Cost of Living

The government was forced to raise the tax after they noticed that bag use was increasing as consumers began absorbing the cost of the bags....

Hawaii workers find they have to work harder while earning inadequate wages in order to keep up with the soaring cost of living....

“A single person can earn as much as $54,850 and qualify for housing assistance on Oahu. For a family of four, the cut-off is $78,300...."

BWS claims that the billing charge is justified to defray administrative costs associated with billing and cost recovery for installing the new billing system....

...Hawaii ranks as the worst place to make a living in 2014....

...A new report over the weekend on the growing doctor shortage is just the latest sign that the Abercrombie-Ige policy agenda is not working....

The states where $100 is worth the least are the District of Columbia ($84.60), Hawaii ($85.32), New York ($86.66), New Jersey ($87.64), and California ($88.57)....

...WalletHub assessed the affordability of homes as well as the conditions of the real estate market and community environment in the 300 largest U.S. cities....

...50,000 new units needed to be built between 2012 and 2016 to meet demands....

...electricity prices in Hawaii are nearly double those in the state with the next highest prices because Hawaii generates 75% of its electricity from petroleum and must rely on Jones Act vessels for all domestic oil shipments....

Former Hawaii state Sen. Fred Hemmings says politicians allowing monopoly control of Hawaii's energy market are largely responsible for high costs....

A few years ago, a Princeton prof and a renowned psychologist found that income of $75,000 a year is the threshold for daily happiness....

My plan reduces the affordable housing shortfall by 91% within seven years without raising taxes....

...Hawaii's power prices are among the highest in the nation as well. Not surprisingly, one of the big reasons for this is taxation....

Hawaii Appleseed has released a report, “Hawai‘i’s Affordable Housing Crisis: The High Cost of Our Affordable Housing Shortfall,”....

...a cost of living more than 50 percent higher than the norm makes it very difficult to make a decent living....

“By the end of the first quarter, we had worked through the high-cost crude inventory...."

...the EPA's new cap-and-trade regulations will make the poor a lot poorer....

...Baron and Budd negotiated a $3.7 million settlement on behalf of the State of Hawaii and a $1.6 million settlement on behalf of the State of Mississippi....

“In New Zealand we are trying to make new geothermal power stations work, competing with other forms of generation at probably 7.5 cents per KWh."

The six layers of land use controls ....

...Petroleos Mexicanos said it will export crude to the U.S. state of Hawaii for the first time and that the initial shipment will be delivered in July....

Despite claims to the contrary, relatively few Hawaiians would benefit from the increase....

...well over two thirds of the state’s generated electricity is used by commercial businesses and industry, which factor into the prices we pay for everything else....

HELCO rates are consistently more than 37 cents a kilowatt-hour, and often well over 40 cents, despite nearly half of the island’s electricity being generated from renewable sources....

Out of Reach 2014 reveals the drastic difference between what renters need to earn to afford rent and what the average renter actually earns....

...IDG officers and associates gave over $10,000 to Malama Solomon for her tightly contested 2012 primary race against Lorraine Inouye....

FACE said the increase is needed because Hawaii’s utilities are 110 percent higher than the national average, housing is 104 percent higher and groceries are 57 percent higher than other states...

Groceries in Honolulu cost 55.6% more than the national average; utilities 67.9% more....

Among the proposals being considered are a low-income credit; a food and excise tax credit; a low-income household renters’ credit; an earned income tax credit; and a special tax credit for seniors....

...residential electricity rates are three times the national average....

...topics include procurement training for BWS staff, prevention of disclosure of confidential information and the management of multiple change orders increasing the work and value of the contract....

The first report of its scope in nearly 14 years, it examines the past performance of Hawaii’s construction industry and forecasts future growth....

It is expected to cost consumers $800 per year in higher food prices and many products could simply disappear from Hawaii shelves, but SB2521 is on the move thanks to Senator Clayton Hee....

If the legislature is serious about fighting poverty in Hawaii, a broader and more comprehensive discussion is essential....

...the cost of auto insurance varies depending on the month you purchase a policy....

HUD determined that the city’s median income for a household of four is $82,600, down from $86,300 last year....

HECO enjoys full revenue decoupling, fuel and purchased power pass-through recovery, rates based on forward test years...and recovery of increases in certain operating expenses and capital investments between rate cases through riders....

...there’s no “latte loophole,” since any quantity of added sugar makes a drink fall under the ban. Indeed, the only way to get more than a pint of drink at a time is to add booze, as adult beverages are excluded ...

... why should an ever-expanding list of business risks be transferred from the utility to its customers? ....

...a proposed bill containing four components that will significantly improve the economic vitality of low and moderate income households....

...the Insurance Division is now providing Hawaii’s 2014 homeowner and motor vehicle premiums comparison guides through its website....

...7,000 well-paid waiters are being played against 7,000 underpaid dishwashers....