Thomas S. Caldwell: Wealth-creating dreamers are the drivers of the enterprise system. Our government has forgotten that
Society celebrates and honours successful CEOs, yet we often forget that every great business came from an entrepreneur who brought an idea into substantive reality.
Competing for talent with the public sector represents just one of the challenges facing entrepreneurs, who encounter hurdles at all levels of government. Increasing taxation and complexity at the federal level, regulatory hurdles at the provincial level and a war on transportation at the municipal level are just a few examples.
The basic role of any government is to provide the conditions necessary for its citizens to achieve their own greatest potential. If not, many will leave or simply not even try.
A thought to consider: If we had kept all the entrepreneurs who left our country to go to America, Canada might be one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Instead, we are fed more ineffective government programs.
“We take the thing that’s most important and send it somewhere else,” Lütke said. Canada may be a great place to start a new business but it is not a great place to build one.
Entrepreneurs, as wealth creators, are the highest level of the free enterprise system. Without them, economies stagnate. The evidence is clear.
Thomas S. Caldwell, C.M., is chair of Caldwell Securities Ltd. and chair of Urbana Corporation.