All of a sudden, government would have a lot more money to invest in education, in public safety and health, and in assisting the disadvantaged and others who have been left behind. Those are the core functions of government. Now, so far, all these dreams have been about the government's role. But it's fair to think about the role of small business, too. We must not look to government to help us avoid competition.
Competition is good for the community.
And we must not seek to avoid carrying our fair share of the common tax burden. But if that burden, coupled with the others of doing business in Hawaii, grows too great, then small businesses simply fail, as they did in record numbers during the '90s. And if that happens, it leaves fewer and fewer businesses to shoulder the burden. Once government starts supporting small business not just in words but in deeds, and makes it possible for us to do our job, then we will begin earning the income that will allow us not simply to carry our fair share of the load, but to become a bountiful source of tax revenue. These are not impossible dreams.