Crowdfunding an Idea Whose Time Has Come

Congress and the president have the chance to put in place a piece of bipartisan legislation that will help young companies raise money. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, as passed by the House, allows new businesses to use crowd funding—online efforts to raise small amounts of capital from many people. The process is infeasible under current securities law; President Obama has agreed to sign the bill if Congress passes it.