Nearly half of all children in Hawaiʻi lived in financially struggling households three years ago, before the COVID- 19 pandemic surfaced, according to a newly released Aloha United Way report. Those numbers have only increased as the pandemic imposed extra burdens on low-wage earners.

House Bill 510 continues the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), through 2028 and would make it fully refundable. AUW estimates that this would boost the incomes of more than 98,000 residents by an average of $424, welcome relief for income-restrained families.

HB 2510 would raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 by 2026. This is desperately needed.