Cost of Living

... how Hawai'i can reduce the costs and the improve service quality of its various mass transportation systems ....

... Hawaii has the highest electricity price, nearly triple the US average rate, and the state relies on imported petroleum for 60% of its electricity generation ....

... In Honolulu, $100K amounts to just $36,036 when you consider taxes and the cost of living ....

... 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 ....

... Akina said Hawaii home prices are sky-high because of the scarcity of housing caused by “all the regulation … that developers and individual home builders have to go through in order to renovate or in order to build.” ....

... but you can settle for emotional well-being at $111,600 ....

... Your rates will be going up to pay for the infrastructure we need to make irregular and erratic wind and solar electricity less damaging to our grid ....

... In most US metro areas, millennials are buying homes at prices above the general market.  But in Honolulu millennials are buying homes 4.2% below the market average.  This is the biggest downside gap in any of the 56 large metros studied ....

... adaptive reuse ....

... the state’s mandate to eliminate cesspools is too costly for homeowners ....

... medical professionals have found Hawaii to be an increasingly uninviting place to practice ....

... HECO announced a rate increase of 7% to buy more oil ....

... State cost of living index: 186 ....

... Rate hikes and massive amounts of greenhouse gases from a proposed biomass burning power plant would outweigh any benefits, the court found ....

... over the past year gas prices in Hawaii jumped from $4.57 to $4.88, a 6.8% increase ....

... Hawaii shines as #1 out of only 18 states where it’s more cost-effective to build rather than buy ....

... Bill 40’s proposal would increase the home exemption by a mere 10% and the exemption for older individuals by just 7% ....

... more Hawaiians are moving out of Hawaiʻi every year ....

... Housing expert says Hawaii fits pattern of areas losing residents ....

... Now living in Seattle, Tongi was asked by judge Lionel Richie, “Why on Earth would you leave Hawaii?” ....

... 2023 U.S. Bill Pay Category Breakout Report ....

... This can make it very difficult for Hawaii employers to offer HDHPs to their employees ....

... Median Monthly Mortgage Payment: $4,403 ....

... Decades of neglect in monitoring the program has left the department unable to evaluate its success ....

... Green’s “GAP” plan seeks to provide tax credits for food, rent and child care expenses primarily to Hawaii’s lower- and middle-class families ....

... This is the 5th-highest percentage, nationwide .... 

... greenhouse gas concerns, as well as the comparatively high cost of biomass electricity ....

... Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It ....

... More than 15,000 people left Hawaii for the mainland last year ....

“They should look for ways to make government cost less and run more efficiently and operate on a leaner budget."

... we have high hopes for a few ideas that could make a real difference for our state ....

... the average cost for a dozen eggs in Hawaii is about $9.73. That's 51% higher than a year earlier and 53% higher than #2 Florida ....

... Areas with high living costs, large immigrant populations, and housing shortages are abundant with multigenerational homes ....

... Residential A properties went up 39.9% ....

... To this day, I still wonder where the $58 million that was earmarked for testing and tracing went or whose pockets it lined ....

... 156 bills are on the current docket to be introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate ....

... Governor Josh Green, M.D. signed a sixth emergency proclamation to extend federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotment benefits, in keeping with ongoing federal COVID relief efforts ....

... high gas prices, rush-hour traffic congestion and poor road quality ....

... Hawaii’s population has been declining for six straight years, and if policymakers don’t do something quickly to avert the looming increase in county property taxes, that is likely to continue ....

... 6th highest in USA ....

... According to recent data, searches for side jobs have seen an increase of 49.89%, with Hawaii ranking sixth among the states ....

...The lie that tourists pay 30% of the GE Tax is front and center as Gov Green and legislators quickly walk back Green’s fake 2022 campaign promise to eliminate the GE Tax from food and medical care....

... Hawaii residents paid on average $210.26 a month up by $38.08 ....

... Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s “wins” over the past year ....

... and that doesn’t account for state tax rates, which are among the highest in the nation ....

... The Price of Pizza Hut and Domino’s in Every Country and State ....

... Akina and Iwasa discuss the history of property taxes in Hawaii, how assessments are conducted and what reforms the counties should consider ....

... more than 15,000 left the state between July 2021 and July 2022 ....

... Hawaii’s population dropped by almost 7,000 people, or 0.5%, between July 2021 and July 2022 ....

... The rate increase is subject to approval by the PUC and any increase is not expected to impact member bills until the second half of 2023 ....