Excellent post John! Even if you did steal it, fair and square, from the New York Times!
And by the way -- I totally agree with the statement about the economy. There are MORE businesses started during downturns in the economy vs when things are rolling fine. People are sometimes forced to do something "different" during downturns.
The key take away I got from the original question/post - is that there is a significant lack of capital ---- and that should be the key concern because even in the best of times cash is king... and the lack thereof can't be overcome easily. Read #5 in John's post.