The Hawaiian Islands may be a paradise and a playground for tourists from the mainland, but life isn’t always easy for the people who live there. A recent report from the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice found that wages remain low, even though Hawaiʻi has the highest cost of living in America. This is due, at least in part, to the state’s dependence on tourism, which concentrates employment in primarily low-wage leisure and hospitality jobs. The report cites a survey that found that “54 percent of Hawaiʻi residents spend all of their income on necessities, leaving them with little savings for unexpected costs, such as emergency room bills or vehicle repairs.”