Hawaiʻi inequality is on the rise—wealth taxes can help fix the problem
Hawaiʻi is one of the most unequal states in the nation for wealth distribution, but tax policy changes can help capture more wealth at the top to invest back into communities.
Opportunities for Hawaiʻi to maximize its budget investments
Maintaining government spending on public programs, Hawaiʻi’s workforce, and contractors for the state keeps money circulating throughout the economy as people pay for housing, food and other services.
How Hawaiʻi is funding its $24 billion FY23 budget
The legislature not only decides where money is spent, but also makes many of the decisions about who pays how much to support the budget.
How the state plans to spend its $24 billion FY23 budget
The budget determines how our collective resources will be distributed to pay for programs and investments that support public needs. The funding decisions made in the budget demonstrate where our collective values lie.
Community-driven progress on Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing crisis
The only to address Hawai‘i’s long-standing housing crisis is through a comprehensive, community- and data-driven approach designed not to just build more housing, but to build the housing that Hawaiʻi residents need and can afford.
Hawaiʻi got rid of harmful driver’s license stoppers—this bill would bring them back
A bill that would reinstate license suspension for unpaid fees related to abandoned vehicles by transferring authority to the counties is a serious policy backslide. The governor should veto it.
Honolulu council should take time, consider whether Bill 45 is a good investment
While the stated purpose of Bill 45 is to promote economic growth, there is no way to show that providing the additional incentives in Bill 45 would be a cost-effective use of the city’s funds.
Legislature makes historic investments in housing for Hawaiʻi’s most vulnerable
This sessions’ successes must be only the first of many steps toward a Hawaiʻi in which housing is affordable and available to all.
Highlights of the Hawaiʻi 2023 Supplemental Budget
After two pandemic-constrained years, surprisingly strong finances have enabled legislators to make unprecedented investments in long-underfunded areas.
2022 legislative session: A big win for working families; but more must be done
Legislators adopted two priority economic justice policies to deliver a significant household income boost to hundreds of thousands of Hawaiʻi workers.
Hawaiʻi’s missed opportunity to invest in working families
The legislature chose to prioritize protecting businesses from tax increases, rather than investing in working families who were struggling long before the onset of the pandemic.
Housing discrimination is holding many of Hawaiʻi’s families back—here’s one way to fix it
One category of individual is still frequently discriminated against when seeking housing: people with housing choice vouchers.
The House’s budget proposal for the coming year
Buoyed by increasing tax collections and continued federal relief funds, the state House sent the Senate an amended budget that proposes to increase the executive budget by $1.3 billion.
Hawaiʻi should eliminate its tipped sub-minimum wage
Research shows that employers frequently exploit tip credit provisions to pay their employees beneath the legal minimum wage. As a result, tipped workers tend to earn lower, less consistent wages than non-tipped workers, and they are more likely to experience poverty.
Now is the right time to expand Hawaiʻi’s Earned Income Tax Credit
In 2021, 12 states and D.C. recognized the devastating effects of the pandemic recession and improved their EITCs to support their working families. Hawaiʻi should join them.
Affordable housing—Hawaiʻi’s biggest challenge—requires comprehensive solutions
A new housing coalition is working to shape the start of a comprehensive and inclusive housing policy plan to finally address Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing crisis.
Hawaiʻi’s housing market is a nightmare for working families; it doesn’t have to be
For a majority of Hawaiʻi residents, the prospect of owning a home—or even finding an affordable place to rent—is increasingly out of reach.
Unsheltered can mean costly health problems; Hawaiʻi should invest in supportive housing
It may seem obvious, but getting people back into housing is essential to properly addressing their health needs.
Expanding economic opportunity with the Hawaiʻi EITC
Expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it refundable would put more money back in the pockets of Hawaiʻi's working families, strengthening the local economy.
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.