Growing up on a family farm, I know firsthand the challenges of running a small business... challenges that only seem to be growing for today's entrepreneurs.

Gov. Perry has led the way in Texas on creating an environment for job growth.

It's mystifying to me why the House leadership will not allow a straight up-or-down vote on a pay raise. I vote against every pay raise because taxpayers deserve better.

The trend in entrepreneurship is up, but an entrepreneur's ability to hire is down.

Government is truly beginning to embrace the power of innovation for the people and by the people, the idea that if government collaborates openly with and unleashes the ingenuity of the public, it will get much more done, much faster and at much lower cost than if government acted alone.

It always seemed to me ironic that the McCain campaign kept referring sneeringly to Obama's meager resume - 'a mere community organizer!' - before he entered electoral politics. It was Obama's experience as a community organizer that proved such a killer app when he applied that skill to the Internet.

But I think we need to remember that democracy everywhere is by its nature incomplete, a work in progress.

Higher taxes still does not create prosperity for all. And, more government still does not grow jobs.