Every year we see a handful of bills at the Legislature that put good intentions ahead of practical experience. Even when the people who would be most affected by the proposals explain that they are unworkable or counterproductive, those good intentions still keep the bills moving forward. Happily, many of
No one likes the idea of our county governments profiting from Hawaii’s high cost of living. But that’s what is going to happen soon unless we engineer some property tax relief. Thanks to higher property assessments statewide, Hawaii homeowners and others are facing massive increases in their property taxes. That’s
It seems a lot of people were surprised last week to hear that the huge Walmart store in Downtown Honolulu will be closing this month. It’s tempting to speculate about what this means for the future of retail in the area, but we shouldn’t make broad assumptions based on the closure of
Photo by Charley Myers Another year, another attempt to reform the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Last year, the question was whether the Legislature should defund the HTA, which was established in 1998 to promote tourism to the islands. This year, some legislators have put forth a bill, SB1522, that would replace the
The following commentary was published originally in the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle on March 17, 2023. __________ Hawaii is a highly sought-out vacation destination. People all over the world spend their whole lives dreaming of visiting our paradise in the middle of the Pacific. However, the reality for those of us who
Wednesday was Gov. Josh Green’s 100th day in office, and I think it’s safe to say his honeymoon period with voters and the Legislature has come to an end. When he took office in January, the state was looking at a budget surplus of about $2.6 billion, and there was a lot of excitement
Photo from Gov. Josh Green’s Twitter post When a new policy proposal gets a heavy push from a popular new governor, people sometimes forget to ask the hard questions. That’s what the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is for. On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Green took to Twitter to lobby for his
You shouldn’t have to win on “American Idol” to afford to move back home to Hawaii. But that’s the way it’s looking for more and more former Hawaii residents who felt they had to leave the state because of its high taxes and high cost of basic necessities such as
Authorities on good government will point out that corruption isn’t the only explanation for our frustration with local and state governance. Sometimes, the problems we see can be chalked up to inefficiency or incompetence. But no matter what the issue, the antidote is the same: transparency. That was the point
For months, my colleagues and I at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii have been advising Hawaii policymakers that now is not the time to raise taxes. We have urged them instead to cut taxes, cut spending and use the state’s projected $10 billion budget to ease the financial stress on
Every year we see a handful of bills at the Legislature that put good intentions ahead of practical experience. Even when the people who would be most affected by the proposals explain that they are unworkable or counterproductive, those good intentions still keep the bills moving forward. Happily, many of
No one likes the idea of our county governments profiting from Hawaii’s high cost of living. But that’s what is going to happen soon unless we engineer some property tax relief. Thanks to higher property assessments statewide, Hawaii homeowners and others are facing massive increases in their property taxes. That’s
It seems a lot of people were surprised last week to hear that the huge Walmart store in Downtown Honolulu will be closing this month. It’s tempting to speculate about what this means for the future of retail in the area, but we shouldn’t make broad assumptions based on the closure of
Photo by Charley Myers Another year, another attempt to reform the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Last year, the question was whether the Legislature should defund the HTA, which was established in 1998 to promote tourism to the islands. This year, some legislators have put forth a bill, SB1522, that would replace the
The following commentary was published originally in the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle on March 17, 2023. __________ Hawaii is a highly sought-out vacation destination. People all over the world spend their whole lives dreaming of visiting our paradise in the middle of the Pacific. However, the reality for those of us who
Wednesday was Gov. Josh Green’s 100th day in office, and I think it’s safe to say his honeymoon period with voters and the Legislature has come to an end. When he took office in January, the state was looking at a budget surplus of about $2.6 billion, and there was a lot of excitement
Photo from Gov. Josh Green’s Twitter post When a new policy proposal gets a heavy push from a popular new governor, people sometimes forget to ask the hard questions. That’s what the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is for. On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Green took to Twitter to lobby for his
You shouldn’t have to win on “American Idol” to afford to move back home to Hawaii. But that’s the way it’s looking for more and more former Hawaii residents who felt they had to leave the state because of its high taxes and high cost of basic necessities such as
Authorities on good government will point out that corruption isn’t the only explanation for our frustration with local and state governance. Sometimes, the problems we see can be chalked up to inefficiency or incompetence. But no matter what the issue, the antidote is the same: transparency. That was the point
For months, my colleagues and I at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii have been advising Hawaii policymakers that now is not the time to raise taxes. We have urged them instead to cut taxes, cut spending and use the state’s projected $10 billion budget to ease the financial stress on
