A living wage will help keep families here
Hawaiʻi trails 11 other states where the minimum wage is higher than ours.
Time to raise minimum wage
$10.10 an hour is not a living wage. $17 an hour is absolutely necessary for hardworking Hawaiʻi families to make ends meet.
Business Report: New figures on Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage
The report finds that low-wage workers spend most of their increased income back into the local economy, supporting businesses and boosting economic activity.
Minimum wage increase could help over 200,000 workers, report says
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice analyzed the demographics of workers who could be impacted by an increase.
The call for a living wage
Lawmakers are looking to raise the minimum wage to $12.50 in 2024 for those who get healthcare from their employers; an increase of about $0.50 an hour each year, and simply not enough.
Pacific Resource Partnership app allows users to get more involved in Hawaiʻi legislative bills
In a state notorious for low voter turnout, a lobbying group has developed a free mobile app to get younger residents more involved in legislative matters.
Advocates urge larger minimum wage hike
The Senate Committee on Labor will hold a public hearing today regarding a bill that would increase minimum wage rates throughout the state.
Beth Giesting discusses the funding of pensions for government workers
One of the biggest items the State of Hawaiʻi has to fund, is pensions for government workers. Public workers and retirees make up 11 percent of the state’s adult population.
WAM sends minimum wage bill to Senate
The Senate’s Ways and Means committee passed Senate Bill 789 on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, setting it up for a final vote on the Senate floor.
Raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour
In a state that has one of the highest costs of living and lowest unemployment rates, it’s time for lawmakers to put things back in balance for workers.
Introducing KAKOU, Hawaiʻi’s first ever civic engagement app
KĀKOU is a unified, digital platform that makes it easy for everyone to engage with Hawaiʻi’s elected officials and participate in the democratic process.
Half of Hawaiʻi barely gets by
Two or three jobs are not enough to provide financial stability for many local families. How can we create CHANGE?
Gap keeps growing between rich, poor
The gap continues to widen between rich and poor. And there is no sign it will ever shrink.
Hawaiʻi tax system places larger burden on low income residents
The Hawaiʻi tax system is considered highly regressive, due to heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax. This is despite a progressive, graded state income tax and the lowest property taxes in the nation.
State’s poor face nation’s second-largest tax burden
The least wealthy income earners in Hawaiʻi pay the second most in taxes of any state in the union, according to an analysis of tax systems across the country.
Affordable Hawaiʻi starts with housing
While the official poverty average from 2015–2017 makes Hawaiʻi look like an economic paradise, the supplemental measure puts Hawaiʻi at the 10th-highest rate.
Hawaiʻi income stats climb, but so does the cost of living
When taking into account the cost of living—especially housing costs—Hawaiʻi has the 10th highest poverty rate in the country.
One in 10 county residents lives below poverty line
With supplemental data, Hawaiʻi falls to the 10th highest poverty rate in the nation at 15 percent, or 210,000 residents in poverty, according to Hawaiʻi Appleseed.
What new census data says—and doesn’t say—about Hawaiʻi
Incomes are slightly higher but housing costs are still among the worst in the nation.
Maui renters need to work 123 hours a week to afford 2-bedroom apartment
Hawaiʻi has the highest “housing wage” in the country, at $36.13 per hour, according to a new national report released today, or over $75,000 per year.