IN a cartoon recently, a politician asked a constituent, "What does Joe Sixpack want?" State needs to mind its small business
"A 12-pack," the guy replied.
I was thinking about that while hanging out at the Small Business Hawaii annual conference for a few hours this week.
A lot of local politicians don't understand the small business owner. It's almost as if they are asking, "What does the small business owner want?"
But the answer is obvious: "To be a large business owner."
The term "small business" has become a verbal stun gun to many politicians in Hawaii. It makes them cringe.
Gov. Ben Cayetano had the guts to show up at the conference and actually get yelled at by a few small businessmen of the angry variety. Ben's not real popular with small business owners, mainly because they think the administration isn't doing anything to keep small businesses in business, let alone establish the economic climate that would allow them to morph into large businesses.
Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who hopes to be the next governor, is loved by small business people. She pointed out that California learned that businesses with fewer than 10 employees are really the economic backbone of a state's economy.
Most government officials simply don't understand small business. It's because so few of them have ever run a private business. They have the mistaken belief that doing a million dollars worth of business in a year means the business owner is a millionaire.
They don't know what it's like to suddenly see your rent triple overnight when you are trying to make a payroll.
Time has no value to the government workers, Lingle says. Whether a department head solves a problem in a week or a year doesn't matter. But small businesses live or die by how their time is spent.
Things would be better for small business owners if more of them were legislators. But they aren't. They've got to work. And so, while they are busting their buns trying to pay salaries, insurance, rent and taxes, lawmakers fly out of left field with new taxes, higher fees and other restrictions.
IT was clear from the anger expressed at the Small Business Hawaii conference that small business owners are tired of being ignored.
I hate to see the governor being yelled at. It's uncivilized. And I think Cayetano gets dumped on for a lot of problems he didn't create.
I have a better idea for small business owners. Every year, there is a "Take Your Daughter To Work Day." The idea is that if parents take their daughters to work, the kids will be inspired to pursue professional careers.
I think Small Business Hawaii should sponsor a "Take an Elected Representative to Work Day."
Legislators, Council members, aides and department heads should all spend at least one full day with someone who runs a small business. Like, spend the day with the guy who owns one of those gas station mini marts and see what it's like to put in 15 hours day just to break even.
Spend the day with that guy who owns a muffler shop in Kaneohe whose rent was jacked up so high he was forced to open a barbecue stand in hopes of staying in business.
If lawmakers actually realized the impact their actions have on small business, they'd be a little less quick to raise the excise tax or impose new regulations. They would learn the answer to the question: What do small business owners want?
Yes, they want to be large business owners. But mainly, they want to survive.