By Ohana Big Island News Team
Date: July 6, 2025

Every day in Hawai‘i, millions of dollars disappear—not by accident, not by oversight, but by design. While locals work multiple jobs, struggle to pay rent, and watch homelessness spread like wildfire, the wealth of the islands is being systematically vacuumed out by corporations, contractors, mainland investors, and political insiders.

This isn’t a conspiracy. It’s business as usual. And it's killing the local economy from the inside out.

The Real “Aloha Tax” Nobody Talks About

Hawai‘i imports 85–90% of its food, fuel, and goods. That means every time you buy groceries, gas, or household essentials, you’re sending money straight off the islands. But that’s only the beginning:

• Mainland contractors win state-funded construction bids, then bring in outside workers and materials.

• Tech companies and service providers from the mainland run state digital infrastructure—for millions a year.

• Tourism profits mostly go to global hotel chains, cruise lines, and booking platforms.
  
  

All this while local businesses fight red tape, high taxes, and rising costs just to stay afloat.

Government Budgets — A Feeding Frenzy for the Few

The State of Hawai‘i manages a multi-billion-dollar budget. But year after year, much of that money ends up in the same hands:

• Bloated consulting contracts.

• Delayed infrastructure projects with inflated costs.

• “Public-private partnerships” where the public pays, and the private profits.
  
  

Even the homeless crisis, education, and clean energy transitions have become industries—lucrative pipelines for those who know how to write grants, bill hours, and play politics.

Why Are We Still Poor in a Rich Land?

Because the wealth of Hawai‘i is not staying in Hawai‘i. It’s being extracted daily by a system that treats the islands as a cash cow. And the local people—as disposable labor.

Wealth doesn’t circulate. It evacuates.
Jobs don’t empower. They enslave.
Taxes don’t build. They bleed.

The Call: End the Vacuum, Rebuild the Circle

If Hawai‘i wants to survive economically, the solution isn’t more government spending. It’s economic sovereignty:

• Support truly local businesses.

• Redirect state contracts to local labor and suppliers.

• Cut off crony deals that export wealth.

• Build systems that recycle money within the islands—not out.
  
  

Hawai‘i’s people are not poor—we’re being robbed. Quietly. Daily. Legally.

At Ohana Big Island, we’re here to break the silence. Because the time has come to pull the plug on this vacuum before it sucks the soul out of paradise.