While on your walk to your downtown business job, you are more than likely going to run into a homeless individual. This man, woman, or child does not sleep in the comfort of a home or bed but, a single piece of cardboard, laid on the grimy sidewalks on Honolulu’s business district… they do not wake up in the morning to their phone alarm but instead the sound of sirens and horns of by passers… they do not get to drink their Starbuck coffee for breakfast. Instead they are sitting on the sidewalk begging “suits” for their change as they walk to their six-figure job. The one homeless person you may see while walking is one of the 7,921 homeless individuals in the State of Hawaii in 2016 (“State of Hawaii” 13). The Island of Oahu, known as “The
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In 2007, Hawaii’s minimum wage was at a staggering low price, $7.25. It was not until 8 years later in 2015 that it was raised a mere $0.25. In 2016, the minimum wage now sits at just $8.50 (“Minimum Wage and Overtime”). Although Hawaii’s minimum wage is above the national average of $7.25 set by the Fair Labor Standards Act, it comes nowhere near other state’s set minimum wages (“Compliance Assistance”). States like California and Massachusetts and the federal district, District of Columbia, all have minimum wages at or above $10.00. In the case of the District of Columbia, the minimum wage law requires employers to pay employees a minimum wage of $11.50 (“Minimum Wage Laws in the States”). The low wages that lower class citizens are paid in Hawaii do not take into consideration the extra expenses that they need to take on being that they live in Hawaii. Hawaii’s low wages are hurting lower class citizens the most, as they are more likely to be uneducated and thus work minimum wage jobs. The Hawaii State Legislation under the governance of Neil Abercrombie, however, took initial steps to alleviate this problem. “Hawaii lawmakers passed an increase in the state’s minimum wage from the federal floor of $7.25 to $10.10 an hour by January 2018” (Covert). By January 2018, Hawaii will be receiving a minimum wage bump that the people of California has been enjoying for the last six months. Governor Abercrombie’s small gesture to the lower class people of Hawaii is too little and too late to fix the issue. If the State of Hawaii’s, or the island of Oahu’s, legislation were to increase the minimum wage to a livable amount, the action will help alleviate the issue at
In 2007, Hawaii’s minimum wage was at a staggering low price, $7.25. It was not until 8 years later in 2015 that it was raised a mere $0.25. In 2016, the minimum wage now sits at just $8.50 (“Minimum Wage and Overtime”). Although Hawaii’s minimum wage is above the national average of $7.25 set by the Fair Labor Standards Act, it comes nowhere near other state’s set minimum wages (“Compliance Assistance”). States like California and Massachusetts and the federal district, District of Columbia, all have minimum wages at or above $10.00. In the case of the District of Columbia, the minimum wage law requires employers to pay employees a minimum wage of $11.50 (“Minimum Wage Laws in the States”). The low wages that lower class citizens are paid in Hawaii do not take into consideration the extra expenses that they need to take on being that they live in Hawaii. Hawaii’s low wages are hurting lower class citizens the most, as they are more likely to be uneducated and thus work minimum wage jobs. The Hawaii State Legislation under the governance of Neil Abercrombie, however, took initial steps to alleviate this problem. “Hawaii lawmakers passed an increase in the state’s minimum wage from the federal floor of $7.25 to $10.10 an hour by January 2018” (Covert). By January 2018, Hawaii will be receiving a minimum wage bump that the people of California has been enjoying for the last six months. Governor Abercrombie’s small gesture to the lower class people of Hawaii is too little and too late to fix the issue. If the State of Hawaii’s, or the island of Oahu’s, legislation were to increase the minimum wage to a livable amount, the action will help alleviate the issue at