Put more money in working people’s pockets and reduce housing costs
This legislative session, Hawaiʻi Appleseed is pushing hard to implement a significant minimum wage increase, expand successful tax credits for low-income families, and lay the groundwork for housing policy that will mean no one in Hawaiʻi is left unsheltered because of poverty.
Federal spending reduced overall poverty last year despite the pandemic-recession
But in Hawaiʻi, tens of thousands of residents below the poverty line still struggled to make ends meet.
Appleseed agenda 2021: stop cuts, boost working families and the economy
Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s work during the 2021 legislative session focuses on the areas most critical to preserving the strength and stability of Hawaiʻi people, families and communities.
How COVID-19 shaped Appleseed’s work in 2020
The year 2020 was a turbulent one, but it proved the power of Hawaiʻi’s greatest strength—its people.
No cause for panic: Hawaiʻi’s economy is OK
A quarter of slow growth is no reason for lawmakers to forgo important economic justice measures like raising the minimum wage.
Protecting SNAP benefits for Hawaiʻi’s working families and seniors
The Trump Administration is floating a proposed rule change that would take away food assistance benefits from struggling families.
50 years in the fight for equal justice
Victor Geminiani, founding director of Hawaiʻi Appleseed and career advocate for low-income and underserved communities, will retire on August 31, 2019.
Redefining poverty would throw millions off critical social support programs
A Trump Administration rule change would force millions of Americans off critical programs that help women, children and families meet their basic needs.
Enforcement of vacation rental regulations would restore balance
More than one out of every 20 housing units statewide is now offered as a vacation rental; in some communities, as many as four out of every 10 housing units have been converted into STRs.
How high is too high? We actually know a lot about minimum wage increases
Raising the minimum wage would boost not just the pay of many struggling Hawaiʻi workers and their families; it would also boost the local economy.
Appleseed announces 2019 policy agenda
After months of research spent examining these critical issues, this agenda prioritizes efforts for maximum benefit to the community at-large.
Coming soon: The Hawaiʻi Budget and Policy Center
Hawaiʻi Appleseed is creating a new think tank focused on research and analysis of state budget and tax policy—the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center (HBPC).
Hawaiʻi bill will create historic new working families tax credit
Rep. Scott Saiki called passage of the bill the “most consequential work in the last few years to reduce poverty and Hawaiʻi’s high cost of living.”
Report emphasizes need for Hawaiʻi working family tax credit
Report highlights the financial situation of Hawaiʻi residents and their opinion of tax credits that would let low-income workers keep more of what they earn.