Regulation
Honolulu City Council’s PLA proposal is pilau
What happens when a government tries to fix a system that isn’t broken? U Usually, the taxpayers pay the price. That is what might happen if Honolulu's mayor approves a measure that would restrict the use of nonunion labor on city contracts worth over $2 million. As...
How Hawaii can avoid ‘Troubled Waters’
This probably won’t surprise regular readers of my “President’s Corner” columns, but a task force of eminent Hawaii business and other community leaders has just issued a warning that Hawaii’s current rate of government spending is not sustainable. In a new report...
Competition brings Hawaii airfares down to earth
This commentary was published originally in Honolulu Civil Beat on Oct. 10, 2019. –––––––––––– By Josh Mason and Melissa Newsham Hawaii is one of the most regulated states in the country, but fortunately its regulatory powers do not include being able to exclude...
Council approves PLAs despite many concerns
This testimony by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii was submitted to the full Honolulu City Council on Oct. 9, 2019. It is similar to testimony submitted on July 24, except for a figure in the bill being increased from $250,000 to $1 million. After a public hearing,...
‘Rebel’ Ed Case urges Jones Act reform
There haven’t been many prominent Hawaii politicians willing to openly criticize the federal maritime law known as the Jones Act. Fortunately, there are a few notable exceptions, and it was my pleasure to interview one of those “rebels” on this week’s episode of my...
What Honolulu can learn from Houston about housing
Sometimes less is more. In Houston, the largest city in Texas by population, less zoning has resulted in more housing, helping it enjoy a significantly higher standard of living than Honolulu, as measured by the purchasing power of real wages. Find out more about...
Land-use lessons from Houston
Hawaii isn’t the only place experiencing a lack of housing. That’s an affliction we share with many metropolitan areas across the nation, such as San Francisco and New York City. Hawaii politicians have explored a variety of possible solutions to the problem, such...
How to give everybody a raise
Discussions about the minimum wage tend to overlook an obvious fact: Lowering the cost of living would make everyone’s pay go further, especially the less fortunate. How much further? Simply getting to the point where a dollar has its full spending power would be a...
‘CWAs’ a recipe for disaster
Around the country, states and municipalities are changing their procurement regulations to allow for more competitive bidding. That’s a best practice that saves money on government projects. Hawaii, however, appears to be moving in the opposite direction. This week,...
Radio host inspired by ‘simplicity and efficiency’
Its ability to explain public policy issues with “simplicity and efficiency” is what first impressed Matt Gilbertson about the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Gilbertson, founder of MGA Architecture in Honolulu, discussed his interest in the communication style of...
Looking back: A housing boom, then a volcanic eruption
One year ago today, on May 3, 2018, Kilauea volcano on Hawaii Island began spewing lava that destroyed hundreds of homes and disrupted thousands of lives in areas that had been designated high-risk lava zones. On May 20, 2018, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii...
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...
Unshackle Maui taxis to help them compete
In the wake of the state announcing that ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft can now pick up customers at Kahului and Kapalua airports, Maui airport taxi drivers are expressing frustration that such companies will essentially be operating as taxis while not having to...
How we can keep our children in Hawaii
The Hawaii Legislature convened this week for its 2019 session, and the continuing decline of Hawaii’s population seemed to be one of its top agenda items. Addressing his colleagues on the opening day, Senate President Ron Kouchi talked about how his “greatest passion...
Our Santa wish list for Hawaii
Well, it’s Christmas season again, so here is what I drafted recently for Santa to consider: Dear Santa, We at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii were very good this past year about defending the free market. We helped educate policymakers, stood for transparency and...
Ige can count us to help Hawaii ‘move forward’
I heard something strangely familiar in Gov. David Ige’s inauguration address last week. As the governor began speaking of the challenges facing our state, he issued a plea that we all work together to make things better. He even unveiled the theme of his speech: ʻOni...
Maui rental fines not fine
Say you’re in desperate need of money and decide to rent a room in your Maui home through Airbnb. You look at the other rentals being offered and decide to make your price competitive at $100 a night. You know this won’t make you a millionaire — you’re just hoping it...
Vacation rental fines inviting legal trouble
This article was published as a letter to the editor in The Maui News on Nov. 14, 2018. On Nov. 6, Maui voters decided to drastically increase the fines for illegal short-term vacation rentals on Maui, which could expose the county to dangerous legal challenges....