A Hawaiʻi state budget for dummies
In case you haven’t noticed, Hawaiʻi’s state budget is a very difficult thing to make sense of unless you’re trained as a forensic accountant. Thankfully, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center has released a Budget Primer to make things simpler.
Do jaywalkers in Hawaiʻi even get tickets?
Yes, thousands of people in Hawaiʻi are ticketed each year, at rates higher than other states, according to a report by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice.
Bill advances allowing pedestrians to safely jaywalk
Legislators appear willing to make jaywalking legal across the islands—when safe—arguing in a Senate bill that pedestrians’ judgments are better at reducing injuries and deaths than traffic lights and traffic markings.
Lawmakers should embrace keiki credit
Given Hawaiʻi’s rising cost of living and the corresponding increase in child poverty, lawmakers should seize the opportunity to establish a state-level Child Tax Credit to provide tax relief for working families with children.
Rebalance Hawaiʻi’s upside-down tax code to achieve prosperity for all
We are the third-worst state when it comes to taxing struggling working families.
Is it unethical to vacation in Hawaiʻi?
Despite the economic revenue that the tourism industry generates, Native Hawaiians point out that residents aren’t partaking in those profits.
In Hawaiʻi’s housing crunch, tenants are vulnerable to rent hikes and evictions
Advocates say the code lacks key policies needed in Hawaiʻi’s tight housing market, such as longer notice periods before someone can be evicted, caps on yearly rent increases and limits on the reasons landlords can evict tenants.
Bill aims to keep more kupuna eligible for SNAP benefits
Seniors whose eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefits has been lost or reduced by a recent increase in Social Security benefits could see relief through a bill introduced by Hawaii U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda last week.
Hawaiʻi ‘survival budget’ hits $104,052, report finds
The annual “household survival budget” for a Hawaiʻi family of four in 2021 at $104,052, up 15 percent from 2018. The figure drops to $85,812 when assorted earned income and child tax credits are factored in.
Hawaiʻi’s working moms deserve (child tax) credit
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we must do more than simply celebrate the thousands of working moms out there—we need to deliver tax justice to them and their families.
Hawaiʻi taxpayers are paying a high cost for evictions
Every year there are about 2,500 evictions in the islands. And many fear more people will be out on the streets because of the high cost of housing.
It’s gotten both worse and better for struggling working families
The good news is that 17 Hawaiʻi nonprofits are helping working families become more financially stable, find affordable housing, and get involved in policy.
Tap more child nutrition, school-lunch subsidies for isle keiki
The “Feed Our Keiki” report finds that the federal school meal reimbursement rates for Hawaiʻi currently should be 62% higher than other states, but it has been stuck at only 17% higher since 1979.
Hawaiʻi missed out on $200M in federal funding for school meal programs, report says
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed study found that federal programs meant to reimburse organizations that feed Hawaii’s children have not taken into account more than 40 years of increases in local food costs.
Report: Federal funding flaw shortchanges Hawaiʻi’s school nutrition programs
The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is paying tens of millions of dollars to feed Hawaiʻi school children due to a flaw in the funding method used by the federal government, according to a report.
Oʻahu nonprofits to get $4.5M to address housing and financial woes
The 17 organizations will work together to help solve critical problems facing the island’s working families.
Editorial: Hope on horizon for more housing
Might this be the year that Hawaiʻi truly moves forward in providing affordable housing to its residents? With as much as $1 billion in overall funding for housing under discussion as the state legislature reaches its home stretch, it’s possible.
Wage measures still alive
A bill in the state House of Representatives that would increase the minimum wage cleared a committee hurdle Tuesday.
An $18 minimum wage won’t raise prices dramatically
But a living wage increase will go a long way toward providing financial stability for many in Hawaiʻi.
The pandemic has transformed how aid groups help elderly in need
Federal COVID-19 relief funds helped local groups coordinate outreach to better serve kupuna who were often isolated during the pandemic.