by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Jun 24, 2018 | President's Column, Regulation, Transportation, Website
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Tuesday (June 19) vetoed a bill that would have capped surge pricing for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. And kudos to the mayor for that. The City Council has until July 19 to override the veto, but at the moment economic...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Jun 15, 2018 | Content Type, Government Waste, President's Column, Rail, Website
The state of Honolulu’s rail project has become so problematic that even a board member for Honolulu Area Rapid Transportation (HART) is asking to press the pause button. But that’s not all. The Grassroot Institute recently obtained a letter (see full letter here)...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Jun 8, 2018 | President's Column, Privatization, Regulation, Taxes, Unions, Website
This week I am writing to you from Dallas and the Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) conference. Every year I join with leaders of policy think tanks from other U.S. states, plus from Canada and Mexico, to meet with economists who measure and study ways to...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Jun 1, 2018 | Accountability, Government Waste, Legislature, President's Column, Rail, Website
It’s difficult to protect workplace whistleblowers if intimidation is present in the very place where they would blow their proverbial whistles. But that is what appears to be happening at the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), which has been...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | May 26, 2018 | Accountability, Budget, Legislature, President's Column, Website
How is a volcano like a dip in the stock market? That’s not a riddle, though I’m sure our witty members could come up with some clever responses. Rather, it is a different perspective on how the Kilauea eruption might have a long-term effect on the state’s unfunded...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | May 12, 2018 | President's Column, Regulation, Socioeconomics, Website
Hawaii’s Legislature did not approve a higher minimum wage this year, and that’s a good thing, if you want to help the poor. In 2010, researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Federal Reserve Board compiled the results of 53 scholarly studies...
