Hawaii Together with Keli’i Akina, January 6, 2020

Out with The Old & In with The New?

As Hawaii’s leading independent think tank, the Grassroot Institute tackled a number of issues affecting individual liberty and free markets in 2019.

Will we see the same issues arise in 2020 or will there be new ones?  

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Hill tells why Hawaii's exodus issue is personal for her

From Grassroot Institute

A discussion about Hawaii's high cost of living was the starting point for Keli'i Akina's latest "Hawaii Together" program, which aired Monday, Jan. 2, on the ThinkTech Hawaii network.

Malia Blom Hill, the Washington, D.C.-based policy director for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, was the featured guest, and she shared with Akina, president and CEO of the Institute, why she and her family are among the many who felt they had to move away from Hawaii to forge a better life.

"In truth, it's the same thing that everyone who's left Hawaii wants," Hill said. "You know, all my family is there. My sister's on Oahu, I've got cousins, and aunties. I'd like nothing more than to be able to raise my kids in Hawaii. But like everyone else who's left, it just comes down to the cost of living and opportunities, the opportunities for my husband and my family. It's just too expensive. It's no secret; everyone knows it. What frustrates people is that no one seems to be interested in doing what needs to be done."