A Glance at the Future of Hawaii

I envision a better Hawaii having very low homelessness, which is a vast problem that is growing every day. The overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom and the annexation of Hawaii led to many native Hawaiians becoming homeless. The price of land began to rise as more and more foreigners moved to the islands, kicking the Hawaiians off their land (Coffman, pg 127).But as the years went by other ethnicities were faced with the same problems and they too became homeless. Shelters have been trying their best to help curb the problem but homelessness is changing society and becoming a trend, growing much too quickly. If we do not prevent this rapid growth, it will overwhelm and devastate the future generations of Hawaii.

Many people who are homeless in Hawaii depend on welfare, which is financial government assistance for those who make little or no money. This is a problem because taxpayers are the ones who provide money for welfare and when the homelessness rate rises, so do taxes. In addition, tax money that is meant for roads, public parks, and other infrastructure is being used for welfare, cutting desperately needed public necessities (U.S. Welfare System…).

There two groups of people that receive welfare in Hawaii: The drug abusers and those who genuinely need assistance. I believe that drug abusers take advantage of the system. If we were able to eliminate them from receiving help, this would allow the government to pay more attention to the people who make little or no money but are not abusing drugs. This would allow these people to get back on their feet and into a home, thus reducing homelessness. As for the drug abusers, they would receive several chances to redeem themselves, but would receive a three month suspension (from engaging in the program) every time they tried to obtain welfare and tested positive for drugs. This would help Hawaii fight homelessness and drugs while making the state a better place to work and live.

Finally, doing away with the Jones Act would also help the homeless in Hawaii. The Act was passed in 1920 and allows only American flagged ships to travel between the mainland and Hawaii. The Jones Act is one of the main culprits of higher prices in Hawaii because American companies have a monopoly between Hawaii and the mainland (Congress passes the…). If foreign vessels were allowed to ferry goods between the mainland and Hawaii, there would be more competition and the cost of shipping goods would decrease. If goods became cheaper, then the cost of living would also drop. This would allow people who actually want to prosper to purchase a home more easily, thus decreasing homelessness in the state. Both of these ideas could mold Hawaii into a better place to work and live in the years to come.

Bibliography

Coffman, Tom. "4." Value of Hawaii. 127-28. Print.

This was a very helpful book that provided a lot of information about homelessness. It also gave details from when Hawaiians were still in control of the islands and how things have changed since then.

"Congress Passes the Jones Act — History.com This Day in History — 3/2/1929." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. 2 Mar. 1929. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <

This website is about the Jones Act. It gave me a better understanding on what the Act is. I was able to learn what led to the Jones Act being passed and other important background information on this subject. I also learned the year it was passed.

US Welfare System - Help for US Citizens. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. <

This website is about the welfare system in the United States. It gave me an idea of what welfare is and where the money comes from. This site helped me grasp a better understanding on the subject so I could expand more in my writing.