Working for a better economy, better governance and a better society
You can’t manage what you don’t measure
One thing the state has been doing mostly well throughout this coronavirus crisis has been to report promptly Hawaii’s COVID-19 daily cases. Most people probably learn about those numbers through the news headlines or their social media feeds. They are valuable to...
Meet Grassroot Institute of Hawaii board member Mark Monoscalco
The former paving contractor joined the board in 2016 and sees 2020 as a pivotal year for Hawaii’s future Mark Monoscalco was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago, but except for his accent, you wouldn’t necessarily know that from his political inclination toward...
Meet Grassroot Institute board member Bill Hastings
The Waimea-based attorney says it was a mistake to let government control the response to COVID-19 Robert “Bill” Hastings II, a Grassroot Institute of Hawaii board member for the past six years, describes himself as a “small-town boy.” Born and raised in...
COVID-19 crisis a wake-up call for policymakers
After over two months of compulsory lockdowns, Hawaii’s state and county governments in May finally started reopening the economy. At the time, Hawaii had among the lowest number of total coronavirus infections and fatalities nationwide, and it still does. The state’s...
Public health shutdown has harmed Hawaii healthcare providers
Businesses and workers throughout Hawaii have suffered huge financial losses over the last few months due to the state and county lockdowns intended to contain the coronavirus pandemic. As it turns out, the state’s hospitals and healthcare system have not been...
Start working now to adopt a meaningful spending cap
Hawaii’s existing cap is too easily ignored by lawmakers Now is the perfect time for fundamental policy changes in Hawaii, and a perfect place to start would be imposing a government spending cap with teeth. It would take a state constitutional amendment to do...
Meet our award-winning cartoonist, David Swann
After a long career in newspapers, David is now wielding his drawing pens to advance economic freedom By Melissa Newsham Since coming on board at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii in late 2017, David Swann has been turning the Grassroot Institute’s ideals of...
We can’t turn back the clock, and for some policies we don’t want to
It was just over a year ago that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii produced a report stating: “Hawaii’s state budget does not have the extra cushion to deal with a large recession, if one should hit, so lawmakers should rein in spending and build up a financial...
Meet board member Jonathan Durrett
Photo by Mark Coleman This interview took place before Hawaii’s coronavirus-inspired statewide lockdown was ordered on March 16, 2020. _____________ Durrett: America’s founding is ‘an eternal fountain of inspiration’ Jonathan Durrett has been a...
Melissa Newsham is a research associate at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.