Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks, has an unorthodox view on how to create jobs in America. Forget the proposals by the Republicans and Democrats, he argues, and focus at the source: American corporations. What do they need to create jobs?

How is this for a revolutionary thought: Companies that would create jobs if they had more cash know who they are. Right ? If you own a company and are thinking to yourself “Self, if I could borrow or get an investment into my company I could hire X more people to grow the company/meet demand/release a new product/whatever”  So rather than guessing and hoping what might happen, why don’t we let companies self identify themselves ?

And not only should they self-identify themselves as companies, they should be able to bid on Government Loans or even actual equity investments. Call me crazy, but I think we should be playing a game of “I Can Name that Tune in X Notes” re-named and reformatted as “I Can Create X Jobs for Y Amount of Money”

Would this system be open to everyone? No, says Mark Cuban:

Of course you will have to set some minimum parameters in order to prevent the dreamers, crazies and who knows whats from clogging up the system. I would set those minimums including: The company must be in business for at least 10 years. They must be have at least 100 full time employees. They must do 100mm in revenues.  And of course they must be up to date on their taxes and I’m sure there are other things to think of as well.

Ten years seems an awfully long time for a company to be considered established, but Cuban’s idea is certainly an interesting one. Especially if you believe Cuban’s argument that tax cuts are only going to help Americans to pay off their massive debt (credit card, mortgage, student loans) rather than go out and buy consumer goods…

What do you think?