Proposed tax increase to fund homeless services not likely to advance in legislature
SB678 received nearly 100 pages of written testimony, with only two testifiers opposing it.
Property values soar, depleting lower-cost options
Clearly, there’s a gap in what the housing market alone will provide. And time is running out for government to build bridges.
Close gap between low wages, housing
Given that Hawaiʻi has the highest cost of living in the nation, in real terms we pay our workers the lowest wages compared to any other state.
Advocates weigh whether property tax increase could help house homeless
Instead of an across-the-board tax hike to address homelessness, Appleseed suggests raising fees for non-residents with second homes in the islands.
Isle incomes increase along with home costs
Hawaiʻi incomes are on the rise, but so is the state’s cost of living and especially the housing costs, which remain the highest in the country.
Census data ranks Hawaiʻi 9th highest for poverty
When you figure in the cost of living, Hawaiʻi’s poverty rate skyrockets from 11 percent of the population to nearly 17 percent, or 1 in 6 residents.
Many remain unemployed despite lots of job openings
The Appleseed report provides a broader vision on how to break the downward cycle: get more money into the hands of poor people, because they usually live so close to the financial edge that the smallest problem can lead to a crisis.