Recently, everyone from President Obama to Tom Friedman have been particularly vocal about the need for entrepreneurship and the need to encourage startup activity. What is disappointing, from the point of view of serial tech entrepreneurs, is that no matter how well intentioned the concern, the remedies proposed are still far from the mark.

So why are people interested in startups? Because startups create jobs and, in the tech sector particularly, they create good jobs, paying much more than the national average. Because they are nimble and create technologies and products that make the US globally competitive. And because they’ve always been a great strength of the US economy that almost no one else has successfully copied.

Unfortunately, the discussion about encouraging startups and entrepreneurship has become too wide ranging – proposals try to target all startup activities from corner stores and cleaning services to the next Google or Apple. While all of these endeavors are noble, I believe that high-potential-growth technology companies are where we should place our emphasis and that attempts at equity have blunted the effectiveness of what’s been done so far. This is because sustained competitive advantage ultimately derives from technology and tech companies (often in partnership with governments) are the engines of both job creation and many of the improvements that have driven up our quality of life in the last 50 years. Most big companies have effectively outsourced their R&D divisions to startups, preferring to grow by acquisition than by the uncertain returns of internal development as investors keep putting pressure on profits. Technology startups (and I include bio, nano, IT and many others) are the companies of the future and their success will drive the economy.

Technological jingoism? To be sure. If you don’t agree with it, I’m unlikely to convince you and you’ll probably be madder than a renter coming home to find a stranger in his parking space when you read what follows. Similarly, if you are no-intervention laissez-faire economist, you’d probably better spend the time reading about what happened in 2008 and reconsidering your world view. Otherwise, if you accept my prejudice that tech startups are the growth engines of the economy and you feel that government has some role in promoting them, read on!

Many have touched on this topic and what I’m trying to bring to the debate is my experience in four startups on three coasts, a piece of paper from a well regarded institution that claims they taught me basic economics and a bit of experience trudging around Capitol Hill talking to policy folks. My goal is to discuss what the enlightened public policy pundit should propose for supporting these efforts and what – equally importantly – is a waste of time and resources? This is a series of postings with some concrete suggestions from the trenches. Part of my goal is to torque some people up – without debate there can’t be constructive change.