David Shapiro: Hawaii lawmakers speak boldly of plans but act with timidity

The Legislature has rightly focused its 2020 session on our economic refugees being forced to leave Hawaii because of high living costs, but it’s doubtful the fixes they’ve put on the table will stop the exodus anytime soon.

Gov. David Ige and legislative Democrats described as “bold” their agreement to increase the minimum wage, provide low-income tax relief, facilitate affordable housing on state lands and expand preschool, but the near-term impact is likely incremental.

The chest thumping over a rare moment of agreement among Democratic factions is laughable.

After failing last year to approve a proposed increase of Hawaii’s $10.10 minimum wage to $15, lawmakers are back this year with a plan to gradually raise it to $13 by 2024, hardly enough to lift anybody out of poverty.

It leaves Hawaii behind states with equal or lower living costs like California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, which are moving to $15.

Oregon and Washington, where many Hawaii expatriates relocate, are committed to $13.50 and indexed their minimum wage to keep up with inflation, as have many other states.

Democrats say the difference will be mitigated by $75 million in tax breaks for low-income working families, but the offset remains to be seen.

The housing initiative would commit $275 million to building infrastructure on state lands in West Oahu and on the neighbor islands to facilitate construction of 17,000 leasehold homes over five years, “affordable” to those making up to 140% of the median income.

The details are still to be settled, and given the plodding nature of the state government and the degree of coordination needed with counties, it’s unlikely to get done in so short a time period.

A plan to greatly expand preschools by working with private providers to open facilities near major work and transit centers is promising, but a 10-year rollout mutes the impact.

The ideas aren’t bad; they just don’t match the magnitude of the problem or the urgency to quickly move the needle after unprecedented thousands of local residents fled to the mainland for better opportunities three years running.

It’s no time for Ige and legislators to start with relatively low ambitions and negotiate even lower as details are worked out and revenue projections come in.

With tight control of the governor’s office and both houses of the Legislature, there’s nothing stopping Democrats from being truly bold and transformative on income inequality, affordable housing and universal preschool.

House Speaker Scott Saiki said the many residents leaving Hawaii is “something that we take very seriously. It bothers the members of our body to see this happening under our watch.”

If they don’t step up the urgency, thousands more will be gone long before their modest proposals are realized.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.