cost of living outstripping wages

Parent Cafe
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<p>There was an article in the newspaper today about how 1/3 of Hawaii’s families state-wide need help having basic needs met because so many jobs are low wage & costs are so high. </p>

<p><a href=“http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070203/NEWS01/702030350[/url]”>http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070203/NEWS01/702030350&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>or </p>

<p><a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/2kv94e[/url]”>http://■■■■■■■.com/2kv94e&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This is why so many in “oaraduse” need to have mulitiple jobs and live with extended families. This of course doesn’t factor in college costs, private school tuition, savings, retirement, or so many other things that are needed to help get above living paycheck to paycheck.</p>

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<p>It is happening in the mainland too, but to a lesser degree.</p>

<p>As the country’s population ages, I wonder what is going to happen. </p>

<p>Dorms for old people might be the way to go. It’s a cheap way to live. Unmarried males and females in one room will be ok. </p>

<p>You have to have some fun when you are old. :)</p>

<p>Thanks for posting this.</p>

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<p>yes I was surprised when a older sister of one of my Ds friends moved to Hawaii after graduating from a state college- but at least she didn’t have any loans to speak of ( her parents are also thinking of retiring there- but agree that it is pretty expensive)[living her dream](<a href=“http://starbulletin.com/2005/04/14/features/story1.html”>http://starbulletin.com/2005/04/14/features/story1.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>My H knows several coworkers who have another job- and I am always looking for ways to reduce costs and increase income- unfortunately he isn’t much help in curbing his spending- nothing extravagant, but going out to lunch everyday- eats up a lot of money.
I bet a lot of people nickle and dime away thousands every year- those lattes really add up!</p>

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<p>I hear you, HImom. We lived in HI 2003-04, and though we loved many things there, the high cost of living sent us back to the mainland.</p>

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<p>One of the basics is housing costs. For many, renting a place to live is over $1700/month, which is much more than they can get from unemployment, social security or any source of income, especially if they have no pension and no job. There was a series on the many homeless and increasing numbers of them have kids who try to study while living on the beach or in a car. Our government has ignored this problem for a long time & it continues to worsen. The governor is now trying to figure out what to do, but it has been a huge problem for a long time. I have friends who are teachers and have never been able to buy a home (or any real estate), but fortunately have always been able to find places to rent (having to move each time the owner wants to sell the place where they’re living). There are countless folks like them, but many eventually become homeless when the rent is raised one time too much for their incomes to meet.</p>

<p>Paying for others to prepare food rather than making food surely does eat up money, but that’s not what this article is about. It shows that even without any such luxuries, there are many in Hawaii that just cannot meet the very high cost of living. You have to make $14/hour (if you’re part of a couple with kids) or $26/hour (if you’re a single parent with kids) in order to meet BASIC expenses in a year. The article is pretty scary. Our population here tends to be extremely long-lived, with many folks continuing to drive around in their 80s & beyond. They are just starting to build retirement assisted living places recently & these are only for the very well-heeled. I have no idea what our state will be doing to meet needs of those who haven’t been able to save anything towards retirement or those who fly here to retire with a one-way ticket and dreams but no assets.</p>

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<p>“They are just starting to build retirement assisted living places recently & these are only for the very well-heeled. I have no idea what our state will be doing to meet needs of those who haven’t been able to save anything towards retirement or those who fly here to retire with a one-way ticket and dreams but no assets.”</p>

<p>I told you what they are going to have to do. I wasn’t kidding.</p>

<p>Dorms for adults.
If it makes you feel better, call it hotels.</p>

<p>San Francisco is not a cheap place to live.</p>

<p>Here is a link you may find of interest.</p>

<p><a href=“http://thebroadmoorhotel.com/[/url]”>http://thebroadmoorhotel.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>You’re right that we’ll likely have to have similar arrangements, but honestly we need more housing for our students at flagship U & our state is way behind on those too. The last few governors didn’t address any of these issues and wasted tons of money on “beautification” projects that have had to be torn down because they were wholly impractical.</p>

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<p>I believe the baby boomers will vote in politicians who will take care of their needs…or else. </p>

<p>When we are old, we are not going to tolerate fools and blowhards. </p>

<p>Check out the link. I know a couple of people who have lived there. It works.</p>

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<p>I did check out the link & it sounds quite lovely. I know there are many in HI who would love a similar arrangement, if it were so affordable. I hope we start having politicians who are more in tune with the people & how to address their NEEDS in a fiscally responsible manner, but don’t have a lot of hope (tho I’m generally an optimist).</p>