“The efforts of government alone will never be enough. In the end the people must choose and the people must help themselves.” - JFK “We should do something to right the wrongs we see and not just complain about them.” - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

1. HAWAII
No Vote, No Grumble
State of Poverty in Hawaii, How Hawaii’s low-income families are faring post-
recovery. Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice.1
April 2016.
http://hiappleseed.org/sites/default/files/State%20of%20Poverty%20%5BFINAL%5D.pdf
 Hawaii has the sixth-highest poverty rate in the nation and one in eight
Hawaii residents faces food insecurity.
 Nearly one in five seniors lives below the Supplemental Poverty Measure
threshold, the second highest rate among the states. Many more are
struggling: over half (55 percent) live under less than twice the SPM
Threshold - also the second highest among the states. (Only 30 percent of
seniors live under 200 percent of the official poverty threshold). Seven
percent of seniors were food insecure in 2011, below the national average
but still too high for our state’s older residents.
 Despite having the third highest median income in the country, Hawaii’s
residents earn the lowest wages when adjusted for the cost of living.
 Hawaii Published Unemployment Rate - 3.1% (2015)
Hawaii Real Unemployment Rate - 9.7% (2015)
 52 percent of public school students are economically disadvantaged. This
diminishes the students' achievements even if they are receiving a high-
quality education.
1
“This report is intended to remind the public and policymakers that far too many people have
been left behind by our economy’s rebound. The connection between poverty, opportunity, and
outcomes is clear, and the inability of Hawaii’s families to make ends meet impacts every other
area of their well-being.”

2.  Nearly one out of three households would not have enough in liquid assets to
survive for three months at the poverty level.
 Hawaii is the second worst state in the country for taxing families in
poverty.
 Fifteen percent of children in Hawaii were living in poverty in 2014, up
from 2013 and well above the 10 percent pre-recession level. Six percent of
children are living in deep poverty, meaning that their families’ incomes are
half of the poverty level. Children living in concentrated poverty (living in
areas with poverty rates above 30 percent) are at even greater risk. 18,000
children live in areas of concentrated poverty — triple the number of
children who were living in such communities in 2000. As poverty rates in a
neighborhood increase above 20 percent, children’s opportunities for success
are diminished.
 Despite improvements in educational performance indicators over the last
ten years, our state continues to struggle and is ranked 31st
in education
indicators. While the state’s economy has improved dramatically since the
recession, Hawaii’s per student spending, when adjusted for inflation,
actually dropped 8.3 percent between 2008 and 2013.
 A Thriving Hawaii for All
Many critical anti-poverty policies operate at the federal level, but the state
of Hawaii must take a more proactive role in addressing inadequate
income, particularly during this time of political gridlock. We have seen
some progress in recent years to address poverty. In 2013, Hawaii became
the seventh state to eliminate the asset test for Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families, helping families receive critical income support without
depleting their assets. In 2014, the minimum wage was increased for the
first time in eight years. In 2015, the Legislature modestly increased the
food/excise tax credit for the first time since its creation in 2007.

3. Yet there is far more to be done to bolster families’ income, and a
continued need for adequate funding in areas such as health and education.
[Emphasis Supplied]
`A`OHE HANA NUI KE ALU `IA
No task is too big when done together by All
“Galvanize communities, arm activists with information, and fight for
living-wage jobs, stable housing and a strong safety net that catches
people when they fall.”
Source: Kaufman, G. How to Build an Anti-Poverty Movement, From
the Grassroots Up - Ten groups that are laying the foundation for an
economic justice revival. The Nation. January 15. 2014.
https://www.thenation.com/article/how-build-anti-poverty-movement-
grassroots/
VOTE!
2016 Congressional/State Primary - Saturday, August 13, 2016
2016 General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Voter Registration Deadline - Monday, October 10, 2016
NO VOTE, NO GRUMBLE!