[quote=briansd1]I should have been more precise. The money is equity for those startups; but it’s levered money from somewhere else.

When money gets tighter, as I think it will, even the startup will have to locate in cheaper locales; and they will no longer be able to afford profligate spending.
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Well, “it’s levered from somewhere else” only in the sense that MOST money, in some way, is levered money from somewhere else. Along the levered spectrum, however, venture capital is funded by “relatively” unlevered money – mostly pension funds, endowments and HNW individuals – as opposed to banks, investment banks, etc.

Having said that, given our level of debt, the need to service and pay down that debt, and the axiomatic nature of C + I + G + NX, it seems inescapable that “I” (of which, start-up investing is a component) and “C” must decline in order to service and pay down debt. So, if that’s what you’re getting at, then I agree.