Issues
Event on Maui and Oahu: The Cost of Public Employment
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Luncheon: Will Obamacare really be repealed?
Oahu Event January 10th, 2017 and Maui Event January 11th, 2017. Sign up today!
Puerto Rico clearly needs relief from the Jones Act
Two new studies have confirmed what observers of the Jones Act have known for years — that the century-old federal maritime law has long been harmful to Puerto Rico’s economy. One of the studies, conducted by John Dunham & Associates, found that the Jones Act has...
Hawaii residents voting with their feet
Would you vote with your feet? If economic conditions got bad enough, would you choose to live elsewhere? That’s a recurring theme in the most recent edition of Rich States, Poor States, the ALEC-Laffer state economic competitiveness index written by Jonathan...
Want higher wages? Try economic freedom
Try as they might, Hawaii’s policymakers cannot mandate people into prosperity. In fact, their efforts to do so might only make things worse. For example, the Hawaii Legislature right now is contemplating two bills that would dramatically increase the state’s minimum...
#AuditTheRail finally on track!
The Honolulu rail is now famous, but for all the wrong reasons. The question is: “What we are going to do about it?" With the project under federal investigation, news outlets around the country are writing about it, using words like “debacle” and “boondoggle.” Here...
#AuditTheRail finds champion in Heidi Tsuyenoshi
It’s been a long time coming, but thanks to new Honolulu City Council member Heidi Tsuneyoshi, representing District 2, it’s finally going to get done: a forensic audit of the city’s wildly over-budget and behind-schedule rail project. Tsuneyoshi met with Grassroot...
Akina decries Hawaii Legislature’s ‘backward budgeting’
The Hawaii Legislature has been considering a $16 billion budget for fiscal year 2020 that would spend more money than it’s projected to take in. As a result, it is scrambling to find new ways to raise tax revenue, and that, says Keli'i Akina, president of the...
Testimony on civil asset forfeiture bill — HB 748
This testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Hawaii Senate Committee on Ways and Means on April 3, 2019. Re: HB748 — RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE Comments Only Dear Chair and Committee Members: The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would...
Testimony on proposed GE tax increase — SB 1747
This testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Hawaii Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Feb. 28, 2019. RE: SB 1474 — RELATING TO TAXATION Comments Only Dear Chair and Committee Members: The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to...
Testimony on SB 1 — Relating to Housing
This testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Hawaii House Committee on Housing on March 14, 2019. RE: SB 1 — RELATING TO HOUSING Comments Only Dear Chair and Committee Members: The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its...
State budget needs bigger cushion to weather crisis
A new Grassroot Institute of Hawaii report suggests ways to build a financial reserve HONOLULU, April 2, 2019 >> Hawaii’s state budget does not have big enough cushion to deal with a deep recession, if one should hit, so lawmakers should rein in spending and...
‘Backward budgeting’ wrong way to move forward
Hawaii lawmakers are considering a myriad of new tax increases in order to pay for their spending plans, but instead they should clamp down on their spending so tax hikes aren’t needed. The Legislature on March 27 sent a record high $16 billion budget plan to Gov....
Relax Maui zoning to allow more urban dwellings
For many Maui families, purchasing a home is a pipe dream. However, there may be an opportunity for them to realize that dream, if county residents would be open to reforming local housing regulations. Maui’s complex zoning laws act as a barrier to homebuilding,...
High medical costs another threat to Hawaii taxpayers
It is common knowledge that medical costs have been skyrocketing for years, regardless of all attempts to reform our nation’s medical system. What many people in Hawaii don’t realize, however, is that higher medical costs increase our state’s debt — and Hawaii...
The hypocrisy of minimum-wage laws
Hawaii politicians are eager to raise the minimum legal wage — again. They have raised the minimum legal wage many times before, but they complain that it is never enough. The last increase in the minimum wage wasn’t enough because the prices of food, clothing and...
Akina pans HART’s P3 plan in Star-Advertiser
The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared Sunday, March 17, in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, "Federal investigation, funding issues increase risk for rail bidders." It features comments by Grassroot Institute of Hawaii President Keli'i Akina, who was...
Leasehold state housing won’t solve housing crisis
The Hawaii Legislature is considering forming a new state agency that would build high-rise condominium units on state land that it would sell for about $300,000 each under 99-year leases. But the proposal, called ALOHA Homes, would not be the answer to Hawaii’s...
Akina updates ‘808 State Update’ on contracting report
It didn't take long for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii's newest policy report, "How to revive contracting as a policy option in Hawaii," to receive some thoughtful media attention. Publicly released on Wednesday, March 13, the report describes the legal obstacles...
More housing would boost Maui tax revenues
As Maui County lawmakers search under the couch cushions for loose change that would help them meet their budgetary goals, they should remember that finding extra cash could be easy, if they would only step out of the way of island homebuilders. That's right: the...