Not one of the issues directly affecting my business-and others of Capterra's size-is seriously being addressed by any prominent politician across the many elections taking place today. Below, I've outlined four business-related issues that I-along with many small to midsize businesses across the country-have seen virtually no progress on in the past 15 years. I readily admit that my grievances and proposals are a bit aggressive, but I see no reason why these proposals should be considered partisan or divisive.

First, the tech sector faces an increasing shortage of talent. Politicians can and have argued that there is no real shortage of STEM workers, but businesses large and small can tell you that applicants for tech positions are low relative to their needs, in both quantity and quality. And there is a simple solution.

Among the millions of foreigners who have come to the United States and not yet obtained a green card or full U.S. citizenship, is a subset of several hundred thousand with bachelor's and/or master's STEM-degree holders from American universities. These workers have an outstanding track record of entrepreneurship and innovation, and they will contribute far more in the way of taxes than they will ever receive in the way of benefits. They should be decoupled from the greater issue of legal immigration, which has become complicated, divisive, and over-politicized, and fast tracked to green cards and/or citizenship.

Second, despite all the legislation that has been passed over the last decade, none of it has addressed the underlying problem with health insurance. Since the 1940s the IRS has treated employer provided health insurance as an untaxed benefit, but continues to require everyone else to pay their health insurance premiums with income that is taxed. This unfair policy is nothing short of discrimination.

Like most businesses, Capterra is feeling the pinch of high healthcare premiums and it's not just the fact that they represent our third largest expense after payroll and advertising. The time and effort that goes into making such complicated decisions that take into account the sometimes-conflicting interests of the company and all of our employees is exhausting and unnecessary. As an employer, the specific health insurance needs of my employees really should not be any of my business. The federal government needs to make a decision: either healthcare expenses are taxable or they're not. Treat everyone the same. This is the first step toward more affordable healthcare for everyone. Instead of employer-provided benefits, people would be able to receive what they'd rather have: cash, in order to make their own healthcare decisions.

Third, I think it is safe to say that most Americans believe we have a minimum wage law as a means for helping the poor. But the reality is that most of the roughly 3 million people earning minimum wage are either 16-24 years old and just starting out in the work world, or they are part-time workers who are not supporting a family. The hundreds of thousands of low income workers that it is intended to help would be much better served by other policies such as the earned income tax credits. More significantly, the very nature of a minimum wage makes it illegal for someone to work-and for employers to offer jobs to hire that person-for less than the minimum wage. Yes, it may seem like a crime to pay someone $5 an hour in 2014, but the economic reality is that is the value of some job duties.

Economists disagree on how many jobs are lost due to the minimum wage, but as far as I know they all agree that it is greater than zero. Plenty of industries/companies operate on extremely thin margins - think food preparation - that would greatly benefit from a lack of minimum wage, and unfortunately there are many people with lower levels of education who do not have better alternatives. Even at a high margin technology business like Capterra, there are jobs that we could potentially offer that require routine work each day, such as data cleansing, but we are prevented by law from hiring anyone at a value that is commensurate with these job duties. Not everyone who earns a wage counts on it to make a living. Let states experiment with them, but the federal minimum wage should be abolished.

This brings me to the fourth and most significant issue affecting Capterra and every other corporation in America - the need to eliminate corporate income taxes. While only representing 10% of the federal government budget, the impact of corporate income taxes - higher than every other country in the world except the United Arab Emirates - on business decisions made by companies based in the USA is enormous. No other policy change would directly result in more jobs for Americans. Corporate income taxes should not just be reduced, as is the discussion in the 2014 election. They should be eliminated. Shareholders are already taxed on both dividends and capital gains, so it truly is double taxation. Once companies are allowed to hold on to all of their earnings, much of it will go toward greater investment in growth initiatives. That means more jobs - and better paying ones.

Neither party has a successful track record when it comes to addressing these issues. The Republicans had complete control of the Presidency, House and Senate in 2003-2006 and the Democrats in 2009-2010. Both failed. Of course it's not fair to lay the sole blame on politicians alone. While some of these issues are influenced by your votes at the ballot box, the level of discourse surrounding real solutions is pathetic. It begins with the American people. We must collectively step up and think about the issues, and be open to true dialogue with the intent of really understanding the problems and potential solutions before we can begin to decide which politicians truly represent a step forward. Only then will we understand the full ramifications of the votes we cast, or make these issues a priority when we hold our politicians accountable.

It's time to start.