January 19, 2008
Dear Friend:
I’ve always believed that the prosperity of our Hawai’i and country rests largely on the
shoulders of our small businesses. To that end, I advocated for Hawai’i’s 130,000-plus small
businesses in our state legislature and for small businesses nationally as a member of
Congress, where I served throughout my tenure on the U.S. House Committee on Small
Business.
Returning home last year, I accepted an invitation to serve as a director of Small Business
Hawaii, a private, independent, nonprofit association of 2,000 small businesses dedicated to
enhancing the business climate and private enterprise opportunities throughout Hawai’i for
the benefit of all citizens. Recently, SBH (www.smallbusinesshawaii.com) hosted a very
successful 32nd annual conference, at which I spoke.
The title of my speech (text provided below) was “Hawai’i Politics 2008: Will Small Business
Play?” Whether you’re in small business or not, I hope you’ll choose, as I urged Hawai’i’s
small businesses, the fullest possible personal engagement in the crucial discussions and
decisions we all face in this Election ‘08.
With aloha,
Ed Case
Hawai’i Politics 2008: Will Small Business Play?
Small Business Hawai’i Annual Conference
January 9, 2008
Aloha and Happy New Year. And welcome to Election Year ’08!
Yes, from the moment you woke up January 1st clear through Inauguration Day January 20th
next will be one long election year. And thus far the theme is, as it should be, change.
I’ve been thinking about change myself. For example:
-a year ago I was a U.S. Congressman; today I’m the cool-down act for Famous Amos and
the warm-up act for Gene Simmons.
-a year ago I was in government and knew it all; today I’m not in government and see it all.
-and a year ago I thought small business’ representation in government had only up to go;
today … well, what do you think?
Yesterday I was talking with an old friend and colleague from my state legislative days. A
Democrat, he could not be considered a friend of small business. But he’s come to believe
that change is the only way forward for our Hawai’i.
We were talking about the presidential campaign, about the national yearning for change.
And he stopped midstream and asked me this simple question: if the rest of our country is so
ready, why are we so resistant? If we rate our national leadership so low and want new
directions there, why, with similar ratings of our state leadership, don’t we here?
The title of this year’s conference – Hawai’i’s Economic Tipping Point – states what we may
not consider obvious: that we have a choice; that we can collectively find our own new
directions. And the title of my talk – Will Small Business Play? – asks Hawai’i’s 130,000-plus
small businesses – you – whether you’re ready to make the personal commitment necessary
to make that happen.
Perhaps your first question is: why should you care? Why do you have to take your valuable
time to be an agent of change? Here are five reasons.
First, your government does matter to your business. In my almost three decades in
business and two decades in politics, I’ve observed that Hawai’i government and small
business consider themselves mutually exclusive: government believes what it does won’t
really impact small business, and small business believes if it just lays low government won’t
affect it. Obviously wrong on both counts: from taxes to regulation and beyond, our
government can make or break small business.
Second, your government does not know small business. The fact is that most decision
makers statewide simply don’t have the personal experience to understand what drives and
impacts small business, much less advocate for your needs; they have other backgrounds,
priorities and constituencies. What you want won’t just happen automatically.
Third, big business is not your advocate. They have the expertise and resources to
manipulate the system toward specific benefits such as targeted tax credits and spending
and statutory protectionism, and they generally won’t risk those benefits and insider
influence to demand the kind of broad based business climate improvements that will help
you.
Fourth, tough choices that will hurt you if made wrong are coming. Our leaders have had it
easy for half a decade; they’ve been able to give everyone most of what they want in the
short term and kick structural long term problems down the road. As in the mid-1990s, those
days are over; the coming years will force those tough decisions, and at present small
business is not at the table.
Fifth, you are not alone. Too often we don’t act individually if we’re not comfortable we’re
acting collectively. And it’s always puzzled me why, as by far one of the largest segments of
our population, small business owners and their employees and beneficiaries don’t capitalize
on the power of your collective efforts. You will not be alone.
If this all makes sense, then what’s the root challenge and central opportunity?
Fundamentally, the challenge is citizen (small business) withdrawal from the political process,
and the opportunity is full engagement.
The current withdrawal is first from voting. The basics are well-known; voting is declining
precipitously. For example, in Hawai’i’s 1992 general election 82% of registered voters voted;
in ’06, 53%. And that was after about 33% of eligible citizens didn’t even register, so actual
voters were about one-third of eligible citizens.
One-third of our citizens always vote, one-third don’t vote, and one-third vote depending.
Perhaps one wouldn’t view that as a significant problem if the one-third voting was
representative of all citizens, or, more directly for today’s purposes, of small business. But is
it? In my observation, not close generally, and certainly not with respect to you.
But why? Yes, it is in part about ease of voting, and there are many improvements we must
make. But I believe it’s much deeper and more basic than that; I believe it’s mainly about the
lack of choice.
Most citizens vote when they’re asked to choose among candidates; they don’t when there’s
no choice to make. Just look at the turnout in presidential versus non-presidential years.
Here in Hawai’i, we saw substantially higher statewide turnout in the highly contested
governor races of ’98 and ’02 and my own U.S. Senate race of ’06. And it compounds either
way: more candidates, more choice, more voting, more representation, better decisions;
fewer … apathy, misrepresentation, centralization of power and control, withdrawal.
We all need more candidates, and you – small business – especially so. There are over a
hundred seats open throughout Hawai’i this election year, ranging from two U.S. House
seats to most of our legislature and county councils and beyond. Just a few hundred more
candidates could materially change Hawai’i and, if they are oriented to small business issues,
could materially advance the prosperity of small business statewide. The question for you is:
will you do it; will you find and back someone who will?
I’d like to close by highlighting what I believe is the most important single vote we in Hawai’i
can cast for our Hawai’i this year, and that is a yes vote on convening a constitutional
convention. If approved, the convention itself would occur later, and would afford us all a
long-overdue opportunity, as we celebrate two generations of statehood, to reformulate the
foundations of our next generation together. But it won’t happen without your affirmative
yes vote, a vote that, in and of itself, will express your own yearning for a better way
forward.
We are indeed at a tipping point at which the individual and collective efforts of Hawai’i small
business can chart a different path not only for you but for all of Hawai’i. But you have to
choose to play. I truly look forward to working with you!
Mahalo and aloha.
Ed Case
