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New report tells how to revive contracting as policy option

Take longer view on Hawaii infrastructure

GET tax hike a lose-lose proposition

State’s use of contractors just a hint of what could be

Building more suburbs could help millennials stay in Hawaii

Akina talks rent control on ‘Lars Larson Show’

GET increase will add to Hawaii’s high cost of living

Help people save by cutting their taxes

HAWAII’S LEADING INDEPENDENT THINK TANK

Working for a better economy, better government and a better society

New report tells how to revive contracting as policy option

by Grassroot Institute of Hawaii | Mar 13, 2019

Hawaii lawmakers need greater flexibility in determining how to deliver public services. HONOLULU, Mar. 13, 2019 >> A small tweak to an old law might be all that is needed to help the state partner with the private sector, according to a new report by the…

Take longer view on Hawaii infrastructure

by Keli’i Akina, Ph.D. | Mar 13, 2019

When friends visit the islands, I love to show them Hawaii’s beautiful mountains, beaches and sunsets, but I try to direct their eyes away from the state’s crumbling government infrastructure. The state’s disintegrating roads, brittle bridges and run-down…

GET tax hike a lose-lose proposition

by Keli’i Akina, Ph.D. | Mar 8, 2019

The Hawaii Legislature seems to have learned the wrong lesson from last year’s constitutional amendment debate. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii was among those who objected to the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have allowed the Legislature…

State’s use of contractors just a hint of what could be

by Joe Kent | Mar 8, 2019

At least 11 of Hawaii’s state agencies have each saved thousands of dollars a year by privatizing some of their janitor positions, giving a rare glimpse of the savings that could be possible if more state and county agencies followed this approach. The private…

Building more suburbs could help millennials stay in Hawaii

by Jackson Grubbe | Mar 7, 2019

Hawaii policymakers might not have noticed, but millennials across the country are moving to the suburbs, where housing is less expensive. Not surprisingly, those suburbs generally are not in Hawaii, so if we want to make it possible for our own younger generation to…

Akina talks rent control on ‘Lars Larson Show’

by Grassroot Institute of Hawaii | Mar 7, 2019

Oregon last month became the first state to adopt statewide mandatory rent control, which bars landlords from raising their rents more than 7 percent a year, plus inflation. On Monday, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii President Keli‘i Akina spoke on the popular national…

GET increase will add to Hawaii’s high cost of living

by Grassroot Institute of Hawaii | Mar 5, 2019

The Hawaii Legislature is considering a bill to add 0.5 percent to the 4 percent state general excise tax in order to fund public education, but Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, says this seemingly small increase would be…

Help people save by cutting their taxes

by Keli’i Akina, Ph.D. | Mar 1, 2019

The Hawaii Legislature appears to be dropping hints about the way people save their money — or don’t save it, as the case may be. While much of the news coming from this year’s legislative session has revolved around a possible minimum-wage hike and increase in the…

Indirect taxes make perfect sense — to politicians

by Robert W. “Bill” Hastings II | Feb 28, 2019

We’ve heard a lot lately about the need to raise more revenue for the state and county. There have been several proposals discussed: higher GET, higher gas tax, more tourist taxes, etc. Perhaps the discussion should start with some basic questions like: How…