Democrats should be concerned, too

It’s no surprise that lawmaker Sam Slom, the sole Republican in the state Senate, is leading the charge for answers about the dysfunctional Hawaii Health Connector.

Slom is a long-time advocate for small business owners, whose experiences with the online insurance exchange have been particularly vexing. He is considering filing a complaint with the U.S. Government Accounting Office to find out how the $204 million in federal funding for the Connector is being spent.

Slom’s reaction is understandable. The Connector is seriously flawed, and the Democrats who wield the real power in this state should be equally concerned.

Longtime joblessness not a good sign

Nearly 90 percent of Americans who are jobless for more than six months will never regain steady, full-time work, according to a new study.

The finding by Princeton University economists is all the more sobering because it proved true even in states with low unemployment rates, including Hawaii.

The researchers found that among workers who had been unemployed for at least 27 weeks from 2008 to 2012, barely 11 percent had landed and kept full-time jobs a year later.

This is much worse than after the last recession, with economic impacts that affect the jobless and the U.S. economy as a whole.