Cayetano criticizes Forbes as 'far right'
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By Dan Nakaso and Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Staff Writers
Gov. Ben Cayetano fired back at Forbes magazine and its boss yesterday for an article that criticizes Hawai'i's business climate — as a group of Hawai'i business, tourism and labor leaders met to figure out how they might respond.
The article, in Forbes' May 27 edition, "Trouble in Paradise ... Why doing business in Honolulu has become nearly equivalent to suicide," is the latest by Forbes to blast Hawai'i government and labor leaders, saying they have created an unfriendly business environment. The article ended with the line, "Fidel Castro would feel right at home here."
"It's one thing to disagree, I think, with some of the things we have done," Cayetano said yesterday in response to the article. "It's another thing to label the state as a 'People's Republic' and a 'socialistic state in which Fidel Castro would enjoy.' I think those kind of comments just tell you how far right this organization is, and it's a disservice to the people of Hawai'i."
Forbes staff writer Lynn J. Cook, meanwhile, said from her home in Houston yesterday, that "Forbes stories tend to be harsh and yet I stand by everything that's in that story. I stand by the statement of Hawai'i practically being a socialist state."
In Hawai'i, officials from Enterprise Honolulu, a nonprofit economic development organization, gathered 15 representatives from the Hawaii Business Roundtable, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Cayetano's office, the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism and the department's public relations firm, Ogilvy & Mather Hawaii, to discuss the article.
The group talked about coordinating a campaign that might include local and national ads, letters to the editor and op-ed pieces.
The group left without a clear direction on what to do next, who would pay for the campaign or even when the members might meet again.
But the sentiment to do something on a large scale clearly was there, said Sharon Narimatsu, deputy director of the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.
"We don't want to be reacting to Forbes anymore," Narimatsu said. "We no longer want to be victims of attacks by outside press that don't even bother to visit Hawai'i. We're going to have a comprehensive response that better defines how we do business in Hawai'i."
Still, some in Hawai'i yesterday agreed with the tone of the article.
Rep. Charles Djou, R-47th (Kahalu'u, Kane'ohe), speaking at the Building Owners and Managers Association's annual "Legislative Report Card" luncheon yesterday, said: "Forbes said it is suicide to do business here. Give the Legislature another year, and you will have 'death with dignity' in business."
In the article, Honolulu ranked 177 out of 200 in Forbes' rankings of best places to do business. While other communities ranked lower, Cook said yesterday that she focused on Honolulu because it made for a more interesting story.
"Other cities like Flynt, Mich., and Youngstown, Ohio, ranked lower but it's not really news that they had fallen on hard economic times," Cook said. "A lot of people don't realize that Honolulu was so hard hit and that while things were booming on the Mainland, in Honolulu they weren't."
Cayetano, meanwhile, attributed the tack to Forbes.
"You know, you compare Steve Forbes and John F. Kennedy, they both had something in common. They both were rich people," Cayetano said. "The difference is that Kennedy got to understand what poor people go through. Kennedy developed compassion for that particular segment, and Forbes never got it, and that's why he's not president, and he'll never be president.
"Take that, Steve Forbes."
Advertiser staff writer David Butts contributed to this report. Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085, and Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
