Oahu

In 2004, in collaboration with the Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development (HACBED), an FII replication was launched in Oahu, Hawaii. FII worked with 18 families (72 individuals), one group of Native Hawaiians, one group of Filipinos, and one multi-ethnic group all from different parts of the island.

The families’ goals included community building, cultural preservation, higher education, and homeownership. The Native Hawaiians placed deep value on social assets and saw less importance in obtaining financial assets. In some cases several branches of a family—parents, children, grandparents, uncles, and aunts—lived under one roof and contributed to the household by sharing cleaning, cooking, and childcare duties in addition to covering expenses.

Outcomes
Average household changes since enrollment, not including FII payments.

Income: +18%
Net Worth: +75%
Savings: +377%
Homeowners: +1
Businesses: +6
Childrens’ Grades Increase: +32%

Lessons Learned
Our work in Hawaii presented us with some of our most important lessons on how benefits for low-income people are structured. It’s from a deep analysis of state benefits in Hawaii and the stories of FII-Hawaii families that we began to paint a picture of some of the deep flaws in this country’s benefits structures. The disincentives to work and earn created by the rules of the welfare system present low-income families with confounding financial choices. At the same time middle- and upper-income Americans benefit from a nexus of tax and other public policies laden with powerful incentives that encourage earning, saving, and investment. “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,” (Download PDF) a paper FII produced with 3Point Consulting, presents a study and analysis of policy incentives and deterrents.