EDITORIAL
Business climate needs a fix, not a revolution

When Forbes magazine makes one of its occasional finger-wagging, tongue-clucking forays into Hawai'i, the usual local reaction is something between irritated amusement and outright anger.

Forbes finds it impossible to see the Islands as anything other than a socialist hell for business.

Local business leaders would be the first to admit things could be better. But there are others who point out that the same rules, regulations and restrictions that look odious to a free-market activist have their value: They protect the social, physical and human environment that makes Hawai'i special in the first place.

As irritating as those Forbes articles are, however, they should not be ignored. There are areas where Hawai'i could do better by business without abandoning its long-held social values.

One hint along those lines comes from a recent survey conducted by the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i (with some support from the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of the company that publishes The Advertiser).

Among the findings of this anecdotal survey of some 156 O'ahu companies:

• Government regulatory agencies tend to treat businesses as adversaries rather than customers. This has to change. You can have the toughest business regulatory climate in the world, so long as the playing field is level for everyone and those being regulated are treated as customer-partners rather than enemies.

• Public schools need to do a better job of preparing young people for work or higher education. Here, the point is not that our schools should be single-mindedly turning out worker bees who happen to fit the current needs of industry. Rather, the focus should be on an educational system that produces well-rounded critical thinkers whose skills and abilities are suited to whatever turns our economy might take.

• Related to the work done by schools, businesses bemoan the fact that entry-level workers are too often unsuited for the job place because they lack a work ethic or are damaged by drug use. This issue requires the attention of the entire community.

• Small businesses in particular complained about the rising costs of worker's compensation insurance, liability coverage and health insurance for their employees.

Indeed, there must be some relief, particularly to small businesses that operate on thin margins. This does not mean doing away with our well-established worker protections; rather it means helping employers through tax credits, "circuit-breaker" caps on the amount they must spend for these benefits and other reforms.

The positive thing about this informal survey is that it found substantial majorities of those surveyed optimistic that the business climate will improve and feeling, overall, quite positive about Hawai'i and its prospects.

The key is to capitalize on that optimism and work toward a fair, balanced, sustainable and humane climate that is right for businesses, their customers and their workers.