by Harry J. Clark, President,
GENAVCO Corporation Air Cargo

As the owner of GENAVCO Corporation, a small interisland Air Cargo Co. that has been in business in Honolulu for almost 27 years, I was elated when I read the news that landing fees at airports in Hawaii were going to be set aside for 2 years, as part of the State of Hawaii's "Grand Plan" to promote business and tourism. My elation turned to disappointment however, when this morning I telephoned the airport manager, Mr. Barry Fukunaga and learned that this does not apply to the local small airlines but only to the "Big Guys."

We pay each month approximately $1800.00 for our landing fees. It costs us $30.00 each time we land, up from $7.00 per landing 2 years ago.

We at GENAVCO have a very wide customer base of 1,500 to 2,000 customers. Varying from large companies to Mom and Pop operations, with the majority being very small. We pride ourselves in keeping shipping costs low, servicing customers where 1 to 2 cents makes a difference. Compare this here, in the real world, versus the State of Hawaii where the difference is 1 to 2 million of dollars. As can be seen we indirectly support thousands of workers and jobs.

Again, the State of Hawaii has shown their indifference to small business in Hawaii, by not including us in their "Grand Plan" to increase business and tourism, by granting GENAVCO a decrease in our cost of operation. This reeks of a payoff to big business, again to the exclusion of small business. Big business is not necessarily good business. Wake up State of Hawaii, small business is keeping the wheels turning.

Unions were strong then. A man could be the breadwinner, earning a living wage for his family by himself. The unions saw to it.

Anti-trust laws were big then. They broke up monopolies and encouraged competition. Today, as mega-corporations grow larger and take over larger areas of the marketplace, the news media sings their praises rather than trying to break them up.

There's been a subtle change over the last decade or so, a concentration on the stockholder rather than on workers and customers. It probably happened because of the rise in the stockmarket, the growth of mutual funds, and broader ownership of shares by Americans. The bottom line means so much more to everyone now. Since so many Americans have a stake in mutual funds, perhaps the press thinks it is doing Americans a service by accepting as fact the contention that all can be forgiven if a company has a healthy bottom line.

With this mindset, no one is policing big business. Cutbacks in pay and downsizing are accepted as necessary--for the bottom line, for the stockholders. The problem is that the average person in Hawaii is not a stockholder. We are suffering the cutbacks without the rewards.

When there is little real competition, prices are set as high as the market will bear. In Hawaii, our prices are as high as people can afford to pay. It's the stockholder that counts, not our people, not our economy.

Our economy is grinding to a halt. This Chamber is asking the government to take major and decisive action to jumpstart the economy again. We want a tax cut; we want to get rid of, or pare down, the excise tax; we want workers' comp reform. I agree with all of these measures. But they are all long term. The legislature won't pass them till next April; they will become law in the summer; and they won't affect the economy for a year. Meanwhile, we all suffer.

There is something that the members of this Chamber, especially the Big Business members, could do immediately that would kick-start the economy tomorrow. We all know what it is. And we are all afraid to say it. We could lower prices.

Now, before the small businesses who are hurting so badly start to scream, let me remind you that we have two kinds of businesses as members of the Chamber, small local businesses being strangled by our bad local economy, and larger businesses who are national or international. Bigger corporations, with branches and subsidiaries across the mainland are enjoying what more and more people are calling "the golden age of America." These are being labeled the best economic years America has ever had! It's the businesses that are big enough to be enjoying the mainland American prosperity that I am addressing. And you executives from them.

While your first loyalty may be to your stockholders, your kids and grandkids are moving away from Hawaii because they can't afford to live here. Our economy is all but paralyzed, and you Big Business executives hold an immediate fix.

If everyone in Hawaii found at the start of next week that their gasoline was 10% less, that their electricity and telephone were 10% less, that Matson and SeaLand had lowered their costs 10% and that Safeway and Foodland had passed on that savings and added to it, that the news media had dropped the cost of local advertising 10%, and that the stores had passed that on and added their 10%--if all this happened, we would find that by the end of the week that people would have discretionary money in their pockets. We would soon find that people were spending their extra money on all kinds of other things. The economy would begin to roll.

We all want the State to give our people a tax break, because it will give them discretionary money to spend, which will spark the economy. Why should we wait a year for a tax break to kick in when we could put that discretionary money in their pockets and get things going today?

Think of how much more clout we would have when going to the legislature to ask for a tax break, if we could show that members of the Chamber had made the "unthinkable" contribution of cutting prices in order to getting the economy going.

I invite our trans-national and multi-national corporations who are enjoying great prosperity on the mainland to cut prices in Hawaii. It's time to forget shareholders for awhile. The economy of Hawaii needs a jolt.

But what advantage would a corporation derive from lowering prices? Clearly, most of our businesses will profit far more this year if we get the economy rolling, than if we do nothing and keep our prices at status quo. And we may actually make far more money in the long run.

Finally, a word about the Chamber. This Chamber is shrinking, as we all know, and it is looking desperately for that spark that will give it new life. Those who hold the key to jump-starting the economy have the commonality of being members of the Chamber. The Chamber is the logical body to bring its members together to discuss lowering prices. I call upon the Chamber to do this. If the Chamber is successful at this task, it will have no further difficulties with falling membership.

by Dennis Kaimi Keokokalole, GM, Entertainment Unlimited, Inc.

In the international world of business, music is becoming one of the fundamental stepping stones to maintaining market share. All you have to do is look at the latest in the burger commercial wars, and the positive response from the public, and all the copy-cat commercials that have followed. Small business owners are realizing that a solid jingle or sound that is identified with their service or product, can trigger business for years. Music has been overlooked for years as a continual promotional tool. There are promotional ways of sharing your company's musical "theme" from Holiday Season greeting cards that contain a full CD as part of the card, or theme musical chips tucked in primary promo items, that you can give away to your customers, such as on your anniversary or to announce special sales. Music should be added to your company's Internet site, as well as having music that conveys your business, when customers are placed on hold. Music can remind people of a time, place or even your company services and name. Don' t miss every opportunity to promote your business!

Y -- Just me. I'm looking for Waikiki. Is it behind these walls?

X -- Yeah, but if you want to get in through the barricade, you gotta answer some questions. You gotta take the Bainum test before I can let you through.

Y -- OK, how long's this gonna take?

X -- Not long. Ready for the first question? #1--Have you ever sold your virtue for money?

Y -- Well, sure. Why?

X -- Just checking to see if you are moral enough for Waikiki.

Y -- Huh?

X -- Just answer the questions. #2--Have you ever peddled your services to people on the streets?

Y -- Everyone in my profession has. So what's new?

X -- I see. Question #3--Have you ever begged for money?

Y -- Sure, all the time.

X -- Last question, #4--Have you ever threatened people with violence if they didn't do what you wanted?

Y -- Of course. It goes with the job. What's this all about anyway?

X -- We've got a new moral code here in Waikiki. We don't wanna let moral degenerates in do we? If they don't pass the Bainum test, they don't get in. Got it? That is -- unless you can prove you're a tourist with a bundle of money. Are you a tourist?

Y -- No, I'm a politician.

X -- Really? A politician from around here?

Y -- Another district. I'm expected for a fundraiser in half an hour.

X -- Why didn't you say so! Come right in! Sorry about all the hassle. Just following orders you know, and keeping out the riffraff--unless they're politically connected.

The setting of the best price for our products is a key ability for small business people. Many a naive individual has gone into business thinking this was merely a matter of adding up production costs, allocating overhead, and rounding up an "appropriate profit," only to find consumers had quite a different idea concerning what they'll pay. Proper pricing starts with predicting the end price and working backwards, not the other way around. The end price is driven by consumers based on the laws of supply and demand. Lower prices, painful as they may be, are often the only way business people can move their inventory.

The rules of prices apply to wages just as well. Chronic unemployment is inevitably the result of labor holding out for higher wages than the current state of the market indicates. The recent carpenter's strike threat occurred at a time their membership was experiencing almost 50% unemployment. They incorrectly blamed this situation on mainland subcontractors supplying the islands with prefabricated building components. In actuality the subcontractors were doing the carpenters a favor. Many projects would not have been economically feasible without using the prefabricated parts. There would have been less work for Hawaii's rank and file had this practice not been in use.

The carpenters idea that they can increase the costs of the projects without discouraging sales is no more correct than the businessman's thinking he can raise his prices to anything he wants and still have buyers. Of course the carpenters have an ace in the hole that small business doesn't. They can get their friends in the government to force the taxpayers to pay for all kinds of projects. Taking money away from the politically less powerful to enhance the standard of living of favored unions is hardly news in this state anymore.