Issues

William Aila and David Henkin speak out on the need for long-range solutions to the challenges facing us:

Hawai`i is at a crossroads. With skyrocketing housing, gasoline and energy costs, too many of our family and friends are working two or three jobs and still struggle to make ends meet. Too many of our keiki are forced to leave the islands because they can't afford a place to rent, much less buy. Too many families are ending up on the streets or in our beach parks. If we continue down this road, the gap between the haves and have-nots will widen into an abyss, impossible to bridge.  Click to read more.

Caring for Our Kupuna and the Needy
Central to the ‘ohana values that make Hawai‘i great is our commitment to care for our loved ones as they grow older and for the less fortunate. Sadly, sky-rocketing costs of housing, medical care, prescription drugs, and other necessities are pushing families to the limit. We need to do everything we can to provide a safety net that will keep our kupuna and the needy from falling through the cracks.
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Civil Rights
The diversity of Hawai‘i’s people is our strength. By opening its arms and welcoming people from all corners of the world, of all races, religions and walks of life, Hawai‘i has created a rainbow society that is a model for the rest of the nation.
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Criminal Justice
Hawai‘i can no longer afford, financially or socially, to continue shipping its inmates to out-of-state private prisons.
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Economy
Our economy should serve us, not the other way around. In other words, we must promote our economy to improve the quality of life of all the people of Hawai‘i, ensuring we do not lose the very things that make Hawai‘i special. To achieve economic growth that will last, we need to create well-paying jobs in sectors such as health, education, and technology and get serious about energy and food self-sufficiency. 
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Education
The federal government needs to fully fund No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Unfunded mandates are a recipe for disaster. We also need to reduce class size, return discipline to the class room, and encourage preschool learning.
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Environment, Energy & Sustainability
We must practice aloha `aina (love of the land) so future generations can enjoy all the things that make life in Hawai`i so special. Promoting sustainability, conserving energy and a team effort in becoming responsible stewards for Hawai`i's environment is paramount.
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Ethics
It seems like, every week, we learn about new instances of public corruption, in elected officials, in appointed officials and in public employees. A culture of corruption has been allowed to grow up. Gardens unattended grow weeds.
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Housing and Homelessness
Too many of our children have to leave the islands because they can‘t afford a place to rent, much less buy. Hawai‘i is 49th in the nation in home ownership. Housing prices, already the highest in the nation, are skyrocketing far beyond what even middle-class local families can afford. While wealthy outsiders acquire land and houses for second, third, or fourth homes, more and more local families are being forced into homelessness.
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Labor
While Hawai‘i’s current unemployment numbers may look good on paper, we all know that merely having a job is often not enough to make ends meet, especially given our high cost of living. Low-paying, minimum-wage jobs leave many of Hawai‘i’s people underemployed. That is, they must either work more than one job or depend on others for financial support. We can do better.
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Military
The military is important to Hawai‘i’s economy, and, as with any other sector of the economy, we have to be careful to make sure the benefits of any particular project outweigh the costs to Hawai‘i’s people.
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Native Hawaiians
Hawai‘i law reaffirms and protects all rights of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes. A common example is the right of Native Hawaiians to gather traditional food sources and raw materials for cultural purposes. We will honor our duty to Native Hawaiians and their culture by making government take a more active role in protecting and defending these important rights.
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