Small Business Hawaii | Volume 24 Number 1 | January 1999
Sam Slom is also a State Senator from the 8th District (Waialae Iki to Hawaii Kai)
and has a website at this URL: http://hotspotshawaii.com/sam/slom.html
Sam Slom is also a State Senator from the 8th District (Waialae Iki to Hawaii Kai)
and has a website at this URL: http://hotspotshawaii.com/sam/slom.html
Happy New Year..."The Year of the Rabbit" During the Hawaii election, Ben Cayetano union supporters used an effective, "Where's the Beef?" ad to challenge Linda Lingle on details of some of her proposed solutions. So how come they didn't run the same ads after the Governor's December 7 inauguration speech saying he will build on his "vision" of four years ago? What vision? In his inauguration speech, Cayetano "reached out" to the nearly 50% of people who voted against him saying, "to those who did not support me in the election, I welcome your wisdom." You bet, we're the ones who had the wisdom to vote for genuine change. Popular sticker: "Don't blame me, I voted for Lingle!" The wrangling over how to conduct the year 2000 U.S. Census is far more important than the media describe as a tiff between Democrats and Republicans. Constitutionally, the Census is for the sole purpose of apportionment of the U.S. House and must be conducted by a counting of every citizen. Liberal social advocates want to "poll" or survey the population - not enumerate - and weight the results for special classes of individuals - based on race, ethnicity, etc. The real problem is that the Census is used for social engineering and more government intrusion. The issue should not be how it is conducted but how can it again be limited to its original purpose. Honolulu Bank executive and famed international Indonesian gambler, Sukamto Sia, is in debt ($95 million) and wrote bad checks for more than $9 million. He is still sought after as a party guest. Honolulu's Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) is in hock to our state for nearly $50 million but its CEO continually gets appointment to state committees, and "finds" money for ERTF pr and football coaches. Is there any parallel to rewarding irresponsible behavior? SBH is looking for new staffer; Fred von Appen is available but has not applied. Notice how important local sports are? The firing of vonAppen followed by a search and hiring of San Diego Charger interim coach June Jones was front page news for days. The Governor was quick to host Jones at a Washington Place reception. What will Jones do when he learns how many state officials must be in the backfield of all coaching decisions here? The Honolulu Advertiser which endorsed Lingle in the Election (by a split editorial vote), even though the staff writers continued to support the Cayetano status quo, is bending over backwards to get back in the good graces of the Guv with embarrassing PR puff pieces that never include alternative views. The Gov's appointment of loyal campaign co-chair Rick Humphreys to "work with small biz" is no favor to small business. Humphreys, former head of Bank of America Hawaii's failed venture here, and former board appointee of Cayetano, was the letters-to-the-editor hatchet man for the Governor during and after the campaign. Another co-chair, former State Senator Mike McCartney was appointed to a high paying public position and defeated Senator Rey Graulty will be rewarded as a judge. The call for so-called "Clean Money Campaigns" was aggressively pursued recently. Advocates want to ban private funding of campaigns and substitute your tax money. How clean is this idea? Not very. It is what politicians can do with your money and freedom, and their lack of accountability, not private funds per se that constitute the real problem. Does the use of public funds give us better elected officials and control of money? Apparently not, because while we got Bill Clinton twice, the federal commission that doles out public funds is charged that Clinton misspent $7 million and Bob Dole $18 million during the 1996 presidential campaign. Meanwhile, Cayetano was told to repay $300,000 after exceeding a voluntary spending limit and receiving tax funds during his 1994 campaign. As Governor, he fought it and after three years, kept all the bucks. Less government, not tax funded campaigns is the solution. Mayor Jeremy the Cheerleader for Ben Cayetano's reelection campaign Harris now calling for 17% in real property tax hikes - even though property values continue to decline on Oahu- and other tax and fee increases. The phoney "choice" given taxpayers is raise taxes or lose police and fire services. What about the City's illegal activities in the Ewa Villages scandal that cost taxpayers millions? New rail transit proposals? The Natatorium? Jeremy, like his mentor Ben, wants a 100-member task force to "study" proposals for dealing with this latest fiscal "crisis." The crisis is one of credibility and is political, not economic. Ben & Jeremy know only two things: (1) how to kowtow to their union boss supporters and (2) how to raise your taxes. How much longer will we put up with this -and politicians like them who refuse to accept responsibility for their failed visions (aka, delusions)? The '99 State Legislature opens January 20. TAXES and increased union public worker salaries will be on the front burner again. Watch for proposals to increase the General Excise Tax, the Transient Accommodations (hotel room) Tax, removal of tax exemptions for churches, charities and non-profits, higher gasoline taxes, and other fees and charges. SBH will be there too - we won't give up! Hope to see you at the 23rd SBH Annual Conference, January 13 at Ala Moana Hotel. Join Linda Lingle, George Mason and others. Bring an associate and please join us!
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Editor: Sam Slom
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