More people are leaving Hawaii, making it difficult to fill jobs in Hawaii tourism. We all feel it, and it is getting worse.
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172 thoughts on “Hawaii Tourism Harpooned As Residents Abandon Ship”
More people are leaving Hawaii, making it difficult to fill jobs in Hawaii tourism. We all feel it, and it is getting worse.
Forget affordable housing, instead talk about increasing wages, Duh!!! Why won’t anyone talk about wage increases and I’m not talking about a few dollars!!
Face it, hospitality workers need to make a minimum of $30 an hour just to barely make ends meet!!
So foget affordable housing blah, blah, blah becuz that’s a pie in the sky, but wages can be increased immediately if all these greedy employers would accept the reality and pay quality people what they are worth!!!
Becuz face it – entitled travelers – u want a quality vacation then you gotta pay for it and stop complaining prices are too high!
And considering you barely tip if at all, why do you expect to receive 5-star service when you won’t even pay for it!??
Wake up and PAY
They did increase to 10.10per hr. But the cost of living went up along with everything else…we need a policy that every cent spent in Hawai’i stays in Hawai’i! And/ or…we gotta fight to become an independent Country (Kingdom of Hawai’i) once again, so that the military will be forced to back pay rent, and continue to pay rent for all their occupied areas. Just that alone, would be more than half of the financial fix for the islands.
Wages won’t keep up until price controls are done in relation to housing costs, healthcare, food, energy costs etc. As long as there are no controls over these things- wages will never keep up. We’ve seen where the minimum wage has been essentially adjusted over the past 5 years to about $15. That’s has now been obliterated by 40 year high inflation. So it was all pointless.
$15 per hour is not living wage. Bottom line, we need to get rid of the minimum wage and put a living wage in its place. It can even vary from place to place based on the cost of living. For example, in Hawaii, someone with no wife or kids would need to make about $22/hour in order to have a living wage. That’s not living high on the hog either, that’s what you need to survive.
Travelers complain because the experience is too expensive. Politicians have created policies and hiked up taxes on businesses that have stripped business owners of their income.
They charge more and pay employees less or never give raises because of policies.
This isn’t hard to figure out. Look around you. Where is our country right now? In debt by trillions, Infastructure is failing, taxes are increasing, housing is unaffordable, interest rates are high, food costs are insane. We haven’t even talked about foreign policy disasters that put our country last and we still foot the bill. Until you vote out the corruption, you will continue to be taken advantage of like native Americans on a reservation.
You’re absolutely correct. We need to vote out those corrupt politicians that only care about the rich and the corporations! We need to get people into government that are there because they care about the people, not their big donors and staying in power. We need to put Huge limits on political donations/spending, we need to eliminate the dark money in politics, and we need more transparency in general. As it is, the politicians should wear jackets with patches on them from all their donors like NASCAR so we can see who “owns” them.
Wow!! Not everyone is cheap. When I go to Hawaii I always tip 25-30%. I’m in the industry and I understand what it’s like to be in your position being that I live in Cali. It’s all the nickel and dimeing that we’re tired of. We only eat at local places and mom and pop shops because we try to support local because we feel it’s so important and don’t want them to go away. Not everyone is cheap!!!
Wow!! Not everyone is cheap. When I go to Hawaii I always tip 25-30%. I’m in the industry and I understand what it’s like to be in your position being that I live in Cali. It’s all the nickel and dimeing that we’re tired of. We only eat at local places and mom and pop shops because we try to support local because we feel it’s so important and don’t want them to go away. Not everyone is cheap!!!
Skilled labor gets skilled labor pay.
Unskilled labor gets… min wage pay.
I’m not saying unskilled shouldn’t be paid more but that’s just the way things work. If unskilled gets $30 per hour then are you going to pay skilled labor the same or more?
If double everyones pay then all prices just go up and cause inflation. Then same boat. Unskilled need to get degree and or become skilled. When young work 60 hr a week plus buy a house and stay married. Not just Hawaii. Can’t get ahead most anywhere at unskilled min wage. Self improvement not government handout will solve your problems.
I’m not sure where you get that info, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Look at other countries where they have living wage laws, and they are doing just fine. They just don’t have the income inequality or the kind of corporate profiteering that we have here in the US. Look at the most recent announcement from Disney. They are going to lay off 7,000 people for “cost savings” even though their revenue grew last year. It just didn’t grow enough for the corporate overlords, so they fired their CEO and got one with a proven track record of shafting their employees in his place.
I helped make the Hawaaiin language sacred. I am allowed to use both. Where do I get permission?
thanks/please
I rent, 17 year resident and it took me two years to find an apartment. I pay 2k, no trash, share mailbox and no stove but I am thankful to have a roof over my head. It breaks my heart for the locals who must move to start a family. If there are no “cheap” hourly workers then who will work in the hotels? Slippery slope.
Myself and my wife make a combined income of almost $200,000 she is born and raised here, I have been here for 17 years and we still have to rent. This is out of control.
What happened in 2009? Even the assessor lowered tax rates. Everyone gets an opportunity.
Hotels are Way overpriced in Hawaii, even long-time local establishments. B&B rentals are cheaper and offer a different visitor experience.
My friend complains about prices, especially meals, every time he returns home for a visit from Japan.
If you don’t like bullying, tell
Da Hui,then mabey you will increase tourism.
Wish I felt welcomed.
Simcha
Love Hawaii, but they.are getting what they deserve. Finding every.reason to keep tourists away,any fee they can of, there.using. got news for u Hawaii, you don’t have the best beaches, or water or restaurants.
Just saying, Hawaii seems to keep getting more messed up as time goes by. Consider it a comparison to see who actually cares about the state and it’s people. What can it hurt? The state is already jacked. Again, no offense….
Aloha. The issue is two-fold so it comes from both ends. 1. Housing here is just out of control. $350k houses on the ML selling for 1.2 mil here. It’s absurd. And the lame duck government we have here won’t make a stand for the people and help us.
2. Employers refuse to pay a real living wage. And then scratch their heads and complain when people leave for jobs on the mainland that actually pay. Dear employers, $50k a year just doesn’t cut it here. That’s why you can’t get or keep good people. You gotta pay them. Aloha doesn’t put food in our kids mouths. Pretty simple.
You do realize us employers are suffering the same problems you speak of right? I suffer the same hardships. I pay the ridiculous costs of Healthcare and insurance and taxes for my employees. There’s hardly anything left at the end. I can barely pay myself half the time. It’s not that simple. It’s a systemic problem that will never get better. As long as some from the mainland is willing to pay triple what a house is actually worth, the imbalance will remain.
Oahu lost a portion of its residents in that time frame, not only because of the high cost of living, but also because of the Navys jet and marine fuel spills into the drinking water. It affected 93,000 people on this island who are on navy water lines. Civilian homes and businesses are on navy lines, including parts of the airport. There have been other spills since may and November 21 such as AFFF. The red hill fuel complex has been leaking for decades. The islands sole source aquifer is contaminated. And no one is telling people before they get here. Google it. I know I live here. People are tired of being sick and tired of being gaslit.
My decision to leave Hawaii and relocate to Florida in 2021 had nothing to do with the cost of housing.