OpEd: Don’t Hurt Vulnerable Families; Make Taxes More Equitable
A local family with three keiki under 4 all came down with COVID-19 early on. The dad can no longer work because he is suffering from post-COVID health problems, and the mother’s job was reduced to part-time due to the pandemic. They had been living with family but no longer are able to do so. They now face living on the streets.
We are writing as members of Partners In Care (PIC), a coalition of Hawaii nonprofit homeless providers. We know only too well the suffering of people experiencing homelessness, and now we’re in a pandemic (COVID) within an ongoing pandemic (homelessness).
Hawaii already has the second highest rate of homelessness in the country, and we now have the highest unemployment rate in the country due to COVID. Thousands of local individuals and families are on the precipice of losing their homes and/or not having enough to eat — or have already become houseless.
It’s no secret that our economy is suffering, and we are facing a huge budget shortfall. But our government leaders are proposing serious cuts in state programs, including homelessness-related services.
For example, this past year, domestic violence services received a 25% cut (many women/children become homeless when fleeing from abuse), and substance abuse services, a 19% cut. Homeless emergency grants, including financial assistance for families on the verge of being evicted, are facing a 30% cut; services for homeless and runaway youth, a 24% cut; housing services for persons living with HIV, a 64% cut; and statewide sex abuse treatment services, 30% cut (virtually every woman living on the streets has been raped).
Already, 27% of Hawaii adults living in households with children have “little or no confidence” that they can pay next month’s rent on time. Three times more people are seeking food at Hawaii’s food banks than before the pandemic. Nationally, 28% of children do not have enough food to eat and 40% of military families need food assistance — and these numbers are even worse here due to our higher unemployment rate.
There’s a better solution than depriving vulnerable people of the services they desperately need: Raise needed revenue by taxing the wealthy who have not faced the grim financial consequences of the pandemic.
After cuts made during the 2008 recession, Hawaii’s homeless population increased by 37% over the following few years. If we make similar cuts now, we will once again see homelessness rise significantly.
Instead, by asking Hawaii’s wealthiest individuals and companies to pay more in taxes, the state could raise $550-$970 million in much-needed revenue. For example, we could increase taxes on Hawaii’s top 2%, which is about $800,000 for married couples and $400,000 for singles. We could increase the taxes on the sale of mansions. We could make gigantic global corporations pay taxes on their profits earned here in Hawaii.
Hawaii’s lowest-income residents pay 15% in state and local taxes — while wealthiest residents pay only 8.9%. That means our most vulnerable community members pay much more in taxes, as of a portion of their income, than the wealthy. Does that sound fair?
The Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition, a group of 30 civic organizations, nonprofits, government agencies and service providers, has proposed measures to ask those who are fortunate enough to be doing well during this pandemic to pay a little more. See www.hitaxfairness.org for more revenue ideas.
By making our tax system fairer, the state will increase revenue and save services that have been a lifeline to so many families during this pandemic.
By Marya Grambs and Heather Lusk
Marya Grambs is a board member and Heather Lusk is president of the board of directors of Partners in Care.
You can read the article online: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/02/22/editorial/island-voices/column-dont-hurt-vulnerable-families-make-taxes-more-equitable/
