"Intrepid Liberal Journal" wrote a post at MyDD about something I've been thinking a lot about lately: pro-business liberalism. I recommend taking a moment to read the post, as it's well written and offers some good ideas on how to dispel the myth that liberals are anti-business.

Bush's failed policies however offer the Democrats an opportunity to become the party of small business and become the majority party again. For one thing, there is an emerging consensus among small and medium sized businesses about the cost of health care. Businesses of all sizes are hemorrhaging money because the increasing number of uninsured Americans is hiking premiums. In that environment a single payer system is an appealing alternative because it will lift a heavy financial burden from employers. Personally, I don't believe single payer health care in America is politically viable but government assuming more of the financial burden certainly is. Real health care reform can be sold to the business community as an economic stimulus package designed to liberate entrepreneurs to invest their profits into growth and development instead of keeping up with the rising cost of premiums.

Another way the Democrats can appeal to the business community is by revisiting the bankruptcy reform law that passed last year. The new law is actually damaging to the modest risk-taking entrepreneur because it takes away a potential safety net in case their business fails. Typically, small businesses are largely financed out of the entrepreneur's pocket and if his business fails, declaring bankruptcy allows him to have a fresh start and take care of his family. Hence, DLC Democrats like Joe Biden, Harry Reid and Evan Bayh actually stifled job creation by supporting this legislation because it will make prospective entrepreneurs more risk adverse. Yet the new law allows large corporations such as Delta Airlines to declare bankruptcy and default on their pension obligations. That's wrong morally as well as economically. Democrats should vigorously campaign on a platform to revisit the legislation. This can be sold to the business community as a safety net for the small entrepreneurs who create jobs.

Conservatives have spent decades building up the notion that liberals are in favor of central planning. This isn't true, though. It's a smokescreen meant to hide the fact that conservatives are not pro-business so much as they are pro-wealth consolidation. Conservative economics does not spur economic growth across the population, nor does it offer opportunities or incentives for average citizens to go into business for themselves. Conservative economics is Wal-Mart economics - it's about consolidating wealth in the hands of very few at the expense of everyone else. That's why conservatives are so quick to defend Wal-Mart's slash-and-burn practices that devastate local economies, while ignoring ways to encourage more opportunities for ownership amongst regular citizens.

I've noted here before that anyone who takes the time to read Adam Smith, or even Frederick Hayek, will realize that capitalism has much more to do with liberal economics than conservative. Conservatives read economics and cherry-pick what is convenient to their argument, leaving aside things like Smith's call for progressive income taxation, or Hayek's call for governmental regulation of industry.

The way conservatives do this, of course, is by making false arguments about slippery slopes. Conservatives have been arguing for massive deregulation for decades, saying that it is unnecessary - that it will suffocate the economy. One the biggest proponents of this argument was former Enron CEO Ken Lay. Of course, we can now look back and see that his real purpose was to get rid of the regulations so that he could loot the energy market. Absent any rules or regulations, one company may be able to maximize profits at unheard of levels - but that isn't capitalism, it's simple highway-robbery.

In order for a free society to thrive, citizens must play by the rules. And playing by the rules does not mean seizing power so that you can effectively re-write the rules in your favor. Conservatives are not pro-business, they're pro-mega corporation. It's long past time for liberals to take up the pro-business cause and communicate to the American people that our goal is to develop a strong and robust economy where everyone has a real opportunity for ownership, not just the billionaires. The first step is to demand responsible policies and regulations that benefit everyone, not just the top 1%.