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I'm grateful for the working class of the Big Island.
The people that commute 1-2 hours a day to support their family, and their extended family, and their hanai family.
The people that work multiple jobs to cover the ever rising expenses.
The people that pay the taxes that pay for all the EBT and WIC, sometimes thousands a month to a single family.
The people that pay the inflated grocery prices at the grocery store thanks to all the EBT and WIC.
The people that pay for the Medquest and Section 8 and COFA.
The people that pay for all the government salaries, especially the cushy ones like mayor and county council.
The people in government that actually put in an honest days work, and don't make enough money to put up with our crap.
The people that pay the oligarchs (directly or indirectly) for the privilege of working or renting their land to make a living.
The people that pay huge rents and put in long hours to make us good affordable local food.
The people that pay huge rents to live in dilapidated plantation houses.
The people that put blood, sweat, and tears into building or improving their own homes.
The people that donate their time and effort to actually improve things for others.
The people that can never attend "listening sessions" or free community events, because they are at work.
The people that actually do stuff, instead of just complain about stuff not being done.
The people stuck in the middle, supporting everyone else with every effort and every paycheck.
I doubt the people enjoying their free dinners or relaxing in their mansions this Thanksgiving will give you a second thought.
But working people of Puna, thank you for everything you do, every day, to make our lives better.
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(11-23-2023, 11:45 PM)randomq Wrote: I'm grateful for the working class of the Big Island.
The people that commute 1-2 hours a day to support their family, and their extended family, and their hanai family.
The people that work multiple jobs to cover the ever rising expenses.
The people that pay the taxes that pay for all the EBT and WIC, sometimes thousands a month to a single family.
The people that pay the inflated grocery prices at the grocery store thanks to all the EBT and WIC.
The people that pay for the Medquest and Section 8 and COFA.
The people that pay for all the government salaries, especially the cushy ones like mayor and county council.
The people in government that actually put in an honest days work, and don't make enough money to put up with our crap.
The people that pay the oligarchs (directly or indirectly) for the privilege of working or renting their land to make a living.
The people that pay huge rents and put in long hours to make us good affordable local food.
The people that pay huge rents to live in dilapidated plantation houses.
The people that put blood, sweat, and tears into building or improving their own homes.
The people that donate their time and effort to actually improve things for others.
The people that can never attend "listening sessions" or free community events, because they are at work.
The people that actually do stuff, instead of just complain about stuff not being done.
The people stuck in the middle, supporting everyone else with every effort and every paycheck.
I doubt the people enjoying their free dinners or relaxing in their mansions this Thanksgiving will give you a second thought.
But working people of Puna, thank you for everything you do, every day, to make our lives better.
Amen! So true.
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While it looks like you may truly have good intentions in starting this thread and I was about to reply and add a few things I'm thankful for like my loved ones and it having stopped flash flooding, I noticed a point or two that seemed a tad condescending (in my perception.)
"The people that pay the inflated grocery prices at the grocery store thanks to all the EBT and WIC."
While there are many that abuse the system, there are also many that seem to just have no other way.
There are those who are sick, disabled, elderly and more that rely on EBT to survive. They might feel slighted by that point.
And are those inflated prices solely or even largely the result of, or as you said "thanks to all the EBT"? If you could change the local government, what would you suggest as a better method to deal with the financial problems of the type people I listed as opposed to relying on EBT so that the prices in the grocery stores would be less inflated?
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Thanks for asking Or1on. I'm a firm believer that if you qualify for a program you should take advantage of it. But do larger families really need $300/month/person for a family with 2 parents and 5 children that's $2100/month for groceries! In poorer areas like Puna that's a lot of easy money for the grocery stores, and it seems like they jack up their prices to take advantage of it. I would say reduce the allowance for additional family, or limit the amount EBT will contribute to each type of item so there is still incentive to shop carefully.
At the local government level, I'd say "get out of the way". We're a rural district, let people start businesses in their homes and sell on the sides of the street, instead of having to drive for everything. Maybe incentivize growing food and then purchase/distribute healthy locally grown food to people in need.
In any case, it wasn't a dig at anyone, but rather kudos to the working class. It seems around the holidays all we hear is about people in need needing more. I think it's nice to thank the people that ultimately pay for all of that with their hard work!
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I completely agree with thanking all those deserving people for their hard work. That kind of stuff does go unnoticed and taken for granted.
I also like the idea of doing away (to some degree) with the zoning and all the red tape and BS that prevents people from just making a living doing what they do. Yes, let those people sell food on the roadside or from their house. Everyone should know it comes with a risk and buyer beware. Skip it if you're wary.
Now... about your point on the grocery stores jacking up the prices because of the excess EBT holders out there, I still say "hmmm" and I'm not so sure I'm sold on that theory. But I don't really know one way or another. You could be right but I would need some sort of minimal evidence to support this hypothesis to begin agreeing there. I tend to believe the higher prices are due to inflation, covid-year scare time, shipping and just plain greed "because they can". Price of living in aloha land maybe?
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12-01-2023, 09:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-02-2023, 12:33 AM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
about your point on the grocery stores jacking up the prices because of the excess EBT holders
I’m not sure if there’s a study that can prove the point. But there are personal observations. If the cause was inflation, the prices would be equally higher everywhere. But they’re not. Prices in Pahoa are demonstrably higher on an item to item comparison with Hilo stores. From overhearing EBT buyers talking about their purchases, I would say they are less cautious about their spending their free food money than people who pay with cash or credit card, who presumably work for their food money.
Here’s an effect from EBT that we’ve all probably noticed. I shopped for groceries the other day, the end of the month and the store was deserted. EBT food buyers had run out of funds. From the first of the month through the fifth, grocery stores are packed, checkout lines wind into the aisles.
None of my examples above can prove a correlation between EBT use and pricing, but they do show there’s an effect. And store managers or owners can see it too, they can read the room. Let’s assume profit is a motive, and the store can raise prices to a certain extent without losing customers or sales…
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There are EBT users in Hilo as well. On this one, I agree with Orion. It's "because they can". Pahoa stores have a more captive audience than those in Hilo.
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I did a little quick reading, and I see mobility, supply chain costs (stocking fresh food for lower volume areas, resulting in more spoilage), and competition. I'm not sure mobility applies, since Puna is so rural most people have to have some kind of transportation just to get groceries or potable water. And on the spoilage front Puna is not far away from the ports and hubs where fresh produce etc come in, and stores can adjust their volumes to meet demand, so I wouldn't think spoilage justifies raising prices on everything, especially shelf stable goods. That leaves competition, of which there is little. I would also think without competition, you charge as much as the market will bear, and a market with free money sloshing around can bear more.
The world bank did a study, which found an increase in prices correlated to SNAP/EBT:
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated...4a42d7.pdf
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I would guess that one contributing factor to the higher costs in the Puna Kai market is insurance. The 2018 flow stopped only yards away from the old Malama Market. Companies have pretty much stopped insuring anything in Lava Zone 2. (State legislators, mostly from Kauai and Oahu, are holding back building a new library because of eruption concerns.) I've only been in the new market once so haven't seen it myself, but I've read here on Punaweb that there is a small nook inside to have a beer or glass of wine, which would also incur even more liability coverage.
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The new Malama was designed and construction started before the 2018 eruption.
A lot of it is designed for tourists. I see a lot of tourists and wealthy retirees shopping there too.
They have a wine and beer bar with live bands. EBT can't be used for that. Lots of gourmet food too.
Tourist pricing is even higher that ghetto pricing.
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