The surveillance grocery store: How algorithms target Hawaiʻi consumers
In an isolated state like Hawaiʻi, where shipping costs are already high and consumers have limited store alternatives, replacing fair market pricing with individual data extraction turns everyday necessities into variable-cost traps.
Behind the scenes: How Policy in Perspective tells the story of a legislative session
Built from a year’s worth of writing, analysis, and advocacy, Policy in Perspective creates the opportunity to take a step back and look at the legislative session from a bird’s eye view.
Sneak peek: Improving women’s mobility and access in ʻEwa and Waipahu
Where you live should never determine how far you can go. We’re currently in Phase II of a community-centered research effort focused on understanding the unique transportation challenges faced by low-income women and their families in ʻEwa and Waipahu.
Under pressure: Hawaiʻi’s budget troubles demand action
The state is confronting a growing list of challenges that could throw our budget—and the programs and services within it—into disarray. Now more than ever, we need to preserve funding for Hawaiʻi’s working families.
Remembering Victor Geminiani
One of Hawaiʻi’s most relentless advocates for people without a voice in the halls of power, Victor Geminiani devoted his entire career to securing the rights, and improving the lot, of the poor and the vulnerable. He died on June 10, 2026, at the age of 82.
Summer streets pilot, e-bike rules headline Hawaiʻi’s modest transportation wins
Progress on transportation equity comes in layers—a pilot program here, a clear legal definition there, a coalition that grows a little stronger each session.
Millionaire’s taxes are having a moment: Here’s why that’s good for all of us
A fairer tax code isn’t about punishing success. It’s about making sure all of us can thrive—not just a wealthy few.
Highlights from House Bill 1800: the state supplemental budget bill
The single most consequential bill of the legislative session. It determines how the State of Hawaiʻi will fund everything from public education and roads to healthcare and affordable housing.
One step forward, a few meals short
While the passage of Act 139 was a meaningful step toward free school meals, it was just that—a step. The work is not finished.
The great Skyline adventure: Hawaiʻi Appleseed tests the walkability of areas around rail stops
Success will require partnership across state and county lines, but the goal is shared: turning the areas around rail lines and high capacity bus routes into places where people can live, work and meet daily needs without the necessity of getting back into a car.
Hawaiʻi’s costly tax shift: How a billion-dollar cut threatens public services
The choice before us is whether we will allow a billion-dollar annual loss to erode our common foundation, or whether we will act to preserve it—for every family, and for generations to come.
Ditch the equity cap: How to make “locals-only” housing actually work
When outside demand is effectively infinite, deed restrictions that focus on creating a diverse resident-owner base across multiple housing types—rather than just capping prices—do more to shift the market toward locals than any single “affordable” building will.
A turning point for SNAP: Strengthening local supports for Hawaiʻi households
Hawaiʻi has an opportunity to build a more resilient, community-driven food system—one that protects families regardless of federal uncertainty.
Hawaiʻi’s two-tier tax system: How the rich use a glaring loophole to pay less
While teachers, nurses and service workers pay income tax on every dollar they earn, the wealthy can shield a large portion of their profits thanks to a special tax break on capital gains.
A path to more affordable housing: Rethinking county rules
County governments control what gets built through zoning, and through lengthy discretionary approvals. Both levers have historically been used to restrict supply.
Transformative change meets budget realities—a central lawmaking tension plays out in two new reports
Policy in Perspective 2025 and the Hawaiʻi Budget Primer FY2025–26 provide a compelling—and sometimes sobering—look at how Hawaiʻi invests, and often under-invests, in its communities.
Can Hawaiʻi afford to cut the grocery tax?
Any proposal to reduce or remove the GET on food must be paired with a credible plan for replacing the revenue. It’s a challenge, but also an opportunity to build a fairer and more sustainable system.
Proposal to raise transit fares will hurt Oʻahu riders
Increasing transit fares while household budgets are already stretched thin risks pushing out the very riders who rely on TheBus the most while decreasing ridership and revenue.
We need to talk about inclusionary zoning
Inclusionary Zoning is a band-aid solution to a crisis that demands major surgery. It’s time to confront why this policy hasn’t worked—and what we should do instead.
Incoming federal tax cuts will heavily favor Hawaiʻi’s wealthiest residents
The State of Hawaiʻi has an obligation to shore up its revenue through tax policies that make the wealthiest among us pay their fair share.