November 13th, 2009
Public healthcare could spur Silicon Valley innovation and create jobs
I was looking at a survey of small businesses and whether they would cancel their healthcare plans if public healthcare were available.
VerticalResponse, which offers surveys and email marketing services, polled 831 small US businesses about the effect of public healthcare on their business.
Theron Kabrich the CEO of The San Francisco Art Exchange, was one of the small businesses surveyed. He made an interesting comment and it is one that is very applicable to Silicon Valley.
“A public offering of healthcare unburdens small businesses and entrepreneurs alike, as it allows them to focus on core parts of their business such as innovations and new products. It also removes an unfair competitive advantage for small businesses when trying to attract the best employees, and levels the playing field.”
Will Silicon Valley startups cut their current healthcare plans? They might.
High healthcare costs are a large burden for Silicon Valley startups. The availability of public healthcare should lead to lower costs for startup companies and make more capital available for investment in development.
VCs might demand a provision that their startups not offer healthcare plans. But would this harm recruitment?
Probably not because startups have fairly young staff and the attraction is not getting a safe job with benefits, but a chance to build a valuable business.
It’ll be interesting to see how the availability of public healthcare affects Silicon Valley businesses. If it helps them succeed by lowering their startup costs then this will lead to lots of new jobs.
Tom Foremski reports on the business and culture of Silicon Valley at the intersection of technology and media. He also writes at Silicon Valley Watcher. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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