U.S. President Barack Obama is loving this idea of crowdfunding. In tandem with the presidential address tonight, a post on the White House blog said that as part of the America Jobs Act,  Obama will seek more access to equity capital and the ability to more easily raise funds through crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter.

Services Angle

There is little information about the proposal but it does show the importance that Obama places on startups. It also demonstrates the significance of services providers, which increasingly serve as platforms for nascent ideas that have the potential to bloom into full-fledged businesses.

The White House blog called out Glif, a New York company that has developed an iPhone 4 tripod and stand. The company is raising money on Kickstarter, the largest services platform in the world for crowdfunding creative projects.

Through its Startup America initiative, Obama is also seeking to raise capital through regulatory changes such as “reducing the disproportionately high costs that smaller companies face when going public, as well as raising the cap on “mini” public offerings (Regulation A) from $5 million to $50 million.”

The crowdfunding initiative would all for “many small-dollar investments that add up to as much as $1 million.” We’re unsure what that means exactly but there is a to exempt startups from SEC regulations written 78 years ago. The regulations restrict crowdfunding. Today that causes problems for startups as traditional means for borrowing are increasingly limited.

Obama is making a clear play here. Republicans have been touting their commitment to entrepreneurs. Aiding startups would seem to fit their interests except for the fact that this kind of effort means spending increases. And we know how the Republicans feel these days about any effort that requires some capital spending.

Obama is including this aide to startups that breaks down as $253 billion in tax cuts and $194 billion in new spending. The total bill for the plan is $447 billion.