More on Homeless Native Hawaiians

[kalakoa]

lawsuits and protests against the County for "allowing" Native Hawiians to live in substandard homes

County already "allows" people to live in substandard homes.

They even assign a valuation for tax purposes.

[Guest]

Some Native Hawaiians and others may enjoy living a Pono lifestyle with their land. They may believe that Taking care of the Aina will lead to the Aina taking care of them. The Big Island of Hawaii for centuries has been one of these kind of places one could live a simpler life, maybe even off the grid entirely.
This once famous man could have lived anywhere and anyway he wanted. He chose to live Pono on the Big Island and may still be doing so today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLv5lrkOh-M

Many homeless folks today may choose to remain homeless rather than live with the many bills and expectations that come with further development. jmo

[MarkD]

A lot of good responses above. Great clip on Jason Scott Lee, gypsy. This July 2015 Aljazeera America article gives a good overview.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/20...-land.html

Quote from story:
“Essentially, the state of Hawaii, governor after governor, has been land banking, land hoarding trust lands for business opportunities while Hawaiians, whom the land is clearly supposed to go to, die on the waitlist,” said Robin Danner, who co-founded the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. “What they will tell you is, ‘Oh, we can’t give it to you because there’s no infrastructure. There’s no roads. There’s no water. There’s no money. The land is not usable for Hawaiians.’ And I just say, Bull****. You don’t get to take trust land and use it for business opportunities for the state. You don’t get to take the Hawaiian Homes waitlist and turn it into the death list. They either have the wrong priorities or there’s incompetence.”

The article states that “prime tracts of land have also been leased to the federal and state governments, often with little compensation” and that “about half the distributed lands are leased by big businesses.”

I had earlier written that if native Hawaiians receive increased funds from leases, the money should continue to be administered by Hawaiian Homelands, perhaps with OHA involvement. Several Punatalk commentators took issue, noting those agencies are dysfunctional. I see now that the commentators are correct, and I revise my opinion.

Maybe some other entity should become involved. The federal government? From a 2016 article: “The U.S. Department of the Interior announced today an administrative procedure that will allow a unified Native Hawaiian government — if one is established...— to enter into a...relationship with the United States. This...could allow federal considerations on issues ranging from land management to social services.”

But apparently many native Hawaiians object to the federal plan. Some Hawaiians call it “a trap.” More complexity. How to best distribute native Hawaiian money to the neediest native Hawaiians? Maybe the aforementioned Punatalk commentators, who better understand DHHL and OHA than I do, have ideas.

Meanwhile, not much confusion about homelessness. The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice reported that rents increased by 45 percent between 2005 and 2012, while wages rose just 21 percent. Last summer real estate analyst Stephany Sofos said rents increased 10 to 20 percent in three years. This change in living standards is being imposed on the native Hawaiians (and the rest of us) by market forces.

There is an age-old reply: When worsening life circumstances come about, impacted people or cultures must adapt. Native Hawaiians must adapt. Yes, ideally they should. But many of them (and others) clearly are unable to adapt to skyrocketing rents and end up homeless.

Did we have these skyrocketing rents and homelessness in 1975? 1985 or 1995? No. (We had the Japanese investment bubble in the 1980s, but it subsided in early 1990 and did not seem to have a major impact on rents.)

Hawaii’s big money players in the Legislature and real estate industry brought about the massive rise in property valuations in large part by allowing--perhaps even encouraging--uncontrolled real estate speculation in the past 2 decades. Partial solution: New conveyances taxes on a wide array of transactions: sale of homes over $2 million; flipping homes (within a 2-3 year period); purchases from foreign investors, purchase of residential homes for conversion to transient accommodations. (Also tax these B&Bs with new TAT rates.)

Will any of this come about? Very likely not. But in the event that the sovereignty movement or other activist groups working for poor or marginalized people unexpectedly seem to be gain support in Hawaii in coming years, let us not have anyone wonder why this is coming to pass.

[Kapoho Joe]

You sure take the cake Gypper. Comparing a millionaire gentleman farmer to our homeless shopping cart population. Apples and watermelons my friend.

[punaticbychoice]

Hawaiians with the requisite blood quantum have DHHL to help right?
Right?
What say Gypsy69?

[kalakoa]

because there's no infrastructure. There's no roads. There's no water. There's no money. The land is not usable

Sounds like Hawaiian Acres.

[Cagary]

quote:

---

Originally posted by kalakoa

lawsuits and protests against the County for "allowing" Native Hawiians to live in substandard homes

County already "allows" people to live in substandard homes.

They even assign a valuation for tax purposes.

---

My point is that IF an exemption was officially entered into the County Building Code, there would be problems. Right now the County just looks the other way thereby protecting itself by being able to say that they didn't know about the problem.

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".

[Cagary]

quote:

---

Originally posted by randomq

Cagary, I suppose there should be some concept of personal authority and responsibility for yourself, children, and home. We could call it ... freedom?

Anyway, the same person could just as easily die in a tent when a tree falls on it, so the argument is moot.

---

I'm all for the concept of "freedom" and "personal authority and responsibility for yourself, children, and home". Its just that it is not part of the world we live in. If a "Native Hawaiian exemption" was made part of the official Hawaii County Building Code, potential lawsuits and protects would abound.

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".

[MarkD]

Good comment from MarkP on the Protectors' thread: "(The Protectors) would be shoe-ins for simply going and homesteading Hawaiian Homelands without the blessing of DHHL." Emphatic Yes.

[TomK]

"The Big Island of Hawaii for centuries has been one of these kind of places one could live a simpler life, maybe even off the grid entirely."

Yes, but I believe Helco's rates a few centuries ago were much more excessive back then, so many didn't have much choice.