Minimum wage hike bill advances, but critics say it’s still not enough

A bill to hike Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage is moving to the full house, but critics say it still falls short of what a person needs to live in the 50th state.

Even the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) says so, according to those critics.

“According to DBEDT, somebody in 2020 who’s single with no children needs over $17 an hour to be self-sufficient. So our own state is telling us it’s $17 or more in 2020,” said Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst with the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice.

The bill approved by the house Finance and Labor committees would raise the wage from the current $10.10 an hour to $11 in 2021, $12 in 2022, $12.50 in 2023, and $13 dollars in 2024.