Farewell to the Print Edition of Small Business News doc

37th Annual SBH Conference & Program • Pages 3 & 4. SB News From Paper to Digital Page 6 Success Continues for Jonathan G. Page 8 Obama Care: Health Cost to Increase Page 9 27th Legislature Set to Convene Page 3 SBH Sunrise Breakfast on Jan. 31 Page 3 Jones Act is Unconstitutional Page 5 SBH MEMBER C A L E N D A R PHONE 396-1724 • FAX: 396-1726 Small BuSineSS newS Volume 38, Number 1• www.smartbusinesshawaii.com January 2013 It’s 2013. Happy New Year! Wednesday, January 9, 2013 37th Smart Business Hawaii Business & Investment Conference Ala Moana Hotel • 8:00 am – 2:00 pm Monday, January 14 SBH Directors Meeting SBH Ofce • 12 – 1:30 pm Wednesday, January 16, 2013 27th State Legislature Begins State Capitol • 10:00 a.m. Thursday, January 31, 2013. SBH Sunrise Networking Breakfast Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Oceanit Macys’ Pineapple Room Ala Moana Center • 7:00 a.m. After 38 years of continuous monthly publication, the Small Business News fades into the brilliant Hawaiian sunset. This is your nal printed issue; save it! It wasn’t an easy decision but times and events change. The hard work, time invested, cost and the economy, technological realities, member feedback and continuing problems with the Post Ofce, all entered into the nal decision by the SBH Board. It’s been a good run with lots of breaking news, commentary and information for your business. Though this is the last monthly printed issue, SB News will be available on line, in a PDF format, and SBH will continue to offer you advice, technical information and alerts about the Hawaii business climate. SBH will continue to offer you meaningful networking, meetings and conferences. We hope to see you January 9 at our 37th annual SBH Business & Investment Conference and on January 31 at our monthly SBH Sunrise Networking Business breakfast. Please call me personally (396-1724 or 349-5438) for any assistance or visit the websites in the adjacent box. Aloha and Mahalo for all your support Sam Slom President/Executive Director Farewell to the Print Edition of Small Business News Dr. Patrick Sullivan • Details on Page 3. Smart Business Hawaii http://www.smartbusinesshawaii.com SBH Foundation http://www.sbhfoundation.org Education Transparency Portal http://www.educate808.com Hawaii Reporter http://www.hawaiireporter.com Happy SBH Sunrise People: The Last Print Edition Cover Photo * PAgE 2 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 SMART BUSINESS HAWAII (SBH) 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., #212 • Honolulu, HI 96825 Ph. (808) 396-1724 • FAX (808) 396-1726 email: sbh@lava.net Web: http://www.smartbusinesshawaii.com Published monthly by Smart Business Hawaii, Periodicals Postage Paid at Honolulu, Hawaii. Small Business News (ISSN #0279-8395) EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Samuel M. Slom MANAGING EDITOR: Malia Zimmerman DIRECTORS: Debi Halcro, Matt Longfellow, Andy Mertz, Tyler Roukema, Jack Schneider, Bob Sigall, Sam Slom, Fred Smoot and Geal Talbert. LAYOUT & GRAPHICS: Melvin Ah Ching POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Small Business Hawaii, 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., Suite 212 Honolulu, Hawaii 96825. Small Business Hawaii (SBH), was founded in 1975, by Lex Brodie. SBH is a private, independent, non-prot [501 (c) (6)] statewide association of nearly 2,000 busi- ness members. Small BuSineSS newS Volume 38, No. 1 • January 2013 Smart Business Views By Sam Slom, President – Smart Business Hawaii Small Business News, Aloha Oe. Well, this is it, the nal printed copy of the monthly SB News, after 38 years. In a front page article, I detail what considerations went into the nal decision to suspend regular monthly printings. We will still continue of course with our online website, weekly SBH Biz eBlasts and regular and special meetings. You can always call me personally (808- 396-1724) for advice, answers to your business questions and current business alerts. There may be future special printed publications. I want to thank many people for their support, including: our longtime graphic artist who put the issues together, Melvin Ah Ching, our managing Editor, Malia Zimmerman of Hawaii Reporter, our many guest contributors, You our readers, advertisers, Edward Enterprises our printer, and Cardinal Mailing Services. Hope you enjoyed our many issues, features, business proles, cartoons and commentaries. Most are still available on our website archives. Aloha! Come to Our Conference! This is a personal invitation to join me at the 37th Annual SBH Business and Investment Annual Conference, Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 8 am – 1:30 pm at the Ala Moana Hotel. What a fantastic lineup of speakers, including: Aston’s Kelvin Bloom, Kitty Lagaretta, Roy Yamaguchi, the FBI’s Tom Simon, best selling author Bob Sigall, Freedom Works president Matt Kibbe and former Governor Ben Cayetano. See the agenda and reservation form on page 4. Ring! Ring! Hang-up. I nally did it: I pulled the cord on my land line with Hawaiian Telcom December 3 after many decades. I joined a growing number of people who are ditching their land lines for their exclusive cells. Why did I do it? (1) Cost – the home line went from $29 to $42 per month since last year; (2) service-the home phone was out of service too much too often and (3) very few local calls compared to massive spam, Mainland and solicitation calls. Coons Dies. Longtime CPA and business leader, Richard Coons died on Thanksgiving Day. He was married to Rep. Barbara Marumoto. We lost many ne people—too many—during 2012. Higa Steps Down. Long time State Legislative Auditor, Marian Higa, stepped down December 31, 2012 after 21 years as the state Auditor. Will be interesting to see who emerges as her replacement. Elections Com- mission Keeps Nago. Despite near universal testimony to the contrary, on November 27, the State Ofce of Elections held a meeting and kept Chief Elections Ofcer, Scott Nago, who was responsible for this year’s election snafus. Many, many people are upset with the performance during 2012 of the elections ofce and Nago. The Governor called or all mail-in ballots. The Commission appointed a two member investigating committee to report back in January. Again, it appears like there are no consequences for state screw-up. We’ll see. HAL to Taipei. It seems every week Hawaiian Airlines adds yet another route. Because of the VISA Waiver program, Taiwan is now more lucrative and starting next July; Hawaiian will add several weekly ights to Taipei. Sullivan at Sunrise. The rst monthly SBH Sunrise Networking Breakfast Forum of the New Year will return, Thursday, January 31, 2013, in the Pineapple Room, Macy’s Ala Moana (3rd Floor), from 7 – 8:30 am. Sunrise is held the last Thursday of each month, January-November. Dr. Patrick Sullivan, CEO of Oceanit, will be our special speaker. Become an SBH Member. Is YOUR business a member of SBH? No? Lots of benets. Strong networking organization. Call Darlyn today (808-396-1724) or go online to www.smartbusinesshawaii.com. What? Not receiving your weekly (Wednesday) electronic copy of SBH Views + News? More than 15,000 business owners do receive it. It’s complimentary. Ad space available too. Call Darlyn at 396-1724. Visit our websites at: www. smartbusinesshawaii.com, www.educate808. com and www.sbhfoundation.org Richard A. Coons, 73, former Managing Partner of the Hawaii ofce of Deloitte & Touche LLP, passed away at Queens Medical Center on November 22, 2012. In 2008 the Hawaii Society of Certied Public Accountants named him to its rst Legacy Hall of Fame. He was appointed by the Chief Justice to four terms on the Disciplinary Board of the Hawaii Supreme Court. Most recently he served on the Screening Committeeon the Kamehameha Schools’ Board of Trustees. Richard Coons was born in Oklahoma, raised in Nebraska and California and was a graduate of California State University at Long Beach. He was a past president of Historic Hawai’i Foundation, a member of Rotary International, 200 Club, National Rie Association, Aloha Shriners, Republican Party, Outrigger Canoe Club, and Waialae Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Marumoto-Coons, sons, Theodore L. Coons and Charles R. Coons, step-children Marshall T. Marumoto, Jay M. Marumoto, M.D., Wendy Suite, Megan T. Marumoto, M.D., one granddaughter and 7 step- grandchildren. Friends remember him as honest, rather reserved, with a good sense of humor. He enjoyed horseback riding, tennis, sailing, and shing. Services were held at Waialae Baptist Church December 15. Memorial donations can be made to HUGS or Waialae Baptist Church. In Passing: Richard A. Coons JANUARY 2013 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / PAgE 3 SBH Sunrise Returns With Dr. Patrick Sullivan The monthly SBH Sunrise Networking Breakfast Forums return and will be held every last Thursday of the month during 2013 (except December). The rst SBH Sunrise Breakfast of the new year will be held on Thursday, January 31, in the Pineapple Room at Macy’s Ala Moana Center on the 3rd Floor from 7 – 8:30 am. January’s special speaker is Dr. Patrick Sullivan, CEO of Oceanit, a successful Hawaii based Aerospace, Engineering Consulting, Information Systems and Life Sciences high technology rm. Sullivan will speak on, “How the technology industry impacts Hawaii businesses”. In addition to networking, introductions and special announcements, the Sunrise features a full buffet breakfast, program and free parking. The forums are open to the public. Advance paid reservations are required. The complete cost for SBH members and their guests remains $25 per person. For non-members and those paying at the door—seats are limited— the cost is $35. For details go to www.smartbusinesshawaii.com or call Darlyn at SBH, 396-1724, or send in the reservation form on p. 11. If you haven’t already done so, you should make your reservations today to attend the Smart Business Hawaii (SBH) 37th annual Business and Investment Conference, Wednesday, January 9, 2013. The Conference will be held in the Ala Moana Hotel, Garden Lanai and Hibiscus Ballroom. The event will take place from 8 am to 1:30 pm. The rst major business event of each new year, the SBH Conference, is open to the public. Advance reservations are required (see form on page 4). Program, luncheon and parking are included. Special reduced rates for members and their guests are available. Speakers will include well-known business leaders: Aston’s Kelvin Bloom, Kitty Lagareta (Communications Pacic) and Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s Restaurants); Best Selling Hawaii Author, Bob Sigall, Honolulu Special FBI Agent Tom Simon, and Freedom Works’ President Matt Kibbe. Special luncheon speaker is former Governor, Ben Cayetano. There will be a business exhibit area, networking, and special events during the Conference. A detailed agenda is posted online (www. smartbusinesshawaii.com) and printed on page 4. SBH to Hold its 37th Annual Business & Investment Conference Matt Kibbe - Freedom Works Former Governor Benjamin Cayetano Keynote Speaker The 27th State Legislature opens its 60-working day session on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at the State Capitol (10 am). The Session will run until the rst week of May. This is a budget year and the primary business of the House and Senate will be adoption of a more than $7 billion annual budget for each of the next two years. A separate Capital Improvements Budget (CIP) will also be adopted. Taxes, fees and regulations will be in the mix. Many proposals will affect Hawaii business. There are many new faces in the Legislature, especially in the House which now boasts 44 Democrats and 7 Republicans. Maui’s Rep. Joe Souki wrested control as Speaker from 13-year veteran Calvin Say. In the Senate, 24 Democrats, 1 Republican are involved with an expanded 17 committees. Maui State Senator Shan S. Tsutsui has once again been elected as the President of the Senate. Aaron Ling Johanson is the new House Minority Leader, succeeding Gene Ward. Sam Slom continues as Senate Minority Leader. You can keep up to date on the status of the estimated new 3,000 bills, business legislation and hearing notices by checking the legislative website, www.capitol.hawaii.gov, the Senate Minority Blog, http://senateminority. wordpress.com/, Hawaii Senate Watchdog http://www.hawaiisenatewatchdog.org or by calling Senator Slom’s ofce, 808-586-8420. State Legislature Convenes January 16 Reserve the Date: January 31 SBH Sunrise 37th Annual SBH Conference Small Business 2013 Working for a Better Day Wednesday, January 9, 2013 Ala Moana Hotel • 8:00 am to 2:00 pm PAgE 4 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 Wednesday, January 9, 2013 – Ala Moana Hotel • Hibiscus Ballroom – 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. SMALL BUSINESS 2013: “WORKING FOR A BETTER DAY” featuring Benjamin J. Cayetano, Former Governor, State of Hawaii | Matt Kibbe, Freedom Works ADVANCE PAID RESERVATIONS REQUIRED (See Below) – Parking Validated – Arrive by 6:45 am Name ______________________________________________________________________________________ Firm Name ____________________________________________________ Phone_______________________ Address _______________________________________________City___________________ Zip___________ My Guest(s) ____________________________________________________Firm ________________________ Luncheon Menu: Beef n or Vegetarian n Enclosed is my check for $_________, for _________ (# of reservations) @$75 for members and their guests • @$90 for Non-Members and at the door if space is available. Full refunds until January 8, 2013. Make check payable to Small Business Hawaii and mail to: Small Business Hawaii, Hawaii Kai Corporate Plaza, 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., Suite 212, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825. 37th Annual Small Business Hawaii Conference The 37th Annual Smart Business Hawaii Conference SMALL BUSINESS 2013: “WORKING FOR A BETTER DAY” Wednesday, January 9, 2013 • The ala Moana hoTel • hibiscus ballrooM 12 noon Luncheon and Program — Hibiscus Ballroom I & II 12:30 Luncheon Speech: “Ending Corruption in Hawaii” Benjamin J. Cayetano, Former Governor, State of Hawaii 1:30 pm Adjournment Mahalo for attending! SBH Leadership Circle Members/Sponsors Only 1:45 pm Private Meeting with Matt Kibbe and Governor Benjamin Cayetano CONFERENCE PROGRAM* 8:00 am Registration and Coffee – Garden Lanai Network and Visit Business Exhibit Tables – Foyer 8:45 am Aloha and Welcome – “Working For A Better Day” Sam Slom, President, Smart Business Hawaii (SBH) 9:00 am Outlook for Hawaiis Visitor Industry2013 Kelvin Bloom, Aston Hotels Hawaii 9:30 am Strategies for Hawaii’s Business Success 2013 Kitty Lagareta, Communications Pacic Roy Yamaguchi, Roys Restaurants Geal Talbert, UBS Financial, Moderator 10:15 – 10:30 am Brief Refreshment Break Visit Business Exhibits (Foyer) 10:30 “Lessons from Hawaii’s Most Successful Companies” Bob Sigall, Author, “The Companies We Keep” 11:00 am “Protecting Your Business from Embezzlement” Tom Simon, Special Agent, Honolulu FBI 11:30 “How to Implement a Freedom Philosophy Matt Kibbe, Freedom Works * Program subject to change. Matt Kibbe Benjamin Cayetano JANUARY 2013 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / PAgE 5 Most Hawaii residents haven’t heard of the Jones Act, but one Hawaii lawyer and several business owners say the 1920 federal shipping law has a major negative impact on virtually ever resident and business in the state, and they are challenging the law in U.S. District Court. John Carroll, an attorney and former state lawmaker, has led a class action suit against the federal government on behalf of his clients. They maintain the Jones Act violates the Commerce Clause by restricting shipping between states to American-owned and manned ships and thereby hurting businesses and residents by inating the cost of goods. The issue is hotly debated among Hawaii’s political elite, but largely ignored by the general public. Carroll and his plaintiffs – who include Patrick Novak, CEO of The French Gourmet; Daniel Rocha, a farmer and rancher; Ken Schoolland, a professor at Hawaii Pacic University, as well as William Akina, Bjorn Arntzen and Philip Wilkerson — hope to educate the public about the detriments of the Jones Act, which some experts argue increases the cost of living in the islands by as much as one third. “The most important issue for me is the violation of the Commerce Clause,” Carroll said. “The founding fathers fought the British and over threw them based on imposition, without representation, of a tax on tea. This law’s enforcement taxes everyone who purchases anything in this state because of the excessive shipping costs, which seem to be out of control.” Carroll maintains the class action lawsuit should be considered as Hawaii’s “revolution”… “to obtain economic freedom from monopolistic domination of shippers who face no competitors.” But Carroll and other opponents of the Jones Act have met with powerful enemies who prefer to keep their control and prot. Not surprisingly, the law has its advocates, including transportation companies, unions and lawmakers who benefit from political Federal Lawsuit: Jones Act Unconstitutional By Malia Zimmerman, HawaiiReporter.com contributions. Hawaii’s congressional delegation, with the exception of former Congressmen Ed Case and Charles Djou, have been beneciaries of substantial donations from Jones Act supporters, including Hawaii’s duopoly shipping companies Matson and Horizon. Carroll has spent a great deal of his career trying to kill the federal legislation or win Hawaii a special exemption, much like the exemptions granted by the President during natural disasters. Three years ago, Carroll brought a lawsuit against the Jones Act, but U.S. District Judge David Ezra threw out the case saying Carroll’s clients did not have standing. Carroll said he’s learned from that experience, and believes the new lawsuit will address the issues that caused the rst to fail. Carroll said the impact of the Jones Act is so severe, that the state of Hawaii is denied access to about 90% of all available shipping in the world. He also blames the Jones Act for destroying Hawaii’s agricultural economy. The lawsuit not only maintains the Jones Act violates the U.S. Constitution but it also claims shippers that service the route from the continental United States, Hawaii and Guam have a monopoly. Matson brings in 67 percent of the goods to Hawaii while Horizon Lines ships in 33 percent of the goods. Photo by Melvin Ah Ching PAgE 6 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 Small BuSineSS newS 37 Years of The Sun Sets on the Printed Edition • 1976 – 2013 This is the behind-the-scenes story in the production of Small Business News. For most of SB News’ existence I have been the person behind the scenes, “The Mysterious Mel” of type, photography, lay- out and technology infamy. I started work on the SB News in the summer of 1985 when I was hired by Paradise Printers to operate their comput- erized Quadritek 2100 phototypesetting machine made by the now defunct rm Itek Infographics. The machine was for most mortals, a very complex single function computer that relied on a coding language to get any meaningful work done. I learned how to operate the Quadritek in college dur- ing the late 1970s while working as editor for the school newspaper. My skills were badly needed at the printing rm because they had just bought the machine and picked up the Small Busi- ness Hawaii account from which they would produce and print the monthly newsletter. It was through my employment at Paradise Printers that rst put me in touch with Sam Slom and Winnie Buckley, who was at that time the publication’s main writer and editor. Both Sam and Winnie would hand over pages of roughly typed sheets containing stories for the next month’s SB News as well as photos to be used in each is- sue. I laboriously typed the copy into the Quadritek and started formatting the text in the machine before the galleys were run out, processed and manually cut and pasted on to layout boards. The paste-up proofs were then nalized by SBH and if approved, sent to the printing press. This process continued for a few years. In late 1988 I left the printer and went to an ad agency. They also needed a typesetter, layout guy and somene who un- derstood how to use the relatively new Ma- By Melvin Ah Ching Special to SBH Continued on page 8. SBH was and is still in the forefront on reporting business, tax and regulation issues. This sign waving demonsration against a GE Tax increase has been a recurring issue over time. Rock star Gene Simmons of KISS (top left) graced the cover of the January 2008 edition of SB News after he was tapped to be the keynote speaker at the 32nd Annual SBH Confer- ence. The highly entreprenuerial Simmons turned his rock star fame into a huge and successful worldwide enterprise. Simmons posed for many photos on the day of the SBH Conference as shown here with SBH Director Debi Halcro and Winnie Chan, who was also an SBH Director at that time. In 1996 Joyce & Bill Edwards (top right), founders of The Systemcenter, Inc. were named the SBA Small Business Persons of the Year and featured on the cover of the May is- sue that year. The Edwards’ went on to receive many awards in the ensuing years which were covered in the SB News. Joyce was also a longtime board member of SBH. SB News January 2008. JANUARY 2013 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / PAgE 7 Lex Brodie of Lex Brodie’s Tire Company was the founder of Small Business Hawaii which in 2009 became Smart Business Hawaii. Jean Fukuda, a longtime SBH member and director presented Honolulu Star-Bulletin car- toonist Corky Trinidad an SBH Award at one of the annual conferences in the 1990s. Both Trinidad and Fukuda have since passed away and today the SBH Civic Leadership Award bears Jean Fukuda’s name. Small Business Hawaii used to operate a member softball league which played weekly at Keehi Lagoon Park during the mid to late 1980s. Announcements, pictures and results of the games appeared in the monthly Small Business News. Many people through the years have supported SBH with their time, talent and money. Among them were former directors (L - R) Kenny Lum, Pamela Gottilieb, Richard O. Rowland who used to write many columns for us, and cartoonist John Pritchett whose cartoons have graced these pages with their timely commentary and humor. The rst location of the SBH ofce was on the 2nd oor in this building on Cooke Street in Kaka’ako, Honolulu. This photo appeared on the cover of the May 1998 issue of Small Business News shortly af- ter the legislature ended. That year a GE Tax Increase bill proposal was defeated near the end of that session. Throughout the publica- tion of the Small Business News, members were brought up to date on issues regard- ing taxation, health care premiums, workers’ comp, unemployment insurance, rail, the Ha- waii Superferry and more. The Late Great Winnie Buckley of SBH. SBH director Jack Schneider and his wife Mi- chelle received the Jean Fukuda Civic Leader- ship award from Wayne Fukuda in 2003. PAgE 8 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 By Ken Schoolland SBH President, Sam Slom, was the rst to recognize the publication potential for The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. Twenty-three years ago, before the fall of the Iron Curtain, Sam offered to publish a book to introduce free market ideas in Hawaii schools. His ideas have never been embraced in the islands, but this venture has now been published in 71 editions in 47 languages around the world. Most recently the tale has been touring as a play across Africa with Adedayo Thomas and a cast of 30, courtesy of Students for Liberty and the Atlas Foundation for Economic Research. There are now more that 45 public policy institutes and organizations worldwide that have adopted the book for publication or promotion in one manner or another During my lecture circuit of 23 presenta- tions at 16 institutions in 5 countries last summer, the rst free market book in Vietnam was launched, next to a bust of Ho Chi Minh. The third Chinese edition was published in Shanghai, the second Albanian edition was published in Tirana, the second editions Dutch and German are forthcoming along with a new Hindi edition. The ninth English edition, hard cover with full color illustrations, including the narrated audio CD, is available on Amazon. com. Lastly, we are making progress toward production and investment toward the animated lm in Los Angeles. Those interested in any phase of this project may contact me at ken.schoolland@gmail.com, or call 808-389- 1998. How better to bring free markets to the world than through education and media of all types. Mahalo to Sam for starting the ball rolling and to Malia Zimmerman, Founder of Hawaii Reporter, and Dick Rowland, President of The Grassroot Institute Hawaii, for keeping it going over the years. Copies of Jonathan Gullible will be available for sale at the upcoming 37th Annual SBH Conference on January 9. cintosh computer. While I was still employed at the printers, I did learn a lot about the Mac and how to make a publication on the visually oriented and easier to use platform. Print production moved from dedicated typesetting computers and hand paste-up to a totally digital process utilizing for the most part the Apple Macintosh computer (there were people in the industry who went to the dark side and used PCs; but they don’t count for this story). It was during this time in the late 1980s that Sam also adopted the Mac platform for use in the SBH ofce. I purchased a Mac of my own in 1988 which later allowed me to integrate the SB News into Macintosh production for pre-press work. While it was doable, it was not totally without its quirks. For a number of years production was stuck between digital composition, hand paste-up and in-house laser printing before gradually transiting to a digital only print process. Taking photos for the publication also changed going from traditional 35mm lm as late as 1999 to totally digital by the end of 2003. Sam and I had recurring “debates” over issues involving the software and operating systems between our Macs, starting with System 6, moving to Systems 7, 8, 9 and nally 10 (OSX), where we are today. We started with Ready-Set-Go, spent many years on PageMaker and are now with Adobe InDesign. Regardless of the technical issues, members always received their Small Business News in the mail, every month, on time with updates, announcements and commentaries on the latest business and political news. I learned a lot over that time produc- cing and reading the Small Business News. It helped shape me more into the scal conservative “pake” that I am today. As this paper edition of Small Business News nally rolls off the press and into your hands this month, rest assured that SBH will continue to bring you the latest news, announcements and commentary that is worthy of your time and space on your digi- tal device. As we go to PDF only starting next month, one thing is for certain. Small Busi- ness News will go to a full color format with the digital only editions. That means most, if not all of the photos will be in color and that design changes may also be forthcoming. The digital edition of Small Business News will be even more closely integrated into our website, Sam’s weekly eBlast, as well as our Facebook and Twitter social media platforms. PDF can be viewed on all types of computers including tablets and phones running the Apple iOS and Google Android systems. In the not so distant future SBH can look forward to the ePub format and maybe even its own Android and iOS app. SB News: From Paper to Digital Contined from Page 6. Jonathan Gullible: An SBH Phenomenon Ken Schoolland and Nguyen Cong Minh with the Vietnamese edition of Jonathan Gullible. JANUARY 2013 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / PAgE 9 IT’S YOUR MONEY Hawaii Health Costs to Rise With Obamacare SBH Membership Can Help You! One of the benets of membership in SBH is our business referral service. Another is member discounts. Also, you can contact SBH for answers to employment and other legal questions. Finally, SBH is your business advocate at the State Legislature, City Council and Public Agency hearings. Please join today. Call 808 396-1724 for details or send in the membership form on page 11. By Lowell Kalapa, President, Tax Foundation of Hawaii Last month we talked about the possible tax increases that might occur as a result of the “scal cliff” if the lame duck Congress does nothing; however, what readers should know is that some taxes are already scheduled to rise as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). While much of the public awareness around this precedent setting legislation focuses on mandatory health care insurance, there are serious tax implications in the measure that will go into effect next year. Last week we mentioned that high income earners ($200,000/$250,000) with dividend and capital gains taxes will be hit with an additional 3.8% tax on that income to fund Medicare. In addition, these taxpayers will see their share of the Medicare tax on their wages rise by 0.9% which when added to the current 1.45% paid by all wage earners will make that tax rate 2.35%. While the employers share for Medicare on these high-wage earners will remain at 1.45%, the combined tax rate will rise to 3.8% which is the same rate these taxpayers will pay on dividend and capital gains income. This tax increase is expected to raise $317 billion over the next ten years. Another new tax will hit manufacturers of medical devices with a tax equivalent to 2.3% of their gross sales. It is estimated that this tax will raise more than $29 billion over the next ten years. Of course, those manufacturers will pass the cost of the tax on to their customers, increasing the cost of medical care. Those taxpayers with Flexible Spending Accounts will be limited to an annual contribution cap of $2,500 with which to cover out-of- pocket medical expenses. Currently there is no limitation on pre-tax contributions to Flexible Spending Accounts used for medical expenses. It is estimated that this will raise $24 billion over the next ten years. One tax increase won’t come in the form of a new tax or a rate increase but it will come in the form of a higher threshold for the itemized deductions that taxpayers can take for medical expenses made during the tax year. All taxpayers can currently deduct any medical expenses they made during the tax year as long as they are in excess of 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that threshold will rise to 10%. In other words, taxpayers will be able to deduct only those expenses that exceed 10% of their adjusted gross income. It is expected that his change will raise another $19 billion over the next ten years. Finally, on January 1, 2013 the amount that a health insurance company can deduct for compensation paid to its executives and directors will be substantially reduced. While it doesn’t sound like much, it is estimated that this change will raise $800 million over the next ten years. Some other changes adopted under this legislation have already gone into effect such as increased penalties for unqualied withdrawals from Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Archer Medical Savings accounts (MSA). An interesting provision that levies a 10% excise tax on tanning bed services went into effect on July 1, 2010. An annual fee on drug manufacturers went into effect in 2011. But that is not the end of the taxes and fees adopted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A new annual fee on health insurers will kick in beginning in 2014 as well as a 40% tax on expensive health plans that will go into effect in 2018. The fact that all of these tax increases have been adopted and will go into effect come January 1, 2013 makes the scal cliff even more frightening. Will the nation be able to withstand even more taxes on top of those that will come with “Obamacare?” While many of these tax increases are “hidden” from the general public, they, nonetheless, will add to the cost of living for all taxpayers. That is why it is so important that taxpayers understand the gravity of what faces the lame duck Congress in the next few weeks. While everyone seems to agree that it cannot be all spending cuts or all tax increases, policymakers need to be sensitive to the burden already borne by Americans - individuals, families, and businesses. And if policymakers think that they can just make the wealthy taxpayers pick up the tab, they should remember that those who have those resources can also choose where to invest their “riches.” No one will come out of this crisis unscathed. Taxpayers need to realize that someone has to pay for the programs and services the federal government has grown over the years. Now is the opportune time to rethink how much federal government we really need and for which we are willing to pay. More on the web: http://www.tfhawaii.org PAgE 10 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 Be sure to check these websites for up to date Hawaii business information and events: Smart Business Hawaii http://www.smartbusinesshawaii.com Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation http://www.sbhfoundation.org Educate 808 – Education Transparency Portal http://www.educate808.com Hawaii Reporter • http://www.hawaiireporter.com Find Business News & Information Online. The following was written by celebrity, comedian, author Ben Stein and recited by him on a recent CBS Sunday Morning commentary. My confession: I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t nd it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking. In light of recent events, terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school The Bible says “thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself”. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said okay. Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, The Way Things Have Become why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can gure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with “we reap what we sow.” Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildre, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein great quotations “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative origi- nal thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.” — David M. Ogilvy [...]... explains the name comes from en+act+us: Entrepreneurial — having the perspective to see an opportunity and the talent to create value from that opportunity; Action — the willingness to do something and the commitment to see it through even when the outcome is not guaranteed; Us ­ a group of people who see — themselves connected in some important way; individuals that are part of a greater whole The change... 3961724 today SBH Sunrise — November 29, 2012: Some of the attendees at the last Sunrise breakfast in 2012 pose with speaker Tyler Roukema (3rd from left) of Outback Steakhouse, Hawaii Kai They include from L-R SBH President Sam Slom, HPU students Pitchanun Wittayanont, Martin Tobrey and their professor Ken Schol- Bob Frost re-introduces himself at land, author of the Jonathan Gullible series of books the. .. deductible to your organization under IRS Code Section 501(c) (6) Please check with your tax advisor Billing is annual on the anniversary of my last payment Ten dollars of my annual membership is allocated for a subscription to the monthly Small Business News I am applying for membership and understand SBH does not sign up anyone for medical or benefits only; I agree to actively support the goals of SBH... (1724) www.smartbusinesshawaii.com Last SBH Sunrise of 2012 * On the front page the Happy Sunrise people are Winners’ Camp fans of Tyler Roukema They are from left to right: Niki Whitehouse, Delorese Gregoire, Tyler, Kalei Lam, Dianne Lam, and Bryce Harken standing in the center, back row Don’t miss the first SBH Sunrise breakfast on January 31 which features Dr Patrick Sullivan of the tech firm Oceanit... is my check for* $ , for _ (number) people @ $25 per member and their guest(s) who pay in advance.* Clip and mail with a check to “SBH Sunrise” to: Small Business Hawaii, 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy #212 Honolulu, HI 96825 *The charge is $35 for non-members, and at the door, provided space is available Mail with check to: SMALL BUSINESS HAWAII • Hawaii Kai Corporate Plaza 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., #212... Regular Voting Member n Retired member n Friend of SBH (No G.E.T # required) n DO NOT n wish to be listed in the annual SBH Referral Directory Category: Medical Desired: n Kaiser n HMAA Referred By: I Do SIGNATURE: _ JANUARY 2013 / Small Business News / Page 11 SMALL BUSINESS NEWS January 2013 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., Suite... Parking IF YOU MEAN BUSINESS PLEASE JOIN SMART BUSINESS HAWAII Hawaii Pacific University’s successful Free Enterprise SIFE organization has undergone a name change, according to club leader, Pitchanun Wittayanont (aka, “Foily”) SIFE has participated nationally and locally in free market programming, education, and debates Professor Ken Schoolland is the mentor for the organization The new name is Encatus... of a greater whole The change is systemwide as reflected in SIFE’s new identity and presence, now known as Enactus They’re online at http://enactus.org/ Best of luck to the student members in Enactus! Dr Patrick Sullivan, Chairman & Founder — Oceanit “Tech Industry Impact on Hawaii Businesses” Reservations made in order received at SBH No tickets mailed – pick up at registration desk Jan 31 Your guests... for medical or benefits only; I agree to actively support the goals of SBH and actively participate in SBH activities I certify that all information on this form is current and accurate PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT Current Hawaii GET# (required) Name: Date: _ Firm: _ Title: _ Mailing Address: . 6 / SMALL BUSINESS NEWS / JANUARY 2013 Small BuSineSS newS 37 Years of The Sun Sets on the Printed Edition • 1976 – 2013 This is the behind -the- scenes story in the production of Small Business. assistance or visit the websites in the adjacent box. Aloha and Mahalo for all your support Sam Slom President/Executive Director Farewell to the Print Edition of Small Business News Dr. Patrick. Director at that time. In 1996 Joyce & Bill Edwards (top right), founders of The Systemcenter, Inc. were named the SBA Small Business Persons of the Year and featured on the cover of the