{"id":16570,"date":"2023-01-22T08:09:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-22T18:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=16570"},"modified":"2023-01-22T08:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T18:09:48","slug":"high-cost-of-living-drives-family-friends-out-of-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2023\/01\/22\/high-cost-of-living-drives-family-friends-out-of-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"High Cost Of Living Drives Family, Friends Out Of Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

by Keli\u2018i Akina\u00a0

<\/em>Hawaii\u2019s population declined again in 2022, and that\u2019s not good.

More than 15,000 people<\/a> left Hawaii for the mainland last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Counting births, deaths and immigration from other countries, Hawaii\u2019s population declined by almost 7,000 people.\u00a0

This is the sixth year in a row that Hawaii\u2019s population has fallen. Too many of our families, friends and neighbors are having to say aloha to the islands they love and call home.\u00a0

Some people have suggested that this is actually a good thing. Hawaii already has too many people, they say, and fewer people will mean less traffic, less crowded parks and beaches, and so on.\u00a0But whether Hawaii is overcrowded is not really the issue. Those who applaud this exodus of Hawaii residents to the mainland still need to consider this question: Why are they moving away?\u00a0

Survey results show that Hawaii\u2019s high cost of living is the main reason. Food, housing and transportation simply cost too much here. Add high taxes and inflation on top of that and it\u2019s no surprise so many people are leaving.\u00a0

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has a section on its website called \u201cWhy we left Hawaii<\/a>.\u201d It contains the stories of dozens of island residents who moved away, and they almost all say the same thing: States on the mainland have more jobs, lower prices and lower taxes.

Many of Hawaii\u2019s young people have left the islands to pursue opportunities in innovative fields such as technology or scientific research. When they leave, Hawaii loses out on their talents and ingenuity.\u00a0

This ongoing exodus also leaves our remaining residents with bigger tax bills, since the costs of operating Hawaii\u2019s state and county governments typically do not go down. Even though Hawaii\u2019s population has declined, the state budget hasn\u2019t. Lawmakers project it will reach $18 billion<\/a> next year \u2014 the largest in state history.\u00a0

But the emotional toll this takes might be the greatest consequence of all. As anyone who has had a family member move away can tell you, the loss can be heartbreaking. It isn\u2019t easy for anyone to leave a place their family has called home for generations and returning to the islands for visits is not usually cheap.\u00a0

Former Wahiawa resident Colyn Slocum<\/a>, who now lives in Nevada but was born and raised in Hawaii where his family has lived for generations, told the Institute recently about why he decided to leave Hawaii.\u00a0

\u201cThe taxation rate leaves you with barely half your paycheck, and city services fail to make up for the lost income,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so many jobs fail to provide adequate benefits to make up for the poor pay.\u201c

It was made all the more difficult by the fact that nearly half of my cousins had already left, so there were that many fewer of us who could help care for my aging parents.\u201d\u00a0

Unfortunately, thousands of individuals and families are in that same boat. Their families live in Hawaii, but they cannot afford the high cost of living.\u00a0As the 2023 legislative session begins this month, state lawmakers should keep these people in mind and look for ways to make Hawaii a place more residents can continue to call home.\u00a0

KELI\u2018I AKINA<\/strong> is president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Keli\u2018i Akina\u00a0 Hawaii\u2019s population declined again in 2022, and that\u2019s not good. More than…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,11,41],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1",300,188,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=640%2C400&ssl=1",640,400,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=640%2C400&ssl=1",640,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=870%2C563&ssl=1",870,563,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=600%2C563&ssl=1",600,563,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=600%2C563&ssl=1",600,563,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=800%2C500&ssl=1",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=900%2C563&ssl=1",900,563,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=540%2C285&ssl=1",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?resize=375%2C250&ssl=1",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Featured<\/a> Hawaii - Filipino<\/a> Open Forum<\/a>","tag_info":"Open Forum","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/159b3b25a38652.jpg?fit=900%2C563&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16571,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16570\/revisions\/16571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}