Study: Low wages a threat to ‘heart and soul’ of society in Hawaiʻi

The report, “The High Cost of Low Wages” by Hawaiʻi Appleseed, a nonprofit social and economic justice think-tank, found that Hawaiʻi’s cost of living is 13.2 percent above the national average, and the average urban household spends more than 56 percent of its budget on housing and food.

It also found that wages have increased only 24 percent since 1980, not keeping pace with inflation, and the median wage of $21.66 per hour is a living wage only for a single full-time working adult without children.

“Hawaiʻi’s low wages threaten to lead our society toward an untenable situation in which our economy can no longer be supported by a working class that has been squeezed out and denied the opportunity to thrive,” said Hawaiʻi Appleseed senior policy analyst Devin Thomas.

”We cannot afford to wait for the private sector to fix our state’s massive economic problems. The state government must take immediate action to foster greater economic security for Hawaiʻi’s working families, or we risk losing the heart and soul of our local communities.”