PhillyInc

While I can understand debating the attritubes of conducting business in the Greater Philadelphia Region as compared to Boston. Perhaps this may be missing the most salient point of Mr. Brubaker's blurb. If Caruso's Uncommon Individual Foundation can do what he is proposing, that is a MyEntrepreneur Space web based infrastructure to promote individual entrepreneurship worldwide, then the arguments regarding physical location and/or local business climate melt away. What if every individual became somehow "uncommon" by advancing the entrepreneur spirit within to achieve all kinds of real world life goals? This sounds wonderfully ambitious and incredibly exciting!

Having lived and worked in Boston as well, I believe that the entrepreneurial spirit of Philadelphia is as deep and developed as it is in Boston. I loved living there and still have many friends there. However, my family and I moved back because this is our home - where we have our roots. This is where I have learned the most and am continuing to grow. Life is all about learning and sharing what you learn with others. This region is full of people who share what they learned with others. We need to support entrpreneurs to keep the region alive and growing. They'll build the businesses, create the jobs and spread the wealth inspite of any obstacle, especially taxes.

Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture!

I think Michael is correct. Taxes are an important consideration in where you initiate entrepreneurial ventures. Part of creating an entrepreneurial enviornment requires working on everything that makes it attractive for this enviornment to exist. Once we encourage individuals to built their entrepreneurial spirit, we then are building a team effort to create an attractive venture enviornment, including initiating the appropriate tax incentives.

Myspace? Nice. Flashy, but not compelling.

Having lived and worked in Boston, I can tell you that the primary difference between Boston and Philadelphia (besides the entreprenuerial spirit, which explains why Bostonians aren't waiting around in bars for the shipbuilding, warehouse, and line assembly jobs to come back), is the tax structure. Phila. penalizes people and businesses for working there; Boston doesn't. Union power comes in second, but taxes drive everyone away, especially the professional (some would say Yuppy) core that contributes the most through spending and tax revenues.