Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center director brings extensive organizing experience
Community organizer and a policy advocate Will White has worked on issues ranging from preserving natural resources to expanding the social safety net for vulnerable populations.
Our lack of decent, affordable housing costs us big time on healthcare
While the burden of poor health is surely felt most by the people who experience it, the whole community is affected.
Tax reform that addresses racial injustice also boosts the economy
When it comes to increasing both racial equity and economic prosperity, smart tax system reforms can be an effective policy tool to achieve both.
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.
A pandemic recession update in charts
Unprecedented job loss, a rise in housing costs, and inflation in food, fuel and consumer goods has made the pandemic recession especially devastating to Hawaiʻi’s working families.
Solving Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis means building smart, not just more
An analysis of Maui’s housing stock demonstrates that, although Hawaiʻi is building more housing, we’re not building it at the prices that meet demand from local residents.
Lawmakers must do more to invest in Hawaiʻi regenerative agriculture
The success of sustainable agriculture in Hawaiʻi will be contingent on sizable government investments in both small-scale farmers and the agencies that serve them.
Fix the conveyance tax reform bill; don’t veto it
Increased economic activity and federal relief funds will only go so far; policymakers need to think about longterm needs for our communities and how we’ll get the resources to pay for them.
Spending trends for Hawaiʻi’s children show we have lots of room for improvement
Our future depends on public investments in our children, but progress has stalled since the Great Recession.
Tax fairness is popular and needed for Hawaiʻi’s future
Most taxpayers agree that a fair and effective tax system is a critical part of building Hawaiʻi’s future.
Following the money: Where Hawaiʻi’s budget is going over the 2021–2023 Fiscal Biennium
A breakdown of state spending over the next two years, authorized by the legislature through a variety of appropriations bills.
Highlights from the 2021–2023 Hawaiʻi budget
Critical federal pandemic relief funds will allow the state avoid damaging cuts and maintain its spending levels on investments in the community.
Making Hawaiʻi's housing market work for local residents
Investors are buying up more of Hawaiʻi’s homes than ever before because our current system encourages them to do so—that’s bad for our economy in the long run.
Hidden data: the untold story of Native Hawaiian children in foster care
Because data influences government investments of tax revenue, data disaggregation provides a voice to the voiceless and representation to the disenfranchised.
Our tax system increases inequity
Our tax system plays a big role in the widening gap between those who are wealthy and those who are struggling to get by—a gap that is exponentially greater in Black, brown and indigenous communities.
Hawaiʻi can and must do better on gender equity
One area with a glaring and persistent lack of parity is how much we pay for work performed by women compared to that of men.
How to make housing affordable to local buyers: Lessons from ALOHA Homes
Highlights from the interim ALOHA Homes study, commissioned by the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC).
Trump’s tax cuts gave Hawaiʻi’s rich a windfall; recapturing it would help our economy
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act worsened economic inequality. It’s time to ask the households that benefitted the most from that windfall to contribute more to the common good.
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.
Hawaiʻi budget challenges: tax revenues, fixed costs, state salaries
The pandemic’s effects on the economy will make passing a balanced budget more challenging than ever.