The pandemic wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much if Hawaiʻi residents were making wages that paid enough to cover their basic needs.

And Hawaiʻi’s lawmakers should pass legislation that supports workers’ well-being.

The measure is intended to provide low-income people easier access to healthier food choices and to help local farmers and ranchers.

Senators moved to raise income taxes on high earners, and the House passed capital gains and inheritance tax increases.

The organizations highlighted how state and local budgets have been slashed, causing job losses in critical sectors like education and healthcare that will be central to addressing the public health crisis.

A bill would require landlords to enter mediation upon a tenant’s request, but some advocates say the measure doesn’t do enough to protect renters at risk of eviction.

Bold moves are needed to tackle Hawaiʻi’s entrenched affordable housing problem.

Advocates argue that raising the minimum wage will not only help workers make ends meet, but also stimulate the local economy.

In recent years there’s been increasing support from the state’s leading lawmakers and Democratic Party to pay workers a living wage, but the gap between that figure and what lawmakers have been willing to pass remains wide.

The biggest drawback identified in the analysis is that using public land for leasehold housing is controversial.

When funds are reinvested back into the most impacted communities, these taxes help prevent future harm, and give people from those communities a better shot at succeeding and thriving.

A bill to raise Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage to $12 passed unanimously out of its first committee Monday, with more than 180 individuals and groups testifying in favor, most saying it should be much higher.

The state eviction moratorium doesn’t protect every renter. And being kicked out when you’re unemployed makes finding housing much harder.

Illegal vacation rentals have worsened Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing shortage while contributing to an overrun of high-impact, low-spending visitors.

Hawaiʻi’s 2020 legislative session was hallmarked by social distancing measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 that may also have disenfranchised the public.

The allocations of the federal aid money drew criticism from social service agencies while the process of adopting the budget measure, using a method called gut-and-replace, riled others.

This may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pivot toward the kind of food system we want for Hawaiʻi’s future.

Lawmakers say they will use $635 million in CARES Act funds to assist the unemployed and local businesses, but advocates say it’s still not enough.

The Working Families Coalition released a plan to distribute $362 million including CARES Act funds to help families with rent, food, healthcare and more.

Nearly one-third of adults in Hawaiʻi either missed last month’s rent or mortgage payment, or have “slight or no confidence that their household can pay next month’s rent or mortgage on time.”