Hawaiians do better without entitlements – The Honolulu Advertiser
It’s difficult to convey statistical arguments concisely, and to unify multiple lines of attack on the Akaka bill and the kanaka maoli victimhood-machine into a coherent whole, but here’s one attempt.
The Advertiser notably omitted mention of Hispanics in Hawaii included in the original submission in their published version:
“But the 2005 ACS sample survey for Hawaii shows Native Hawaiians in Hawaii, who average only 24.6 years of age, enjoy median family income of $56,449; and 55% of them occupy homes they own. Hispanics in Hawaii, in comparison, average 24.2 years of age, have a median family income of $54,803 and only 46.2% of them occupy homes they own.”
I’m sure the intent was to make the article more readable, but it is important to note that in the search for the demographic group doing the worst in Hawaii, Hispanics rank below native Hawaiians – a direct contradiction of many of the statements made by the kanaka maoli victimhood-machine.
You can read the original submission below:
Census: Native Hawaiians do better when treated equally.
By Jere Krischel
The 2005 American Community Survey for California, recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, confirms Native Hawaiians’ ability to prosper without special government programs. The estimated 65,000 Native Hawaiian residents of California, with no Office of Hawaiian Affairs or Hawaiian Homes or other such race-based entitlements, enjoyed higher median household ($55,610) and family ($62,019) incomes, relative to the total California population ($53,629 and $61,476 respectively) despite having smaller median household and family sizes.
California is particularly appropriate for comparing earning power, because California has the greatest Native Hawaiian population outside of Hawaii; and it happens that the median age of Native Hawaiians residing in California (33.7 years) is almost identical to that of the general population of California (33.4 years).
The fact that Native Hawaiians are quite capable of making it on their own was suggested by Census 2000 which showed the then-60,000 Native Hawaiian residents of California enjoyed comparable relative median household and family incomes despite their 5 year younger median age.
Oblivious to the respectable earnings of Native Hawaiians, some media in Hawaii (not the Advertiser) have cited the 2005 ACS as showing “Poverty still grips Hawaiians†and “Census survey shows need for assistance to Hawaiians.†But the 2005 ACS sample survey for Hawaii shows Native Hawaiians in Hawaii, who average only 24.6 years of age, enjoy median family income of $56,449; and 55% of them occupy homes they own. Hispanics in Hawaii, in comparison, average 24.2 years of age, have a median family income of $54,803 and only 46.2% of them occupy homes they own.
The sample chosen in Hawaii for the ACS 2005 survey showed the median age for the total population of Hawaii as 38.5, which is almost 14 years older than the median of 24.6 years for Native Hawaiians living there. Age makes a huge difference in earning power. For example, the Census 2000 data shows Hawaiians 35 to 44 years had over $9 thousand greater household income than Hawaiians ten years younger.
Now with this backdrop of improved Native Hawaiian prosperity when treated equally, and a clearer understanding of the effects median age can have on income statistics, imagine how surprised we all are to learn of the shocking information discovered by the Honolulu Advertiser and Jim Dooley, “OHA push for Akaka bill topped $2Mâ€. (Adv. 11/27/06.) Well over $2 million of taxpayer money spent to lobby for a bill to break apart the State of Hawaii and give away much, perhaps all, of the state and its governing power & jurisdiction to a brand new sovereign nation of, by and for Native Hawaiians!
The Akaka Bill got started when race-based programs were challenged in Hawaii – programs that have existed for decades, and have apparently done a great disservice to the overall health, wealth and well-being of Native Hawaiians when compared to their counterparts in other states without such race-based entitlements. In addition to the millions for lobbying to break up the State with the Akaka Bill, the bloated (and very powerful) bureaucracies of OHA and HHCA have cost the State of Hawaii over $1 billion just since 1990. Federal entitlements for Native Hawaiians have added over $1 billion more.
There is no doubt that there are people in need in Hawaii – but these people are of all races and backgrounds. We neglect too many of those in need when we target our help only to a certain ethnicity, and do more damage than good to the ethnicity we target. Race is an illusion, compelling yet meaningless – and a closer look at the statistics used to promote that illusion shows us clearly that no Hawaiians, of any race or ethnicity, have a need for the Akaka Bill.