WHIDBEY
OPINION Page A6
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Saturday, January 25, 2014 • Whidbey News-Times
SOUND OFF
Washington state needs to be more business friendly GUEST COLUMN
By DON C. BRUNELL With the ongoing debate about income inequality and increasing the minimum wage, it’s important to revisit the basics. In order to demand a wage increase, you must first have a job. In order to have a job, someone must create that job. In order to create that job, someone must start a business. But now, when our economy desperately needs more — and better — jobs, a major study shows that starting a business in the United States is more difficult than ever. The study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp. ranked 189 nations on how easy it is to start a new business. They considered the number of procedures required, the time necessary to complete the paperwork and the expense involved. The U.S. ranked 20th, down from 11th last year. Our showing was well behind countries like Rwanda, Belarus and Azerbaijan. The good news? We narrowly beat out Uzbekistan. New Zealand is the best place in the world for entrepreneurs, according to the report. Starting a business there requires “one procedure, half a day, (and) less than 1 percent of income per capita and no paid-in minimum capital,” the study noted. New Zealand was followed by Canada, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong in the top five. By contrast, the U.S. requires, on average, six procedures, takes five days and requires 1.5 percent of the company’s income per capita. The study also listed the countries that made it easier to start a business in 2012-13. The U.S. was not on that list. Despite our slide in this global ranking, the U.S. couldn’t hold a candle to Surinam, where it takes almost seven months to start a business. Why is this important? Because most jobs are created by small businesses, and research shows that economic growth is driven by the entry of new businesses rather than by the growth of existing firms. Chances are we wouldn’t be debating income inequality SEE BRUNELL, A7
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Jet noise
Disclosure not worthless, but lacking some clarity Editor, It appears Michael Monson is now in backpedal mode after reading his many complaints and informing the public he never saw or signed any kind of document informing him of “significant” noise possible at the property he purchased. Just to be sure, I looked up the word “significant.” It means very important and large enough to be noticed or have an effect, which to me means maybe I should check this out some more. He was also upset that a Realtor posted the document on line with his initials. This information would have come out sooner or later as any defense attorney worth his salt would investigate to see if he is telling the truth and enter it into evidence. I feel this information came out
sooner than expected and took him by surprise. To say this document is worthless is not true, lacking in clarity possibly. The other litigants may also want to go back over their claims. Lastly, if the Navy flew more than it published or expected, it may be due to a thing called “operational commitments.” Perhaps COER could petition the Navy to be included when world situations change and be notified of increased flights, but I wouldn’t count on it. Mike Van Voorst Oak Harbor
Monson’s disclosure spin reflects his character Editor, An opportune moment lost is how I view Michael Monson’s “worthless piece of paper” spin effort regarding the noise disclosure Form 22W, which he has long denied signing. Rather than addressing the perceived weaknesses in the noise disclosure document, we get a reflec-
Executive Editor & Publisher.....................................................................Keven R. Graves Advertising Manager......................................................................................Teri Mendiola Assistant Editor .......................................................................................... Jessie Stensland Contributing Editor...................................................................................... Megan Hansen Reporters............................................... Janis Reid, Ron Newberry, Sara Hansen, Jim Waller Administrative Coordinator.........................................................................Renee Midgett Advertising............................................................... Nora Durand, Phil Dubois, Gail Rognan Creative Manager.............................................................................................. Connie Ross Lead Creative Artist........................................................................Michelle Wolfensparger Creative Artists..........................................................................Adine Close, Jennifer Miller Circulation Manager...................................................................................Diane Smothers Circulation Assistant.........................................................................................Liam Graves
tion of his character when his spin evolved into a rant. Sorry, but it leaves one with a single question of which Mr. Monson may have already answered: If a noise disclosure document of more substance were developed, would it still be viewed as a “worthless piece of paper” in Mr. Monson’s mind’s eye? Thomas Strang Coupeville
Perhaps county should condemn properties Editor, I am confused. The group Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve sues the Navy because the jet noise is unbearable and claims an EIS was flawed. The president of COER gets angry when a real estate agent discloses he had, in fact, initialed noise disclosure informantion during his property transaction. SEE MORE LETTERS, A7
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