With November fast approaching, it should come as no surprise that President Obama’s proposal for “business tax reform” includes some elements sure to play well in Peoria.

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama is proposing cutting $467 billion in tax breaks for wealthier Americans and some companies to offset the cost of his job-creation plan, White House Budget Director Jack Lew said on Monday. Included is a plan to treat carried interest as ordinary income. “In order to invest in jobs and growth, [...]

A compromise to raise the debt ceiling is starting to look unlikely as we stare down the Aug. 2 deadline. Democrats and Republicans continue to spar like angry children.

Lack of a compromise could produce dire consequences. Without a deal, the U.S. could be downgraded and a default could send the country into another recession (and possibly doom Obama’s

In this week’s Social Scene, VCs and techies scramble for tickets to President Obama‘s town hall meeting at Facebook, Ryan McIntyre and Jason Mendelson are rocking a new band, David Hornik‘s son shows entrepreneurial fire at 13, Leglise, Higginbotham and Kim get ready to celebrate their birthdays, and lots of clever tweets.

OUT & ABOUT
The biggest news in Silicon Valley this week was President Obama’s town hall meeting yesterday at Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto. CEO Mark Zuckerberg donned a white dress shirt, tie and suit jacket for the occasion, but he couldn’t be talked out of wearing jeans and running shoes. (What is he, 12?) About 500 Facebook employees

A lot has been said about the health care reform shepherded by the Obama Administration and passed by the 111th Congress–both good and bad. In venture, there is an uncertainty over how the legislation will unfold and which startups will have the best chance of prospering. Some believe efforts and technologies to migrate retirees to [...]

Yesterday, I was able to catch up with Rob Chandra, a 10-year veteran of Bessemer Venture Partners, and its lead investor in India, which has attracted $40 billion in foreign capital this year and provided Bessemer with two IPOs.

I asked Chandra to make the case for why more investors should refocus attention on the country; he did so easily. Our conversation, edited for length, follows.

What’s one of the biggest differences between investing in Indian companies versus those in the U.S.?

In a lot of emerging markets, the investment opportunities tend to be working with families. In the U.S. context, you tend not to fund families.