Deputy Knesset Speaker Danny Danon sent his congratulations to Obama, but not without mentioning that Obama had not been good to Israel during his first term. “It is my hope, and that of many Israelis, that the president resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years,” Danon said. “Rather than dictating illadvised policies that endanger the wellbeing of America’s only true ally in the Middle East, now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honored policy of ‘zero daylight’ between our respective nations.” Danon feels that Obama is overdue to visit Israel, a trip that he noticeably avoided during his first term. Knesset Member Arieh Eldad of the National Union Party insisted Obama was “the most hostile president to Israel in recent decades” and warned that his reelection would not be beneficial. As Obama said himself via Twitter, “Four more years.”
National The USA: Proud Land of Immigrants Many immigrants immigrate to the U.S. in pursuit of the American dream and for better career opportunities. Now immigrants make up 13% of the U.S. population. Oftentimes, immigrants prove to be hard-working and determined to succeed which may explain why one in every six small businesses is owned by an immigrant, according to a recent report by the Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Initiative. Professional and business services, such as waste-disposal services and office administration and cleaning, boast the largest number of immigrant business owners, followed by retail, construction, educational and social services, and leisure and hospitality industries.
“Immigrants are such a varied group with people from countries all around the world that have a wide range of skill sets…and these [fields] have always been a natural fit” both locally and nationally, says David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of FPI’s Immigration Research Initiative. Kiplinger put together a list of seven immigrant entrepreneurs that come from diverse backgrounds and have made millions in various industries. Coming in at the top spot is Josie Natori, a 64-year-old woman from the Philippines, who is the founder and CEO of the Natori Company. She moved to Westchester, N.Y. in 1964 to attend college and then worked on Wall Street and for Merrill Lynch. She became a U.S. citizen in 1974. She describes her success. “While I loved the [corporate] culture, I also had a very strong desire to build something myself,” she says. In 1977, she launched her high-end women’s sleepwear company originally sold in Bloomingdales. In 2011, Natori teamed up with Target for a budget-friendly line, and her company generated $150 million in retail sales that year alone. Mrs. Natori is proud of who she is and where she came from. “Some people may see their immigrant status as an obstacle,” she says. “I have always viewed it as one of my biggest assets. Natori is unique in the design world, because of its East-meets-West aesthetic. All of that is due to my background and heritage.” Arnold Schwarzenegger hogs the number three spot. He was born in Austria and is famous for his stint as an actor and governor of California. Schwarzenegger immigrated to the United States in 1968 at age 21. Today, Schwarzenegger is worth an estimated $300 million. At number five is Sergey Brin from Russia who is co-founder and director of special projects at Google. Brin’s family left Moscow in 1979 after a rise in anti-Semitism when Sergey was just six-years-old. His family settled in Maryland and Brin attended University of Maryland for mathematics and computer science. For graduate school, Brin attended Stanford University where he met his future partner in business, Larry Page. The two are the brainchildren behind Google which they launched in 1998. Brin became a billionaire overnight when the company went public in 2004. He is now estimated to be worth $22.5 billion.
In News Employees’ Hours to Be Cut Because of Obama’s Reelection
Obamacare mandates that employees that work more than 30 hours per week be covered under their employer’s health insurance plan. Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter plans on passing the costs of healthcare reform to his business onto his workers. As a result of Obama’s reelection, Schnatter said he will likely reduce workers’ hours. Schnatter originally made headlines in August when he told shareholders that the cost of a Papa John’s pizza will increase between 11 and 14 cents due to
Obamacare. “I got in a bunch of trouble for this,” he said, referring to the comments he made in the summer. “That’s what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.” Schnatter refused to take an official stance and say whether he is in support of or against the Affordable Care Act. He did say, “The good news is 100 percent of the population is going to have health insurance.” Many other food chains have been reducing hours in anticipation of the legislation.
Company Blames Obama for Lay-offs In related news, it seems like Obama is bad for business. One hundred and fifty miners have been laid off from a Utah coal company, and the boss is blaming it on President Barack Obama. Two days after Obama’s reelection, the company made the announcement in a short statement. The layoffs at the West Ridge Mine are effective immedi-
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