January 2010

News from Sam Slom

By Sam Slom, President and Executive Director of Smart Business Hawaii

Happy New Year (the Year of the Tiger). The year 2010 will be as challenging or more so than last year with more taxes, fees, regulations and mandates facing small business. This is a major election year- business must be involved for change- and to overcome adversity.

You can access the latest hard data on Hawaii's economic outlook by the state Department of Business and Economic Development at HawaiiReporter.com (http://tinyurl.com/HawaiiOutlookDBEDT).

Our SBH 34th Annual Business and Investment Conference, the first major business event of the new year, Wednesday, January 13, 7 am 2 pm at the Ala Moana Hotel will be terrific and well worth your time! The conference theme is: "Small Business 2010: Strategies for Hawaii's Business Recovery." Keynote luncheon speaker is John Zogby, author and internationally known pollster. Governor Linda Lingle will also speak briefly at lunch and there will be many outstanding speakers and panels featuring candidates for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District and Governor. Send in your reservation now (see page 8) Sponsorships for the conference still available; contact Malia Zimmerman @ 306-3161 or Darlyn Evangelista at SBH 396-1724.

John Zogby's best-selling book, "The Way We'll Be," is available to SBH Conference attendees for purchase and autograph at the special conference price of $15 (published price is $26).

More information and cost consequences of the Obama Cap Œn' Trade Tax are becoming available and it cannot be enacted. The Copenhagen climate fiasco featured a walkout by more than 130 developing countries who do not want their economic future compromised. Why is the US first to deny its citizens choice and to tax them too?

The health care disaster, another tax embedded in a 2,000 page Senate bill, is full of non-health power-robbing government.

Rats at Chinatown? According to Councilman Rod Tam - who now wants to be either Mayor (not Lt. Governor) - there may be rats at City Hall too giving special deals to land owners in Chinatown.

President Obama assures us he wasn't elected to help "fat cat Wall Street bankers." Now we know.

AIG Hawaii is now Farmer's Insurance.

The SBH Education Foundation released an analysis of the Honolulu Rail Greenhouse Gas Emissions by internationally known urban planner Wendell Cox on December 8. The report contained environmental data the City neglected to include in its flawed EIS filing for the $6 billion train to nowhere. The rail supporters, such as Mayor wanna be, Kirk Caldwell, attacked Cox and the report saying SBH paid a "hired gun for $5,000." At least our non-taxpayer-financed "gun" can shoot straight. Had the City contracted for such a report it would have easily cost taxpayers $500,000.

Mayor Hanneman now proposes to rename Magic Island within Ala Moana Park, "Barack Obama Park." You gotta be kidding. Parks and beaches to be named after non-living individuals. City Council can decide.

Thanks to Paul Brencick, Sr., Marketing Communications Manager of member Aloha Petroleum, Ltd., Christmas continues in January with $20 free Aloha gas-see page 12 for details. Mahalo Paul.

Attorney-member John Carroll filed a lawsuit against the Jones Act-which increases the cost of living for every taxpayer and every business in Hawaii-in federal court December 7. Judge David Ezra threw out the lawsuit contending the plaintiff businesses-among them several SBH members-had no standing.

Continental Airlines the first of several carriers to add additional non-stop flights to and from Hawaii this year.

Central Pacific Bank announced it will cease its Mainland banking operations, centered in California, in the next year.

Hold onto your wallets; the 26th State Legislature begins its annual 60-working day run Wednesday, January 20, ending in May. Topic djour? Taxes, Fees and more burdens for business. Democrat leaders decided to be "austere" and ban ceremony, flowers, entertainment and food. Better to ban more taxes, spending and debt. The unique Hawaii Legislative opening is unique no more.

SBH Sunrise monthly Networking Breakfast resumes Thursday, January 28 at the Pineapple Room, Macy's, Ala Moana Center, 7 8:30 am with State Labor Director, Darwin Ching, discussing the awful unemployment tax increase facing small businesses.

Please check our website at http://www.smallbusinesshawaii.com for the most updated alerts and news.