I received the following very informative message from Ken Stokes, executive director of The Kauaian Institute, which bills itself as “the island sustainability resource.”
You might also want to check out their blog.
Howzit Ian!
I was thrilled to see your exploration of inequality in Hawai`i.
We’re seeing the results of “class warfare” waged since Reagan, as documented by Damon Silver in a recent Feller Lecture (graph attached).
Just as virtually all income has gone to owners (not to workers), so most Hawai`i income has gone to the wealthy.
From your own tabulations of the Income Patterns, note that 78% of all additional income (+$9.7B AGI) from 1995 to 2005 went to the those earning over $100,000 (+$7.6B).
Note as well (from the Income Profile, attached) that if this income to the wealthy is subtracted from the total and we recalculate, the adjusted percapita income is only $22,897 (vs. $35,804) in 2005, up from $21,041 (vs. $25,160) in 1995.
So, while the Income Profile shows per capita income growing by over 42%, while the adjusted figure (for non-wealthy) grew by only 9%. Moreover, if we adjust for inflation, this non-wealthy per capita income actually fell by 9%.
BTW, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has conducted the most robust assessment of inequality in the states, which includes this Hawai`i fact sheet. I have also attached a pdf of the Hawai`i details.
It’s also instructive to recall that 1995 was mid-recession for Hawai`i. So, income in most households has worsened since the “bad years”, and all the “benefits of growth” accrued to others…
Keep it comin’!
KenPS: I did an indicator column on Kaua`i inequality for the Kaua`i People newspaper back in ’08.
Ken attached two additional resources.