Tell presidential candidates, 'It’s the enterprise, stupid!'

[Commentary] With as many as 20 Democratic and Republican candidates now shaping the conversation, the 2016 presidential campaign is sure to be about many things. But my hope, for the good of the country, is that the leading contenders eventually will settle on the theme of enterprise. The main question on the table should be: How can we make the US economy truly flourish again? And the answer should be to enact a national agenda that spurs the main drivers of dynamic enterprise and overall economic growth in the 21st century -- innovation, productivity, and competitiveness -- because that will be the best way to produce the results that most people care about: expanding opportunities, rapidly rising wages, lower unemployment, and a broad-based sense of optimism about America’s fortunes.

The next election very well could prove to be a watershed in modern American history. If the parties nominate candidates who hew to conventional “middle-out” and “supply side” economic strategies, then it’s unlikely we will be able to build the flourishing economy we want and need. If, on the other hand, the nominees force their parties to embrace a results-oriented doctrine that is centered on bolstering innovative enterprise, then America has a much better chance of meeting our sizable economic challenges.

[Robert Atkinson is president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)]