LCC Business NewsletterPrint May 2016

@lvlcc www.lvlcc.com

he smell of fresh bagels and freshly brewed coffee set the tone for the morning. The expectation of a very heated and closely watched Senate race, also

made for an amazing and extremely well attended morning. It is an amazing feeling when you develop a project and it surpasses your expectations. This is exactly what happened at our inaugural event with Catherine Cortez Masto. Of course, the strategy planning and tremendous input from the Latin Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs committee, made the risk/reward potential much more predictable. When you throw in the beautiful setting inside the Latin Chamber of Commerce Corporate Office Building, well it really made for a special event. As the questions began and the candidate settled in, it quickly became a very informative conversation between a possible Senator and the moderator. The questions, ranging from business, economy, jobs, immigration and education, really gave the audience an opportunity to learn exactly who Catherine Cortez Masto is. The daughter of a Las Vegas icon, Manny Cortez, quickly showed why she is a formidable candidate for the U.S. Senate of Nevada.

The next Bagels & Politicos event will be on June 29th, with Congressman Cresent Hardy, current member of the United States House of Representatives for Nevada's 4th congressional district, already committed. More to follow.

T H E P R E M I E R H I S P A N I C B U S I N E S S O R G A N I Z A T I O N | S I N C E 1 9 7 6

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Bagels & Politicos BY LCC STAFF

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facebook.com/lvlcc @latinchambernv

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8. Leadership Program for Edu-cators Graduates First ClassDiana Gomez always felt a pull toward a teaching career. Even as a child, her heart was happiest when she was supervising her sisters and cousins’ cur-sive writing and math lessons, recess sessions and lunch duty during games of “school.” She spent five years post-college exploring an accounting career, but the passion for her first love — education — remained. Gomez returned to school to obtain her teaching credential, moved to Las Vegas because of vast job openings, and might have been content to teach first grade forever. But one fateful day, a mentor, whose “growing our own” mantra had encour-aged Gomez to spend the last several years moving up the ranks, urged her to attend an informational meeting about UNLV’s Urban Leadership Develop-ment (ULD) program. (read more on page 14.)

6. MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

7. The Panama Papers? Here's The Real Panama Story Say “PANAMA” these days and the word “papers” quickly comes to mind. Too bad. I recently visited this small Central American country and saw firsthand what is largely unknown: Panama is a huge economic success story, enjoying an average annual growth rate that’s about the best in the world in the 21st century. Things have “slowed” recently: Growth last year was a tad below 6% but is expected to be a bit above 6% this year. (read more on page 12.)

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS &INJURIESIf you or someone you know has been

injured on the job, or caused by the negligence of another, you should always seek a free consultation with an attorney who can explain your rights. Even if the injured person is undocumented or otherwise present in the United States illegally, that person has the right to compensation. (Read more on Page 3.)

Housing Market Highs and Lows

Home Sales were up 1.5 percent from a year prior, the National As-sociation of REALTORS®reported. From February to March 2016, Ex-isting Home Sales also jumped 5.1 percent after a decline in Febru-ary. (read more on page 4.)

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR OR

EMPLOYEE?

When a person is hired by your company to perform services, he or she must be classified as either an employee or an independent contractor. In some instances, the de-termination can be difficult. Both federal and state laws apply, and the two might not always perfectly align. In fact, there are times where for the purpose of federal tax law, they are considered an independent contractor, but an employee for state law purposes. (read more on page 5.)

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Icon A5, An Airplane For Non-Pilots, Hits Turbulence After Fast Start

Most people who aspire to become private pilots start with flight school before thinking about buying an airplane. But Icon Aircraft, a California start-up, has orders to deliver 2,000 of its new amphibious airplanes over the next few years, and nearly half of the purchasers do not have a pilot’s license. This might have been considered the wave of the future had the company’s chief executive not decided to try a revolution on more than one front with his A5 light sport aircraft. (Read more on page 7.)

The Four Components of an Effective Business Plan

Having a well-thought-out business plan can help a Mesquite business owner stay focused on company goals and objectives, yet according to a recent Wells Fargo sur-vey, only about 33 percent of local small business owners said they have a formal, written business plan. Even though many business owners have ideas for plans in their heads, those who put plans in writing are more optimistic about the coming year. (read more on page 9.)

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The Downtown podcast is a late night talk show who's guest embody a TED quality level of conversation or influence: entre-preneurs, inventors, scientists, thinkers or groundbreaking entertainers. (Read more on page 8.)

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Law

f you or someone you know has been injured on the job, or caused by the negligence of another, you should always seek a free consultation with an at-

torney who can explain your rights. Even if the injured person is undocumented or otherwise present in the United States illegally, that person has the right to compensation. Undoc-umented immigrants may fear consequences of reporting and pursuing compensation for injuries, but the law protects many of the same rights to compensation for undocumented immigrants as those afforded to citizens.For example, if you are injured as result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to medical treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages, regardless of immigration status. If you were injured on the job, you may be entitled to medical treatment, settlement for any permanent damage resulting from the injury and other re-imbursement. While the law precludes retraining benefits if an undocumented injured worker is imposed permanent work restrictions that preclude him from returning back to his pre-accident occupation, the injured worker may be able to reopen their claim for additional benefits in the future if the immigration status changes.Many undocumented immigrants may have options to a path towards lawful residency and not even know those options exist. For instance, certain victims of crimes may be eligible

for nonimmigrant visa and a path towards lawful permanent resident status. There are also options for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for some undocumented immigrants under the age of 21 based upon abuse, neglect, abandonment or serious danger if returned to their home country. Moreover, President Obama announced a series of executive actions on immigration to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Ar-rivals program and create a similar program to defer action for parents of citizens and lawful permanent residents. How-ever, these actions are temporarily on hold in court. If these actions are upheld by the Supreme Court, there would be additional options for hardworking immigrants to gain lawful status in this country. According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy cited by the Las Vegas Sun, Nevada could see a $3 million increase in tax revenue if Oba-ma’s executive action gets out of the courts, and a $9 million increase if all undocumented immigrants were to be given permanent legal residence. This is all the more reason why immigrant rights should matter to everyone.A serious injury can have devastating impact to you and your family, regardless of immigration status. It is always best to consult an attorney to determine whether you have any rights to protect. Jenny Lee, Esq. is a Spanish-speaking local attorney and founder of Jenny Legal, a general practice law firm that provides free consultations. Feel free to call today.

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UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS AND INJURIESBY ATTORNEY JENNY LEE

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REAL ESTATENew and Existing Home Sales Up in Much of U.S. March Existing Home Sales were up 1.5 percent from a year prior, the Nation-al Association of REALTORS®reported. From February to March 2016, Existing Home Sales also jumped 5.1 percent after a de-cline in February. Sales rose in all four regions of the country. Meanwhile, a sharp decline in the West sent New Home Sales lower by 1.5 percent in March. Across the country, sales in the East were unchanged while sales rose in the Midwest and South. Year-over-year sales were up 5.4 percent from March 2015. The New Home Sales report measures the number of new-ly constructed homes with a committed sale during the month. Current sales inventory of existing and new homes is running lower than normal. That inventory gap might not be filled by new construction. Building Permits, which are a sign of future construction, declined 7.7 percent from February to March 2016, hitting a 12-month low. And Housing Starts (when excavation begins on a home) declined 8.8 percent in March from February. Despite the month-to-month decline, Housing Starts are up 14.2 percent in March 2016 from a year ago. Loan Rates Temper Rising Home PricesHome prices rose 6.8 percent from February 2015 to February 2016, according to housing analytics firm CoreLogic. The firm projects a 5.2 percent overall price increase for 2016. While home prices continue to rise, home loan rates have hovered near 52-week lows this spring, which is good news for homebuy-ers and homeowners considering a refinance.

Housing Market Highs and LowsWHETHER IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW HOME OR THINKING ABOUT A REFINANCE, HOMEBUYERS AND HOMEOWNERS HAVE A LOT TO WADE THROUGH.BY NAR

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BUSIN

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hen a person is hired by your company to perform services, he or she must be classi-fied as either an employee or an independ-

ent contractor. In some instances, the de-termina-tion can be difficult. Both federal and state laws apply, and the two might not always perfectly align. In fact, there are times where for the purpose of federal tax law, they are considered an independent contractor, but an employee for state law purposes.

While there are different tests for determining em-ployee vs. independent contractor status, common to both Nevada state law and federal law is wheth-er the worker or the company controls the manner in which the work is performed. The more control the employer exerts over where, when and how the work is to be completed, the more likely the worker is an employee.

Employers and workers alike benefit from proper classification. While an employer may find going the independent contractor route saves money and time in the short run by avoiding the cost of payroll taxes, benefits, unemployment and workers com-pensation insurance, the potential penalties can be even more costly.

Businesses that improperly classify their workers are vulnerable to administrative penalties and civ-il action. According to Nevada Labor Commission-er Thoran Towler, misclassified employees that file

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a wage claim commonly work overtime hours and are not paid for those hours. In addition to paying unpaid wages and penalties, the employer can be subject to fines and fees up to $5,000 per violation. For cases that are filed civilly, Towler believes the courts have taken a conservative approach and usually find a worker is an employee unless it was clearly shown that a business to business relation-ship exists. Another area of concern is the failure to provide appropriate and necessary workers’ compensation insurance. According to the Nevada Attorney Gen-eral’s office, some employers who have been pros-ecuted, mistakenly believed they could circumvent the requirement to provide workers’ comp by mis-classifying their workers or by entering into a writ-ten con-tract with the worker. This misconception

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR OR EMPLOYEE? Proper classification benefits all BY MARCEL SCHAERER

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did not preclude employers from being criminally pros-ecuted. In addition, if an employer-employee relation-ship exists, the employer will pay a premium penalty for the uninsured timeframe, but also any costs relating to an uninsured claim; a cost that can be significant de-pending on the severity of the injury. From the worker’s perspective, unlike employees, inde-pendent contractors are not covered by federal or state wage and hour laws and are ineligible for employee benefits such as health insurance and participation in a company sponsored retirement plan. In addition, an independent contractor must be knowledgeable about filing and paying taxes with a 1099. These workers can also be vulnerable to un-paid medical claims arising from injuries while on the job. While companies are not prohibited from employing in-dependent contractors, before doing so, should review all applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Employers should also routinely review independent contractor arrangements to deter-mine if the status of

the relationship has changed and take the appropriate steps to stay in compliance. Companies operating in Ne-vada can reduce their exposure to risk and do the right thing for their workers by performing the appropriate research and classifying workers properly from the day you say, “You’re hired!”

This article was written by our Public Information Officer, Teri Williams, and published in the Business Advocate Newsletter, a publication of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry. Please email subscription re-quests to twilliams@business.nv.gov

Connect with us:Phone: (702)486-2750

Email: biinfo@business.nv.govWebsite: www.business.nv.gov

Facebook: www.facebook.com/businesssandindustryTwitter: @SmallBizNV

15Friday

July

BUSINESS & NETWORKING LUNCHEONSponsors: COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA & WESTGATE LAS VEGAS RESORT & CASINOSpeaker: TBAPlace: Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino3000 Paradise Road | Las Vegas, NV 89109Time: Networking: 11:00 a.m. – Luncheon: 12:00 p.m.Reservations: $45 Members, $50 Non-Members

8Friday

JulyDESAYUNO CON AMIGOSSponsor: TBASpeaker: TBAPlace: TBATime: Networking: 7:30 a.m. – Breakfast: 8:00 a.m.Reservations: $15 Members, $20 Non-Members

DESAYUNO CON AMIGOS SPRINTSponsor: SprintSpeaker: Herb Hunter, Regional Sales Manager Sprint Irma Ramirez, Business Account Executive SprintPlace: Sprint Store 3862 W. Sahara Ave. Las Vegas NV 89102Time: Networking: 7:30 a.m.– Breakfast: 8:00 a.m.Reservations: $15 Members, $20 Non-Members

17Friday

June 3

Friday

June

BUSINESS & NETWORKING LUNCHEONSponsors: NATIONAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS & REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONSpeaker: TBA Place: Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino 3770 S Las Vegas Blvd. | Las Vegas NV 89109Time: Networking: 11:00 a.m. – Luncheon: 12:00 p.m.Reservations: $45 Members, $50 Non-Members

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please call to confirm the events at (702) 385-7367

(NOTE: Cash, Checks and Credit Cards Only – No Billing) 6

ost people who aspire to become private pilots start with flight school

before thinking about buying an airplane. But Icon Aircraft, a Cali-fornia start-up, has orders to deliv-er 2,000 of its new amphibious air-planes over the next few years, and nearly half of the purchasers do not have a pilot’s license. This might have been considered the wave of the future had the company’s chief executive not decided to try a revo-lution on more than one front with his A5 light sport aircraft.Former fighter pilot and Icon founder Kirk Hawkins has entered the general aviation market with a two-seater that takes off on land or water, looks like a jet ski, performs like a small plane and takes just a few weeks to learn to fly.

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“Aviation as most people know it has different mission and different motives, it’s unemotional transportation,” Hawkins told me after we flew a demonstration flight over Napa Coun-ty in California, home to the company headquarters and man-ufacturing plant.The A5, on the other hand is a “pure lifestyle product,” Hawkins said. Don’t think of it as another private plane, he says, but rather as the latest power sports vehicle — and one that may drive fundamental changes in what people expect from aviation and even how pilots learn to fly.Hawkins says he’s “democratizing flight,” arguably an odd characterization for an airplane that costs upwards of $200,000. Still there’s no diminishing what the company has accomplished with the A5.Heavily influenced by marine and auto designs and under the direction of aeronautical engineer Jon Karkow, formerly of Scaled Composites, and Klaus Tritschler, who came from BMW, the single-engine prop plane has wings you can sun-bathe on and a diving platform for swimming after the plane arrives at its lake-side destination. Useful, post-landing rec-reational amenities are not something one usually finds on private airplanes.This year, the A5 was a finalist, along with the Airbus A350,

for aviation’s Collier prize, which recognizes the best achieve-ments in aviation each year.The plane is both simple and complex in that it responds promptly to pilot inputs with a streamed-down, sports-car inspired, intuitive instrument display. At the same time the company spent more than a year developing the A5’s unique two-part wing so that it qualified for FAA certification as re-sistant to a common but deadly safety issue; loss of control during a stall.On our flight, Hawkins purposefully caused the plane to lose lift and while the shrill alarm sounded in the small cockpit and the ride got bumpy, it remained aloft and maneuverable.Icon is betting that the A5 speaks to people interested in fly-ing but overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of study re-quired to fly within a complicated air transport system. Neo-phytes can learn to safely operate the A5 with just 20 hours of training, according to Icon marketing material. That’s enough to qualify for a sport pilot certificate, which allows the holder to fly light aircraft during daylight hours, in good weather, below 10,000 feet.“We believe the first thing you do is become a sport pilot. Go out and forget the infrastructure and learn how to fly and build your confidence,” Hawkins said. “Spend a year and learn

Icon A5, An Airplane For Non-Pilots, Hits Turbulence After Fast StartBY CHRISTINE NEGRONI

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to fly and if you want to graduate into the next level it will take you there.”Approachable pilot training is not a phrase one hears often, and the promise of it may account for the sizeable number of non-pilots who have placed deposits on the A5. Still, Icon en-countered rough air last month when some customers went public in trade magazines and in online pilot forums with their dissatisfaction about a highly restrictive sales contract they received from Icon.At a general aviation festival in Florida in April, a conversation between an Icon executive and participants deteriorated as pilots who might otherwise have been fans of the aircraft, at-tacked the company over terms governing the maintenance, operation and sale of the plane and prohibiting lawsuits against the company. The pilots were particularly concerned about Icon’s insistence on a camera mounted in the cockpit.Civil litigation against plane builders is a considerable fac-

tor in the industry, one which Hawkins believes is not “being dealt with aggressively.” It’s harming development of new air-craft, Hawkins told me. This is “what’s keeping people from flying and what’s hurting flying.”As recently as last week, Hawkins was promising that the company would review the contract and may modify some of the terms. But in a lengthy discussion about the plane, its role in the future of aviation and the pushback from the gen-eral aviation community Hawkins was clear, no aspect of the status quo will go unchallenged, including company’s desire to claim control of what happens to the airplane even after it is delivered to purchasers.By tackling general aviation on several fronts, Hawkins can be sure of one thing; his company’s investors, its would-be-cus-tomers, and even its competitors will be keeping a keen eye on what happens next.

MembershipSpotlight

The Latin Chamber of Commerce is nothing without its membership. We are grateful to have a 40 year strong Chamber that contin-ues to grow every year. We take pride in our LCC Family and do everything in our hands to help our members. That is why we love to shine the light on a LCC Member every

month in our Membership Spotlight sections. The Downtown podcast is a late night talk show who's guest embody a TED quality level of conversation or influence: entrepreneurs, inventors, scientists, thinkers or groundbreaking entertainers. Downtown Podcast has been a member of the Latin Chamber of Commerce since February 19, 2016.

Downtown Podcast films in front of a live audience at inspire and is on COX Cable, going to 1 million subscribers and can be seen by 52% of the local Las Vegas market 3 times each week Thursday Friday and Saturday @ 9PM as well as 2.2 million homes in VA and more cities coming in 2016!

Downtown Podcast global reach through PTV in the Philippines is 7.6 million with a signal going to over 100 million viewers more worldwide. We are proud of our local following and we have been part of the downtown community for 3 years, we are part of the Las Vegas downtown community as well as a window into and out of Vegas.

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aving a well-thought-out business plan can help a Mesquite business owner stay focused on company goals and objectives, yet according to a recent Wells

Fargo survey, only about 33 percent of local small business owners said they have a formal, written business plan.Even though many business owners have ideas for plans in their heads, those who put plans in writing are more optimis-tic about the coming year. In a recent survey, business owners with formal plans were more likely to say that in the next 12 months they planned to add jobs at their companies, expect-ed revenues to increase, anticipated increasing their capital spending and intended to apply for new credit. Why do business owners with written plans have more optimism? While there may be many reasons, from our experience working with small businesses in Mesquite, busi-ness owners in general benefit from creating a formal plan because it serves as the foundation for long-term success. It can help you prioritize how to spend your time and money, and set effective business goals. The challenge for many business owners is getting started. To help, we’ve identified four critical components that should be in any business plan. Here are the key areas we recommend for every plan: Company overview – The overview should provide a descrip-tion of the business, including what products or services you sell. It should outline your professional or industry experi-ence, the history of your business, and your business struc-ture, including staffing and management roles and respon-sibilities. In addition, the overview should house a detailed marketing plan. Analysis – Competitive intelligence and customer insights are a key part of developing your business plan. In this section, you should include data on competitors within your industry. It’s also a good place to explore prospective customers that might be a fit for your products and services, and define how you intend to reach them. Building this information into your business plan is intended to provide you with a competitive advantage, and helps you to fine-tune your marketing efforts and maximize sales.

Financial Data – A business plan should include a financial data section. It’s the place to outline your starting balances, how you plan to make money and sales forecasts. Keeping financial information updated and organized can be a chal-lenge for many business owners, yet an essential process to more easily plan for growth, manage cash flow and prepare for unexpected expenses. Executive Summary – This part of the plan is often consid-ered the most important when seeking financing. This section provides a high-level summary of the business, and recaps the key features of your business plan in one page or less, including who you are, what you sell, and who you sell to, and a financial summary. To help simplify the business planning process, Wells Fargo recently introduced a new, comprehensive re-source on WellsFargoWorks.com: The Business Plan Center. This new, complimentary offering includes two new tools: • The Business Plan Tool is step-by-step guide for creating your own written business plan;• The Competitive Intelligence Tool provides business owners with up-to-date insight on competitors in the market. The Business Plan Center delivers an integrated learn-

FinanceThe Four Components of an Effective Business PlanBY LESTER ROMERO

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ing experience, and is available to all business owners – both customers and non-customers. It is a natural extension of the support we currently offer through Wells Fargo Works for Small BusinessSM. Developing your business plan isn’t a one-time process. It re-quires regular maintenance as your business evolves and your needs change. Every business owner will experience successes and challenges on their entrepreneurship journey, and revising your business plan during these times will help you celebrate accomplishments, establish new goals, and plan for the future based on lessons learned. As a business owner, your focus is on running the busi-ness, and time away from day-to-day tasks is limited. Yet we’ve learned from business owners we serve that taking time to de-velop and maintain a streamlined business plan can save you time and better manage your money in the long run.

Lester Romero is the Small Business Manager for Wells Fargo in Mesquite. To help more small businesses achieve financial success,Wells Fargo introduced Wells Fargo Works for Small Business– a broad initiative to deliver resourc-es, guidance and services for business owners. For more information about Wells Fargo Works for Small Business, visit: WellsFargoWorks.com. Follow us on Twitter @Wells-FargoWorks.

re American governments making promises that American taxpayers can’t keep? The answer may well be “yes” when it comes to public pensions. Un-

funded pension liabilities, or the difference between what’s been promised to future retirees and what’s actually on hand to provide for those benefits, have grown to absolutely epic proportions. This raises serious concerns about the sustaina-bility of America’s retirement systems and its ability to make good on the promises made. Last month, Moody’s Investor Services, one of the nation’s top credit rating agencies, es-timated that federal unfunded pension liabilities (including civilian and military obligations) had risen to $3.5 trillion, or about 20% of GDP. In addition, Moody’s pegged state and local governments’ unfunded liabilities at roughly the same amount, bringing the total U.S. pension shortfall to 40% of GDP.Making matters even worse, total U.S. unfunded liabilities that includes Social Security, Medicare and other debts top $100 trillion, according to the website usdebtclock.org.Regardless, there’s an ocean of retirement-related red ink that, at some point, will have to be mopped up either through massive future tax increases, a substantial reduction in ben-efits, or some costly combination of the two.

Government is hiding the ballPart of the reason that things have gotten so far out of hand is government’s penchant for hiding the ball. U.S. Congress-man Devin Nunes echoed this frustration when he said: “It has been clear for years that many cities and states are critically underfunding their pension programmes and hiding the fiscal holes with accounting tricks.” Nunes filed legislation recently

to help get a handle on the issue. In Texas, the problems with public pensions are less pronounced but still serious. The lat-est figures from the Pension Review Board (PRB), the state agency charged with overseeing Texas’ state and local retire-ment systems, show that among the 93 systems monitored by the agency, unfunded liabilities topped $60 billion as of February 2016. That’s a spike in pension debt of $2.7 billion since June 2015 and an increase of $7.7 billion compared with two years ago. Digging further into the data reveals that the funded ratio—a measure of a plan’s current assets as a share of its liabilities—averaged 80% across all plans. It’s gener-ally held that a funded ratio of 80% or more signifies a firm financial footing, something that Texas’ systems are right on the brink of surpassing. Looking at these plans’ amortization periods also hints at trouble. The PRB’s guidelines for actuar-ial soundness recommend that a plan’s amortization period ideally range between 15 and 25 years. However, 56 of the 93 plans exceeded that target as of February 2016.The financial wreckage in HoustonOver a longer time horizon, it’s evident that fewer plans are able to achieve the recommended amortization period. A 2014 PRB report compares the financials of Texas’ 93 moni-tored plans in 2000 and 2013. The report finds that in 2000 roughly 46%, or 43 of the 93 plans, had amortization periods at or above 25 years. By 2013, however, that figure had grown to 65%, or 60 of the 93 plans. On a more local level, the city of Houston—which is the largest city in Texas and the fourth biggest in the na-tion—is seeing its finances wrecked because of public pen-sion problems. Its three major municipal systems, including the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System ($1.8 bil-

A Solution To Our Public Pension ProblemBY VANCE GINN AND JAMES QUINTERO

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lion owed), the Houston Police Officers Pension System ($1.2 billion owed) and the Houston Firefighter’s Relief and Retire-ment Fund ($532 million owed), have unfunded liabilities to-taling $3.5 billion. And thanks to a sweetheart setup, the city is limited on what it can do to bring down the swell of debt.Recognizing Houston’s pension problems, Moody’s down-graded the city’s credit rating in March, citing “large unfund-ed pension liabilities (among the highest in the nation)” as one of core concerns. Shortly thereafter,Standard & Poor’s followed suit and dinged Houston’s credit rating citing: “the city’s large unfunded pension liability that has been exacer-bated by what we consider optimistic rate of return assump-tions and a history of lower-than-actuarially determined contributions…”A fundamentally flawed systemBe it from a statewide perspective or more locally, Texas’ public pension systems are clearly not headed in the appro-priate direction. A course correction is needed before the problem metastasizes into something much, much worse.At the core of the pension problem, both nationally and in Texas, is a fundamentally flawed system—the defined benefit (DB) system. DB-style pension plans promise current and fu-ture retirees a lifetime of monthly income, but do so without knowing whether the money will be in the fund.These types of pension plans suffer from two major deficien-cies: generational accounting and excessive expected rates of return. The first is the issue of fewer people contributing to the pot of retirement benefits compared with the rapid pace of baby boomers receiving benefits that’s often more than what they contributed. Put another way, there are fewer dol-lars available for retirees. This is a huge burden on DB-style plans.Another issue is the fact that many plans assume unreal-istically high rates of return—like an 8.5% return expected annually by the Houston firefighters fund or an 8% yield as-sumed by Houston’s other two major pension plans. Houston

is certainly not the only U.S. city guilty of being too bullish on future returns. This is a nationwide problem that’s leaving a wider gap in financial solvency over time. Moreover, many plan managers have invested in risky assets to achieve these returns that could come to bite them later. For taxpayers and retirees, it’s imperative that substantive reforms are put in place. This starts with eliminating DB-style plans and transi-tioning to a more secure retirement option like defined con-tribution (DC) plans.Take a cue from the private sector DC-style plans resemble 401(k)s in the private sector and the optional retirement programs (ORP) available for higher education employees in Texas. These DC-style plans put the power of an individual’s future in their own hands instead of depending on the good fortune of government-directed DB-style plans. DC-style plans are portable and sustainable over the long term as they are based on the contributions of re-tirees and a defined government match. With DC-style plans, retirees will finally have the opportunity to determine how much risk they are willing to take. They also reduce the risk that the government will default on their retirement or fund those losses with dollars from taxpayers who never intended to use these pensions. By giving retirees more freedom on how to best provide for their family, they will be in a much better position to prosper. Because of their efficiency, simplicity and fully funded nature, the private sector moved primarily to DC-style plans long ago. For the sake of taxpayers and retirees dependent on government pensions, it’s time for all govern-ments to move to these types of plans as well. With trillions of dollars in pension problems at the federal level and tens of billions of dollars in Texas, lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels must make changes now. Specifically, they should transition all new employees and those interested into DC-style plans.If not, our kids and grandkids will be sad-dled with pension debt and forced into a future of higher taxes and broken promises that could have been avoided.

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The Panama Papers? Here's The Real Panama StoryBY STEVE FORBES

AY “PANAMA” these days and the word “papers” quickly comes to mind. Too bad. I recently visited this small Central American country and saw firsthand

what is largely unknown: Panama is a huge economic success story, enjoying an average annual growth rate that’s about the best in the world in the 21st century. Things have “slowed” recently: Growth last year was a tad below 6% but is expected to be a bit above 6% this year. Unlike the numbers coming out of China these days, which are ostensibly slightly higher, Panama’s are the real deal. Its growth is still light-years ahead of that in most of the world’s countries.

Contrary to global headlines, Panama is no sleazy money-laundering backwater. Quite the opposite. Panama City is becoming the financial center of Latin America, with scores of global and Latin-American financial institutions having a sizable presence there. The country has made considerable progress in transparency. The multigovernment Financial Action Task Force on money laundering removed Panama from its gray list this year. In 2012 it was taken off the OECD’s blacklist of tax havens. Panama is implementing other reforms, such as doing away with anonymous shareholder certificates, and expects to be in compliance with OECD transparency standards by 2018.

Investors think Panama’s prospects are bright. The government recently floated a $1.2 billion bond issue, which

was quickly oversubscribed. Government debt to GDP is only 40%; in the U.S. it’s over 100%. In terms of moving freight, Panama has made itself the economic crossroads of the Americas. It has handled control of the canal well since it took over in 1999. The number of containers moving through this historic byway in 1993 was 267,000. Today there are well over 6 million, and with the opening of a third set of locks in June, which will enable the canal to handle today’s megaships, that number should surge to well over 12 million. The massive infrastructure attendant upon this growth in traffic has obviously been a boon to the country. The government wisely didn’t treat the canal as a short-term political piggy bank the way most countries have done with, say, their state-owned oil companies. Considerable sums have been reinvested in the canal. The resultant growing volume of trade has meant that government revenues from the canal have also grown nicely. Almost a decade ago Panama enacted what is called Law 41, which offered considerable incentives to any major company making Panama its regional headquarters for Latin America. More than 100 multinationals, such as Procter & Gamble, have done so. Among the enticements is that their employees pay no Panamanian income taxes. As with the canal, the creation of these headquarters has generated supporting infrastructure, including schools.

Panama’s expanding airport has also became a crucial regional hub; 68% of the passengers landing there are

INTERNATIONALINTS

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passing through to other destinations.

With the exception of New York and Chicago, Panama City has more skyscrapers these days than any other city in the Western Hemisphere, and 16 of Latin America’s 25 tallest buildings are in Panama City. This is amazing when you consider such megametropolises as São Paulo, Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

Panama has been attentive to building the necessary infrastructure to support all of this expansion. Construction of a major monorail is under way, and a new convention center to handle such “business tourism” as conferences and exhibitions is near completion.

Another source of growth with enormous potential is medical tourism. Johns Hopkins, for example, has a large facility there. With health care less available in the virtually bankrupt systems of many Western countries, especially in Europe, demand for what Panama offers–excellent care at affordable cost–is almost limitless.

FORBES recently ran a major story about an extraordinary new “city,” Panama Pacifico, that’s rising on 4,450 acres of a former U.S. Air Force base. Billions of dollars’ worth of structures have already been built for numerous companies and thousands of residents. In 2007 a syndicate made up of a Colombian billionaire and a London-based real estate development company won the right to develop the site over a company made up of powerful local families. The triumphant developers are raking in big bucks, but the government doesn’t mind because it recognizes that the developers’ success is a boon to the Panamanian economy.

Business executives told me that one of Panama’s key advantages is its currency, the U.S. dollar, which the country has used since it broke away from Colombia and the canal was constructed over a century ago. Chronically unstable local currencies have been the bane of Latin America. The recent 35% currency devaluation in neighboring Colombia has sent shudders through Panama, reminding its businesspeople of the dollar’s advantages. For all the greenback’s woes, it’s a Rock of Gibraltar compared with the moneys of the rest of the region.

Panama is open to having foreigners move there, as long as they’re willing to work. Panama City has become more and more cosmopolitan, with numerous nationalities living side by side. Foreign direct investment is also welcome. Though obtaining permits can sometimes require patience–Panama has its share of environmentalists–entrepreneurs believe the process to be well worth the effort and less cumbersome than in much of the U.S. Capital is seen as a friend, not something to be feared or strangled.

The tax system is also benign. The general VAT is only 7%, and there’s no inheritance tax. But the government should go the distance and enact a Hong Kong-like flat-tax system. It must also slow down the growth in government spending that’s taken place over the past four years.

Panama can also do more to consistently promote itself as

a tourist destination. Panama wants to become the next Singapore, but reforms are needed to make that a reality. The school system needs upgrading, and more must be done to train people for nonmenial jobs.

Corruption can also be a challenge. The previous government was notorious for having sticky fingers. To Panama’s credit, many of those former officials have been successfully prosecuted. Panamanians believe that as the middle class expands, the tolerance for wrongdoing will continue to shrink. Democracy has been firmly embedded for nearly a quarter of a century, since dictator Manuel Noriega–a notorious drug runner–was ousted by a U.S.-led military intervention.

Thankfully, Panama followed the example of neighboring Costa Rica and in the 1990s disbanded its army. Some things are beyond this small nation’s control, such as the global economic slowdown and its ominous effect on trade; the increasing chaos of global monetary policy; and the forces of protectionism growing in the U.S. and elsewhere. But Panama needs to do a far better job at getting the word out about its extraordinary success in a world that of late has seen precious little of that.

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iana Gomez always felt a pull toward a teaching ca-reer. Even as a child, her heart was happiest when she was supervising her sisters and cousins’ cursive

writing and math lessons, recess sessions and lunch duty during games of “school.” She spent five years post-college exploring an accounting career, but the passion for her first love — education — remained.Gomez returned to school to obtain her teaching creden-tial, moved to Las Vegas because of vast job openings, and might have been content to teach first grade forever. But one fateful day, a mentor, whose “growing our own” man-tra had encouraged Gomez to spend the last several years moving up the ranks, urged her to attend an information-al meeting about UNLV’s Urban Leadership Development

D (ULD) program.The four-semester master’s degree program is a partner-ship with the Clark County School District aimed at prepar-ing a new crop of principals and top administrators to fill a leadership gap created by retirements and local population and school growth. Officials say CCSD will need 100 to 150 new principals a year.“The need is nationwide to really train teachers as instruc-tional leaders. That was the first thing that got me,” said Gomez, an Edwards Elementary Title I learning strategist who has her eyes set on nabbing an assistant principal po-sition next year. “The next thing was that community mem-bers and even businesses that are employing CCSD stu-dents know this is a great need, and this program listens to

Leadership Program for Educators Graduates First Class

UNLV, CCSD partner on hands-on master's program to create a pipeline of local K-12 teachers to fill demand for as many as 150 principals and other administrators a year.

BY KEYONNA SUMMERS

EDUCATION

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EDUCATIONthem and gives them a voice. I was sold.”Gomez is among 27 members of the inaugural ULD cohort who graduated May 14.Started in January 2015, the graduate program's bread and butter is the real-world experiential learning el-ement. Students are embedded in Las Vegas schools, where they work with mentor principals to research data/issues and available school resources specific to that particular urban environment — such as poor at-tendance, test scores or behavioral problems — then im-plement programs to spur improvements.“Field experiences are core to our program — put-ting theory into practice,” said planning director Pat-ti Chance. “It’s real work that benefits a site where the teacher is working.”The program also works closely with Teach for America, which has six graduates among the first cohort, and is supported by Nevada Succeeds. Circle of learningThe Urban Leadership Development program will broad-en this fall under the College of Urban Affairs to include graduate education for community and business profes-sionals in a variety of fields. Concurrently, the College of Education will continue the CCSD leadership-focused track under a new name, Educational Policy and Leader-ship, and expand it to 40 to 50 new students a year plus bring in nationally-recognized course instructors. Officials say they believe the program is one of only two in Nevada specifically dedicated to the preparation of K-12 principals, and is the only one catering to Southern Nevada. The emphasis on bringing in outside perspectives is among things that impacted ULD graduate Benjamin Feinstein most.“We were introduced to so many resources that are there to support students — who, for example, might be hun-gry or homeless or have no insurance to get glasses or a toothache fixed — that when we become leaders we already have contacts in the community to call and we already know how to meet that need,” he said.Feinstein is a Valley High School International Bacca-laureate coordinator, whose field experience project fo-cused on simple techniques for teachers to help English Language Learners succeed in mainstream classrooms.

He has worked in administration at private and inde-pendent schools, and his graduation from ULD allows him to begin applying for CCSD assistant principalships over the summer.Tracking resultsGomez’s capstone project targeted kindergarten English Language Learners at Edwards, which has an 88 percent Hispanic and 66 percent ELL population. She developed a program to prepare the 13 pupils for first grade beginner reading courses and get them on track to meet CCSD’s read-by-third-grade initiative through tailored lessons on letter names and sounds. Gomez said her goal of a 70 percent success rate was exceeded by 15 percent.“If the ULD program taught me anything it’s that if I’m growing, my teachers are growing and that means stu-dents are learning,” Gomez said.It’s a sentiment echoed by ULD graduate Dawn King, who helps educators develop teaching strategies as a spe-cial education instructional facilitator. Her project suc-cessfully decreased behavioral problems in one Monaco Middle School classroom by implementing the “genius hour strategy,” a popular tool at companies like Goog-le that gives individuals free time several hours a week work on something they are passionate about. There was a roughly 50 percent decrease in off-task behavior by students allowed to work on research paper topics of their choosing, King said, but a side bonus was the sig-nificant confidence boost teachers noticed in students who were suddenly eager to give presentations to their classmates.King is hoping her newly-minted degree helps earn her a dean position at a middle school, where she can expand her capstone project and refine the traditional discipli-nary role of a dean to include a bigger focus on building relationships with students.“The biggest asset of this program was the relationship between CCSD and UNLV, and the professional develop-ment,” King said. “We know specifically what’s expected of us when we go into these jobs. UNLV brought in key speakers, had seminars on the weekends. I feel so pre-pared to get started (in an administration job) because I don’t feel like I just learned what was in a textbook. I learned how it can be applied on the job. UNLV did that for me. And the partnership with CCSD is invaluable.”

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Comments from a Team Member

The mission of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Nevada Inc. is to promote the success of our members and Hispanic-owned businesses by

facilitating positive business, cultural and educational relationships, as well as economic

development and knowledge sharing in an efficient, effective and professional manner

facebook.com/lvlcc

@latinchambernv

@lvlcc

www.lvlcc.com

Members & Future Members,

Increasing visibility is a major factor that makes having a website important. Even if people have heard about your company, they may want to carry out research online first, before leaving the house. As new technology is implemented, it is up to the business owner to realize what it takes to stay relevant in a highly competitive market. That is why it is exciting to announce that the new and improved LVLCC website is near completion. It will soon be ready for everyone to see and use when looking for concise and rapid information about the Latin Chamber of Commerce. Please stay tuned!

Thank you, Evelyn Kachirisky

cONTACT:

Phone: (702) 385-7367E-MAIL cecilia@lvlcc.com

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