Senate Ways & Means chair blocks a bill to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour

But Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst at Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, said studies show a higher minimum wage actually results in additional spending by workers, which would spur the economy.

“Hawaiʻi has the highest cost of living in the nation,” Woo said. “It's important to remember that workers are also customers and consumers, so workers are working all these jobs and they can’t afford to buy things or go to restaurants or buy fresh fruits and vegetables, then it hurts our entire economy.”

This year’s debate comes just months after the Republican tax plan slashed corporate taxes, providing such a windfall that Hawaiʻi’s largest banks responded by giving raises to thousands of works, who now make $15 per hour.

That wage, however, may continue to be just a dream for the workers still stuck at $10.10 an hour.

“I think everyone in Hawaiʻi knows that's not enough to live on,” said Woo.