It came out recently and it might appear in your mailbox soon. We call it propaganda. The Governor's office calls it 'Imi Loa: Remaking Government, Renewing Hawaii. 'Imi Loa is a glossy magazine, full of puff-piece tributes to the state government's "achievements," such as they are.

On page 22, you have a picture of the Lt. Governor with scary-looking pruning shears in one hand, and what is supposed to be red-tape in the other. The message: we're cutting red-tape. Will someone please inform small businesses, who are getting hit with higher fees every year? Looks like election photo-op time for Mazie.

On page 15, we have Mrs. Cayetano (the photogenic half) dressed to the nines in front of the Governor's mansion accompanied by a story about historic Washington Place. Hasn't this story been covered ad nauseum by everyone in the media? There are soft-serve interviews of the School Superintendent - no one even mentions Hawaii's low scores in literacy and math ‹ and Commerce Commissar Kathryn Matayoshi, who resides over a department best known for its fees on business.

It looks ‹no, it smells‹ like a continuation of the vaunted Thumbs-Up campaign. Remember Thumbs-Up? That PR marriage between the Governor and Big Business which was meant to convince us that only our bad attitudes were to blame for Hawaii's economic malaise? Well 'Imi Loa is the love-child from that union. Big-business sponsors lavished their advertising dollars on this state-published magazine, and they are paying for its distribution, too. I bet local magazines, hungry for advertisers, would have been able to use some of that largesse.

In response to queries, the Governor's office says that this magazine is needed to present the state's accomplishments to Hawaii's people‹ as if our local media is inadequate to that task. The state is spending only $3,000 per issue, with the rest coming from "sponsors." (What a perversion of the phrase "public-private partnership!") It will be sent to Chamber of Commerce members, state employees, and a "random sample" of the households.

Just what we need, and just in time. Another sunny diversion from real news and reporting on unemployment, mental health hospital conditions, prison overcrowding, budget over-spending, crumbling school buildings, over taxation, child welfare nightmares, and other, manini, inconsequential items. Can the Legislature's magazine, Yes, We are Really Doing Something! be far behind?

The Governor's office should know better than to use state resources and the business community for questionable projects such as 'Imi Loa. One hundred percent of our attention as elected leaders should be dedicated to solving problems, not white-washing them.

Is your workday jam packed from morning 'til night, and you still have a huge ''To-Do'' list? Is your workload cutting into family time? Today's challenging economic times often necessitate dual incomes, and parents worry that long work hours may deprive children of necessary parental contact. Although the ideal child-rearing environment finds mothers at home, quality family life and healthy child development need not be compromised when both parents work. Working parents can learn to juggle workloads and prioritize family time. According to a new study entitled "Short -Term and Long Term Effects of Early Parental Employment on Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth," by Elizabeth Harvey, Ph.D., published in the American Psychological Association's Developmental Psychology (March1999), when mothers work outside the home their children experience no long-term negative effects.

Given that it is possible for adults with demanding careers to make time for family involvement, one may wonder why many parents become consumed with their jobs, rather than set priorities and equal out their time with the family. Total work-preoccupation results primarily from unconscious or deliberate avoidance of domestic -responsibilities. Avoidance behavior occurs by choice and often stems from a fear of inadequacy- fear of being an ineffective parent or partner, for example. Rather than trying to resolve these inadequacies many people find it easier to lose themselves in work, blaming a hectic schedule for their absence from home. The solution lies in replacing insecurity with self-confidence. Then career-family commitments can be honored and enjoyed.

Let's explore four critical factors that support the career-family balance, se we can let go of competing with the clock and enjoy full, productive lives.

1. Planning. Quality (not quantity) time bonds familial relationships. Time spent before work in the morning, or after work until bedtime, for example, offers opportunities for socialization. If you plan your mornings and evenings correctly, you can create time to enjoy meals and visit with your family, discussing issues such as homework, school outings, and reading bedtime stories.

2. Responsibility. Assigning family members household responsibilities solidifies the family unit. Completion of chores offers an opportunity to feel good about contributing to the functioning of the home. This fosters a sense of belonging and no one feels neglected.

3. Positive Attitudes. The career-family balance can be disrupted by selfish attitudes such as, "I can't stand the kids' crying, so I'll come home after they're in bed." Another disrupter is a faulty frame of reference such as, "A wife's job is caring for the family, cleaning house, having supper ready when I get home from work, no matter when I return." These negative mind-sets must be replaced with positive attitudes, then the career-family balance can be restored.

4. Dispelling the myth. Many people believe that demanding work schedules compromise family life. This is a myth. If we approach career-family commitments with confidence, plan appropriately, and delegate responsibilities, we can be enriched by a rewarding career and a close family unit.

Much is made over the negative role played by unions in business publications. It is important to separate the chaff from the wheat in all this. Unions standing alone and doing what they were created to do are not a threat to the economic well being of the community. Everyone should be free to join a collective bargaining unit. The ability to organize and to strike are the only tools a good union needs to insure its members are not taken advantage of by their employers. Individual employees are usually at a disadvantage in negotiating their compensation and terms of employment with employers. To the employee the job is crucial to his and his family's survival. To an employer, particularly in a large firm, the importance of any one worker may be marginal. The employer also will typically know more about the current market rates for labor than individual employees. These disadvantages are relieved by the collective bargaining strategy.

Aside from negotiating wage rates, unions can perform many other services for their members. They can adjust the make up of the compensation package to include various benefits. They can offer many benefits such as retirement and training directly. They can help point out important health and safety concerns to management and seek appropriate improvement.

The ability to do these good things have lead to an unfortunate confusion on the part of many labor leaders and politicians in identifying the things unions can't do. They can't by joining together into a "labor movement" increase the standard of living of all workers. They can't by demanding wage and hour legislation increase real income. They can't improve the earnings of workers who aren't in their unions. They can't change the ratio of the distribution of wealth between labor and capital in general. They can't increase the amount of jobs created by insisting on feather bedding in their contracts. They can't increase the number of jobs by getting more money spent on government construction projects. In short they can only really help their own members obtain the fair market value of their labor in a competitive environment.

It is the vain attempts to do things that it can't do that has lead to the harm done to community by the labor movement. This harm is facilitated by the pseudo science of "labor economics" and a government that does not understand its proper role is to stay out of the economy.

Now that the 1999 Hawaii legislature is pau,it seems a good time to reflect on what happened and why. I know some who would say: " Damn little happened because the legislature couldn't get its act together‹ as usual."

But that begs a question: Why? There is a lot of brain power in the legislature and certainly lots of energy. Look at what those people go through to get elected. So, it's not stupidity or laziness. Could it be that they are each out of focus, lacking clear purpose? I don't think so. Most of them have a clear determination from a personal standpoint even if it is simply to get reelected to office. And, to be a member of a destructive legislature cannot be helpful in gaining public confidence and a return to office. Thus, one must conclude that other forces are at work.

Many of us, including lawmakers, spend a good deal of time talking about how the "public" is stupid. We say "if we didn't have speed limits everyone would drive recklessly fast and if we didn't have mandatory schooling many would not send their children to school." Further if we did not have Social Security " no one would save and old people would starve to death." Implicit in each such statement is the elitist notion that " I know best but most of the rest of the population are dumb, helpless slobs who can't manage their own lives."

This attitude is in direct contradiction to the views of the framers of the Constitution of the United States. Besides it flies in the face of logic. If the public cannot be expected to act prudently in their individual private lives, how could they be trusted to vote for legislators? Nonetheless, our lawmakers seem to believe that they are mothers to a bunch of infants. They want to direct our every action to keep us from harming ourselves.

Speaking of mothers, perhaps therein lies the solution to the dilemma. What did your Mother tell you before she sent you off to school or to do an errand? "Behave yourself," she said. She didn't say "behave others" did she? What did she mean when she said "behave yourself?" Don't steal,don't lie, don't hurt others, respect others, be helpful, be careful, and exhibit good character like be responsible and stand accountable for your actions. In other words, be a self-governor.

Gosh, I think I've got it! Our legislators have been focused on making sure we behave in the sense of dictating every possible personal move or decision. They have been operating on the assumption that we cannot be trusted to govern ourselves. Their actions imply they think character grows out of government force or threat. Like the dysfunctional parent who never allows her child to try and thus to fail or succeed, and learn in the process, they wonder why the child becomes dependent and helpless into adulthood and beyond.

Highly focused on the desired behavior of others,our legislators don't have to worry about their own actions, they are just too busy doing their very important work. Example: Signing off on laws they have never read as they grapple with the last throes of every session.

These boys and girls need your Mother's guidance‹now! You could help by adopting a lawmaker and teaching him or her some motherly virtues.

Why don't you do that?

Today's demanding labor market, employee retention has become an increasing concern for employers. Employers have been forced with the daunting task of filling the position of a valued employee who decided to leave for higher salary or better benefits.

Recent findings of the "America @ work" study evaluated workers commitment across the U.S. indicated the following 10 most important employee benefits:

1) Medical benefits
2) Pension or retirement plans
3) Matched employee savings plans
4) Paid vacation time and holidays
5) Sick leave and short term disability benefits.
6) Choice among benefits
7) Employer sponsored medical plan for retirees.
8) Prescription drug card
9) Preventive/wellness coverage in medical plans and
10) Life insurance (on both employee and dependents)

This study also uncovered several key areas employers should develop programs that recognize the importance of workers' family and personal life; communicate company goals, benefits & compensation with employees; and increase training to help employees keep up with the technical demands of today's job market. For more information call HR2 Consulting at 526-0000 or 373-4444.

Governor's P-R Magazine | Career & Family Life
Role For Unions | Legislature | Employee Retention

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