur Rule establishes rigorous criteria for entrepreneurs who want to come to America; for instance, they must own at least 10% of their company and the company must have potential to grow quickly in terms of revenue and jobs created. Indeed, the National Venture Capital Association is supportive of this measure, as it recognizes the contributions immigrants make to America. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that 2,940 immigrant entrepreneurs would be permitted under the rule every year. By delaying and perhaps eventually abolishing the International Entrepreneur Rule, Trump is turning a blind eye to a serious challenge facing our country—the need to fill and bridge our innovation gap. In the words of Steve Case, the founder of AOL, Trump’s decision is a “big mistake.”

The U.S. is mired in a startup slowdown. There were just over 450,000 companies formed in 2014, which is a material decrease from the 500,000 to 600,000 companies that were started every year from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. The number of entrepreneurs under the age of 30 is at a nearly 24-year low. Millennials aren’t starting companies quickly enough.

To be sure, the 2008 financial crisis wrecked not only the housing and stock markets, but dampened the risk appetite of many Americans. With credit markets under duress, it was difficult for would-be entrepreneurs to secure capital to finance their companies and pursue their ambitions. While it’s true that business sentiment is getting stronger, and the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity is increasing, America still isn’t experiencing the robust startup growth that it once enjoyed—or that it needs to remain at the vanguard of global innovation.

Immigrants can and should be allowed to fill our startup gap. Immigrants are risk takers. There is something about leaving behind your home country that makes you fearless, open to change, and resilient in the face of defeat. Remarkably, immigrants or first-generation Americans founded a whopping 40% of the Fortune 500 companies listed in 2010. These companies include McDonald’s, Apple, and General Electric.

Historically, immigrants have made up about 10.5% of our population, so they are clearly punching above their weight when it comes to starting companies that last and helping America create the jobs of the future. These immigrant-founded Fortune 500 companies have 3.6 million employees in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. The combined revenues of these companies amount to a whopping $4.2 trillion.

You’ve heard of some of these entrepreneurs, such as Sergey Brin of Google and Elon Musk of Tesla. Immigrant entrepreneurs are vital to our startup ecosystem, and we need to unite to resist and reject the irrational policies of the president.

Deepak Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Kabir Sehgal is an author, Grammy Award winner, and U.S. Navy veteran. They created Home: Where Everyone is Welcome, a book of poems and music album inspired by American immigrants. Jeff Oster is an investment advisor and musician who produced the music album "Home."